Let it be known, I am not a nutritionist by any means. I have gained my knowledge of healthy menu choices at restaurants, because I simply take the time to read nutritional guides, and ask the questions that need to be asked. “Is that cooked in oil or water?” “Is the grilled chicken basted with any sauce before it’s grilled?”

So that being said, (and I’m doing this in my best game show voice) it’s time for a multiple choice questiooonnnn!

Does your favorite restaurant have a nutritional guide for their menu available at your discretion?

a) Yes! They do, I have read it.

b) No, and I’m bummed about that.

c) I have absolutely no idea, I’ve never bothered asking.

Ask!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking to see the nutritional guide at your favorite restaurant. If you want your family to be eating healthy on the go, that means that someone (probably you, Mom) being knowledgeable about calories, fats, sugars, sodium, carbohydrates, protein intake, and much more.

Legally, every menu item that is listed on the menu, is supposed to be available for viewing on the nutritional guide. This way, restaurants are covering their own tooshies, from the sometimes “too-regular-guest-who-eats-pasta-smothered-in-cheese-and-cream-sauce-5-days-a-week-and-drink-4-pop-at-the-same-time”, who may realize that their pants don’t fit anymore. Kids are in the same boat. They are creatures of habit and want what they have every time they go to that restaurant, because they associate good times with their food.

So, be smart Mom & Dad, and next time you’re in your favorite restaurant, and you see that smiling face across the table, take the extra 5 minutes and skim over the restaurant’s nutritional guide. It may save you years of reversing poor eating habits!

Happy & healthy eating!

Leslie

Follow @leslielscott on Twitter and visit her personal blog entitled “The Life of Leslie” for adventures of a 20-something woman aspiring to be something amazing http://leslielscott.blogspot.com/