Even you are eating out does not have to run your healthy eating plan, Eating is not just about satisfying nutritional needs, it is also a social activities whether it is eating in restaurants with friends, on office party or meeting friends or family at special occasions where hospitality in the form of food and drink is offered. Many functions and celebrations like weddings have a set menu. But you can still make some healthy choices. Ignore the bread basket. If there is a buffet, load your plate up with salad and steamed vegetables, and avoid the rich sauces. Resolve to enjoy just one glass of alcohol, then switch to non alcoholic drinks like mineral water. If the meal turns out to be really rich, resolve to focus on simple fresh foods only for the next 24 hours.

There are ways to enjoy such occasions without losing sight of your healthy diet goals: eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, choosing lean meats and fish and shellfish, limiting your intake of refined carbohydrates, saturated fats and salt; and being careful with portion sized and alcohol consumption.

Eating in restaurant

If you want to maintain your healthy eating habits as well as preventing unwanted weight gain, you need to be very careful when ordering, in cafe at lunchtime or in a leisurely restaurant meal in the evening, it is possible to make healthy choices. Restaurant and fast food meals tend to be higher in calories and saturated fat than the meals which you prepare at home, so to enjoy a meal without sabotaging your weight control diet, balance restaurant meals with lighter meals at home.

In our often time-pressed society, convenience is a way of life for many individuals. Foods and meals
prepared outside of the home are an increasingly important part of the American diet.
This is a trend that has coincided with a dramatic rise in the prevalence of obesity. While food, wherever prepared, is not the only factor affecting body weight, away- from-home food should be an important consideration for people aiming to maintain or lose weight. A growing body of literature indicates that the eating of away-from-home food can be a factor influencing energy intake. Informed choices pertaining to away- from-home food could help reduce calorie over­ consumption and aid in weight management.

Eating at a restaurant may be viewed as a special opportunity for indulgence. Furthermore, the convivial atmosphere associated with restaurants and the consumption of alcohol may also contribute to over­
consumption.  Some people spend up to half their food budget on meals prepared by restaurants. But, it’s harder to manage your diet when someone else does the cooking. You can empower yourself with coping strategies, eat out whenever you like, and still have a healthy diet.

You can ask about  how a dish on the menu is prepared, it may be possible to prepare it in a different way that is healthier, also can order your main dish without the rich sauce or other high fat accompaniments.

Look for lower-fat, lower calorie menu items: Steamed, broiled, baked, roasted, or poached
items tend to have a lower fat content than fried foods.

 Use nutrition information to guide food choices Many restaurants have nutrition information available on-site or on websites. Patrons can examine this information before ordering to make the best food choices

Party time

You can not control over the food served when family and friends invite you to dinner, you can still limit how much you eat and drink. Fill up for salads and vegetables offered, and ask for a small portion of dessert. An inviting array of food is difficult to resist. Avoid any deep-fried foods as well as mayonnaise based dips. Have a small portion of fish, meat or poultry and fill your plate with lots of vegetables and salad. Decline refills of your wineglass and ask water instead. If you fancy some bread, skip the butter or spread. Don't stand near the bowls of nuts and crisps.

Increasing your level of activity will help you burn the extra calories you are likely to take in. Exercise can also reduce your appetite and help you control how much you eat. When eating out, don't lose sight of your long-term healthy eating plan. Order carefully, stop eating when you are full, and if you over indulge, eat less the next day.

In light of the growing proportion of meals consumed outside of the home and the potential influence
of these foods on energy intake, it is important to consider whether away from home foods contribute
to overweight and obesity. A variety of different types of evidence support this hypothesis.

Fast food and healthy life

Like every rose has a thorn, the fast foods, also called "junk food" or "instant food" have their bad effects too. Sometimes, because of its easy availability and their delicious taste, people especially the teenagers, get hooked on to it. If we consume fast food on a regular basis, then it can be hazardous to health. Foods like noodles, wafers, pastries, pizzas etc. lack nutritious value. They are deficient in vitamins, protein and/or minerals, but rich in sodium and other harmful additives. This leads to diseases like diabetes, obesity, cardiac problems, clogged arteries, reduced bone strength and many other health related problems. For someone who consumes these in excess, it may lead to acidity and liver failure due to the high amount of fat, salts and oil in it. Too much of junk food on a regular basis can make an individual overweight due to the extra calories hidden in those foods. It affects the concentration levels in studies and other activities too.

