The Diva Diet - Part II: Dining Out

Now that Thanksgiving is over, as always, most of the challenge in sticking to your diet when eating out: office parties, group parties, get-togethers with visiting friends or relatives, etc… The list is endless.

As a kidney transplant recipient, I still have restrictions, but there is no reason why I cannot enjoy these holiday get-togethers. Here are my ideas for keeping your diet during the holiday season while dining out.

Be Mindful of Food Safety When Dining Out. As I mentioned in a previous post, we need to continue to be careful of infection, from all sorts of germs or bacteria. I can understand why this is a concern. After watching shows like Kitchen Nightmares and Restaurant Impossible, we have seen problematic kitchens and food gone bad that were still served to the public. All of us need to ensure that the establishment has passed health safety guidelines and that the food is stored and prepared well in a very sanitary way. Since my transplant, my husband and I have been very picky in selecting restaurants when we eat out. We often limit ourselves to nice, very nice restaurants, but this can get expensive.

 

No Buffets. This is a follow-up to the food safety issue. With buffets, the food has been exposed to different people, so you never know who touched what or what temperature it has been kept. With food exposed to different people, you never know what germs they may carry. Again, after watching Restaurant Impossible and seeing buffets that were not kept at the correct temperature, I can understand why this continues to be a concern.  Served Hors d’Ouevres are out now too: same principle as buffets, except now your food is traveling.

Cafeteria-style food may be okay. Assess the situation and figure out if this option is safe. Do not be tempted by really yummy food – your life is more important. An alternative may be to wait until you get home and just simply nuke it.

Order your own entrée. As I mentioned before, when dining out, meals really need to be made for me only – Hence, the name “Diva Diet”. If it is just my husband and I, we usually share an appetizer and an entrée, but we move it to separate plates. When we go with a group, I would stick to my own dish.

Family-style food may be okay, as long as they use serving spoons, AND no one is sick.

No raw meats or eggs. Unfortunately, that includes raw sushi and oysters – my old favorites. Again, it’s a question of bacteria. So, I must say goodbye to my beloved salmon rolls, ahi pokes, oysters-on-the-half-shell, and tuna tartars. Even smoked foods like salmon are also out of the question. Sigh, at least, I think, I can still have cooked sushi (ebi and unagi anyone?) and usually there are other items on the menu.

Be careful of raw eggs too. This may mean aioli, Caesar salad dressings, certain meringues (baked meringues are probably fine), and eggnog! No more eggnog lattes. The only raw thing that would be safe would be fruits and vegetables.

Deli Sandwiches. Improperly reheated cold cuts and soft cheeses can contain certain bacteria that can cause illness and possibly death to a kidney transplant patient. That means no more cold cuts, or for that matter cold, deli sandwiches. Also, the coleslaws and potato salads are probably not a good idea either. Some possible alternatives: hot sandwiches or a bagel and cream cheese … and get them from a high-end deli.

Craving for Tacos? Make it yourself.

A word on fast food. I do not normally eat fast food, but a sucker for some of them, especially tacos or hash browns. I think occasionally it’s okay: I am going to limit myself to maybe once a quarter. Surprisingly, since I’ve been eating fresh food and whole grains, I do not have any craving for fast food anymore, except for tacos and hash browns.

Limit dining out. I’ve noticed that every time I eat out, I gain at least two pounds. To make the food really-really yummy, most chefs season their food rather well. Most of the weight that I gain is from water retention and it impacts my blood pressure. Can you imagine what happens when I eat out all the time? My blood pressure can go through the roof. If you can limit dining out, you can give your body a chance to get rid of the excess water.

Again, Do have fun! As a former dialysis patient, I have memories of food restrictions and evaluating how many binders to take if you had some pizza. Yay! Gone are those days. So even if you do have restrictions, try new places and new types of food. As an example, for Oktoberfest, we found a German restaurant nearby that was just awesome. My husband said it was just like what his Dad made. They gave us gigantic portions: so my husband halved the entrée and still had a full meal, and with a to-go box!

The key is to enjoy your new life while still keeping safe. As an old saying goes - “Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.”


Final installment: Other important stuff.