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DASH diet: Top 5 tips for dining out

Excess fat and salt and oversized portions when dining out can sabotage your DASH diet. Here are five tips from appetizers to desserts to get around those obstacles.

By Mayo Clinic staff

You're following the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet to control your blood pressure. You've mastered healthier cooking techniques at home, maybe even discovered some new favorite recipes. But if you'd love a night off from kitchen duty, you can dine out and still follow the DASH diet.

Moderation and sensibility are keys to success with the DASH diet. Here's how to dine out while remaining true to your goals. With these tips in mind, you can even eat at fast-food restaurants without derailing your diet.

1. Cut back on saturated fat and cholesterol

The DASH diet promotes foods that are low in saturated fat and cholesterol. You can cut back on the bad fats while maintaining taste, variety and even enjoyment.

Here are a few simple ways to cut down on saturated fats when you're dining out while sticking to the DASH diet:

  • Ask that your food be prepared with olive oil, rather than butter or fat.
  • Request low-fat salad dressing, on the side.
  • Skip the bread and rolls — or at least skip the butter.
  • Trim visible fat off meat and poultry. Eat only a portion that's about the size of a deck of cards, since even very lean meat and poultry still contain fat.
  • Select foods prepared with healthier cooking techniques, such as steaming, grilling, broiling, baking, roasting, poaching or stir-frying.

2. Be on the lookout for hidden salt

Another key feature to the success of the DASH diet in controlling your blood pressure is cutting back on salt. Because salt often enhances flavor, it's often used a lot in restaurants.

Still, you can take steps to control salt when you're dining out and following the DASH diet. Just remember to:

  • Ask that your food be prepared without added salt, MSG or salt-containing ingredients.
  • Be alert for ingredients, cooking styles and labels that indicate a dish may be high in salt, such as pickled, cured, smoked, soy sauce and broth.
  • Remove the saltshaker from your table, or at least, put it out of easy reach.
  • Limit condiments such as mustard, ketchup, pickles and sauces that are high in salt.
  • Opt for fruits and vegetables instead of salty appetizers or snack foods.
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References
  1. Your guide to lowering blood pressure with DASH. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf. Accessed June 3, 2009.
  2. Healthier eating with DASH. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/prevent/h_eating/h_e_dash.htm. Accessed June 3, 2009.
  3. Tips on how to make healthier meals. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/prevent/h_eating/tips.htm. Accessed June 3, 2009.
  4. A word about fats. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/prevent/h_eating/fats.htm. Accessed June 3, 2009.
  5. Sheps SG, ed. Mayo Clinic 5 Steps to Controlling High Blood Pressure. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2008.
  6. Tip sheet: Eating healthy when dining out. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/dine_out.htm. Accessed June 3, 2009.
  7. Healthy eating on the run: A month of tips. American Dietetic Association. http://www.eatright.org/ada/files/Healthy_Eating_on_the_Run.pdf. Accessed June 3, 2009.

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July 18, 2009

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