Work dinner with limited food choices!

Often times, I have to do a work dinner where I’m basically told to meet at a particular restaurant which is okay, not ideal but it makes it hard to determine what to eat and how to eat while there. I mean at a pizza place, no matter if it is flatbread or regular style, pizza is pizza and rarely ever healthy! So what should one do?

My hacks for dealing with something like this is that once you know the name of the restaurant, try to look at the menu online. Search on Google or Yelp as that’s not only a good indicator of their menu selection but also whether others are enjoying the place. Once you have the menu at hand, try to figure out is there a way to modify what you can eat. Can you substitute, beans for chicken to up your protein, for example. Or maybe, you can ask for a burger without the buns or on a lettuce wrap?

What if you are back at the pizza place and all your choices are pizza only? Well, that’s a tough one. If you are in a group environment and sharing pizza, then limit the slices you have and drink water in between slices to feel more full. If you are able to order individually, then go with the smallest pizza you can get, lucky you if there is a personal pan size, and eat only what you are comfortable eating. You never have to over-indulge at any point. Yes, I too am raised to finish and clean up my plate but sometimes taking home leftovers is the best option.

Work dinners happen and sometimes you don’t have a choice as to what you can eat but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the best of what’s available and still have a successful meeting!