The popularity of fast food is a major factor in the increasing prevalence of obesity and associated prevalence disease. This type of food often high in saturated fat, calories and sodium, lacking in fibre, vitamins and minerals, and marketed to encourage the intake of unhealthy large portions. If you don't want to eliminate fast food from your diet, balance it out with what you eat the rest of the time and try to make healthier choices when you are in a fast food restaurant.

America has been called a "fast food nation" and for good reason. Everyday, one out of four Americans eats fast food. If you are eating out, fast food restaurants are often the cheapest option, but unfortunately, not usually the healthiest one. Eating just one fast food meal can pack enough calories, sodium and fat for an entire day, but the quick-and-cheap temptation can be hard to resist.

• Have salad  or baked potato with your meal instead of fried.
• Choose a small hamburger with lettuce and tomato without cheese.
• Eat grilled chicken sandwiches with mustard instead of deep fried chicken sandwiches.
• Use mustard or ketchup instead of mayonnaise or special sauce.
• Order semi-skimmed milk, water or small diet cola.
• Skip dessert or try a yogurt and fruit parfait.

Did you know that fast foods are notoriously high in sodium? For example, a standard fast food hamburger can have as much as 1000mg of sodium in it, equal to 42 percent of your daily intake. If you want a large fries with that, count another 728mg, or an additional 30 percent. If you go all out and get a double bacon cheeseburger, it can have as much as 1770mg of sodium - that’s 75 percent of your daily allowance for one burger! Add fries to that and you’ve got a whopping 2500mg of sodium, which is well over your daily allowance. All in just one meal.

Trans-fats are created by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them solid at room temperature. Restaurants like to use trans-fats when frying food because they are cheaper and have a long shelf life. Scientists agree that trans-fats are one of the worst kinds of fat that you can consume; they drastically increase your cholesterol levels and open the door to heart attack and stroke. While trans-fats do occur in very small amounts in foods such as beef and dairy, fast foods are very high in this toxic substance

Despite its high caloric content, fast food offers very little nutritional value in return. One fast food meal can contain as much as 1,500 calories, which is well over 50% of the daily calories required for a healthy adult. As well, within these empty calories you will find up to 75 grams of fat, and little to no vitamin content.

For example, a Big Mac from McDonalds contains 563 calories and 33 grams of fat. As far as vitamins go, there is 24% of your daily intake of iron, but little else – 8% of your Vitamin A requirement and 1% of your Vitamin C requirement are not much to speak of when you consider how many calories you are consuming with such a meal. If you ate the same weight in pasta and salad, you would be getting far more nutrients and almost half the calories.

While most people are aware of the presence of high fructose corn syrup in soft drinks, did you know that there is sugar is most fast food menu items? A standard burger at most fast food restaurants contains 10 grams of sugar, which is about as much sugar as you’d find in a couple of cookies. Fast food breakfast items have even more sugar, and that’s without the syrup.

If you think you’re safe by ordering “healthy” menu options, think again: the yogurt parfaits with fruit that restaurants market as nutritious contain 19 grams of sugar, which is almost as much sugar as you would find in a can of soda. All of this sugar greatly increases your risk of developing insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.

Another problem with fast food is that when you’re chewing down empty calories, you’re offsetting the good food that you could otherwise be eating in its place.

For example, instead of eating a twenty piece chicken nuggets and large fries, you could have something else with actual nutritional content, such as a grilled chicken breast and baked potato. Even if you doused the potato with sour cream and bacon bits, you’d still be eating a healthier meal than you’d get at a fast food place because the meal would not be fried in partially hydrogenated oils (read: trans-fat) and the chicken would be of higher quality. If you added a green leafy salad, you’d have a great meal that tastes great and won’t shorten your lifespan!

