Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I had to attend an event the other night and of course the first thing that flashed through my head was "Hmm what am I going to be able to eat there?"  Once I arrived the menus were already in front of us so I immediately picked it up to have a look at what my options were.  Of course the event was held at a little Italian restaurant that had delicious pasta on the menu!  Oh and while you look over your menu they bring out fresh baked bread with dipping oil.  I put an end to that real quick...I asked everyone around me if they wanted a piece, then placed it far out of my sight.

As I drooled over the menu looking at items like Apple Ravioli, Crab Cakes and Stuffed Zucchini, I finally settled on Grilled Chicken Salad...hold the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan ranch dressing please.  It got me thinking, why on earth do restaurants drown yummy just-as-they-are-veggies with garbage.  Deliciously bad for you garbage, but no less garbage.  Really do granny smith apples need to be stuffed inside a jumbo cheese ravioli then smothered with sage butter sauce?  Or how about zucchini stuffed with provolone cheese and prosciutto then fried!  It's no wonder we have such a problem with weight in America.  Look how places are preparing our food.  Not to mention, most people actually look at those options as healthy because they have the words granny smith apple or zucchini in it.  "Well it says it has apple, so it must be good for you." Give me a break! Now, I'm not saying items such as these don't taste great, trust me...they taste great!  But if you are looking to be as healthy as you can be and once this purification program is over stay on track with your newly formed eating habits, then you must exercise caution when going out to eat!  Most people go around thinking "Well it's just this one time" or "Well I can't make this at home" or "It's a special occasion, why can't I have this?".  I'm not here to tell you what you can and can't have.  I just know from experience once you start introducing those unhealthy habits back into your life...then tend to sneak their way back in then stay there until you kick them out again.  And again starts the vicious cycle. 

Did I want something other than grilled chicken salad hold the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan ranch dressing please? Yes of course, but do you know how much better I felt about myself the next morning being able to resist that temptation and conquer my habit of "Well it's just this one time"....I FELT AWESOME!  And so can you! We were made for more than giving in to temptations and filling ourselves with bad food choices when we're having a rough day or driving into a carton of ice cream because our family was getting on our case.  So next time your out at a restaurant, look over your choices (remember you can alter them...you can say hold the cheese and croutons!) and select something that when you wake up in the morning you won't be saying "Why on earth did I chose that?"