Whether one is a health freak or a food lover, we all love to dine out every once in a while. Gourmet food is a weakness for most of us. Perhaps a few of us may have conquered the harnesses, but we cannot deny that the urge to cheat rises up every once in a while, says Suresh Nanda. So, dining out and indulging into rich flavoursome savouries, is an unspoken dream, but is pushed aside due to health reasons. Besides this, if you are a frequent diner at eateries due to your nature of work, client meetings or reasons whatsoever, then too health would be a bugbear for you with every morsel you swallow. So, here are a few tips on how you can indulge in delicious flavours served at your favourite restaurant and still eat healthy.

€ A full course meal: Instead of just straight away devouring the main course, dine the English way with a full course meal. Ideally, the main course is the richest meal, so if you would advance through the starters and salads, you wouldn't be ravishingly hungry to fill yourself up with all those calories. Moreover, more healthy choices are available on the starters menu that can actually fill you with good things.

€Order Clear soups: While you chose your soup from the menu, remember that anything that says rich and creamy would be loaded with oodles of butter, instead go for clear soups and minstrels.

€Choose your starters wisely: Opting for fries and chips will not serve the purpose of having starters in the first place, instead chose things like light peppered salads, roasted nuts, and baked veggies.

€Keywords for the day are: Grilled, Roasted, Baked, Braised are the items that will appeal to your palate and are healthy as well. These may cut down on preparation oils thereby making room for rich flavoursome sauces.

€Avoid crispy labelling: Anything that is labelled crispy is deep fried in oodles of fat that is capable of sitting on your arteries. Moreover, they have high salt content which is a big no for high blood pressure patients.

€Skip the bread: For a change, rice recipes are healthier than restaurant breads, unless you get whole wheat alternative. A casserole with steamed rice and loads of veggies is healthier than buttered pita bread or cheese laden bagels.

€Ask for nutritional value: If it isn't already mentioned on the menu you can easily ask the waiting staff about healthier alternatives on their menu, and they would be happy to assist you.

€Stick to lean meat: Stick to leaner pieces of meat if you are a non-veggie. Processed fat should be a complete no.

€Kids menu: Last but not the least, stick to the kid's menu for any cheesy cravings that you have. The portions are smaller and more balanced, thereby limiting your consumption.

So, with these tips, enjoy a tempting yet healthy dinner.