It’s clear that fast food risks definitely outnumber its positive effects. The bad side of fast food is that it has almost "zero" nutritious value. Despite this fact, we can definitely include them in our menu and exercise proper control over their consumption. The craving for fast food among various individuals right from a child to an adult is so much that one cannot avoid their consumption. In every city, there are McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and other restaurants that are ever ready with foodstuffs like burgers and pizzas to serve different taste buds. So, we cannot avoid fast food completely in our day-to-day life considering their taste, easy access, instant delivery and affordability, but the important thing that we can do is to avoid excessive dependence on these foodstuffs.

Chinese meal and healthy life

Most of us consider Chinese food to be a healthy option. While this can be true, many of the most popular dishes are quite high in saturated fat and calories. Dishes that are battered and deep-fried, sweet and sour or in a thick sauce are best avoided.

Chinese can be healthy, choose dishes based on authentic everyday Chinese cooking, which are low in fat and protein and high in fibre. The cholesterol levels in China are far lower than in US, this is because the diet is based mainly on grains and a wide variety of vegetables, with small amounts of protein and fat.

Stir fried vegetables with tofu, chicken or prawns are healthy , low-fat Chinese option. Accompany any of this with plain steamed or boiled rice for a well balanced healthy meal. 

The Chinese culture has a special way of serving food that is cut into small bite pieces which is made almost mandatory. It is hard to find knives at the dinner table in Chinese food serving. Chinese food also stresses the importance of the right combination of ingredients like herbs and condiments. The food should also look good in color and texture and a well prepared food deserves to be eaten with harmony.

The Chinese food is cooked with the intention of increasing the health benefits like longevity and having healing powers and medicinal value. A good Chinese food is prepared with poly unsaturated oils and does not use milk based ingredients like cream, butter and cheese.

Although meat is used in Chinese food, it is used in moderation and hence avoids high levels of animal fat and cholesterol. Such a food is called authentic Chinese food which is in fact, an ideal Chinese food, good for the health. In a traditional Chinese food, emphasis is given to rice, noodles and vegetables.

The Chinese food can be chosen, to make a great difference by opting for various dishes with different nutritional value. Chicken or beef dishes and vegetables are a good choice. Fried dishes like sesame chicken can be substituted with cashew chicken or beef and broccoli. Such dishes offer nutritional value that is not contained in traditional plates like lo mein, which are noodles soaked with oil, fats and carbohydrates.

Fried rice contains a large amount of cholesterol and carbohydrates and hence brown rice can be taken instead. Chinese food largely makes use of soy sauce and other additives which are rich in sodium content. A Chinese food is better to be started with sauce but the down side is that it contains a lot of sodium- almost three to four times what is really needed. But the safest bet is vegetables and steamed dishes or stir fried with little or no oil.

To lower fat calories, vegetable based dishes with a variety of sauces and steamed rice complete a healthy Chinese food. To wind up the Chinese meal, fortune cookies which contain only 15 calories would be perfect.

To sum up, a Chinese food that contains more of vegetables, snow peas, low in salt can be considered to be a healthy food. The choice of a restaurant between an inexpensive one and high end restaurant also is influential in differing the health of the Chinese food that is being served. The server or the manager would also be eager to offer assistance on the type of dishes and their nutritional content.

Additionally, Chinese restaurants seem to be the most likely to use Monosodium Glutamate which is a flavor enhancer which many, many people are allergic to, and, anyone who has ulcerative colitis is going to be even more likely to have a major problem with this spice. While it is typically on the menu if it is used, it is always wise to ask. That is a good policy for anyone, but, someone who has ulcerative colitis has to get in the habit of knowing what they are putting in their bodies.

In my experience, Chinese food helps the ulcerative colitis sufferer in so many ways. It is inexpensive; it helps with hydration; it offers a great variety of food including, chicken, fish, beef, noodles and rice; the foods that are valuable for ulcerative colitis also happen to be good for weight maintenance; it fits in with the concept of eating small meals, and, of all foods, it has a lot of user control of the ingredients.

Lastly, and maybe most important, Chinese food tastes great! If you have ulcerative colitis, it is beneficial!