Never order fish on Monday

Even the best cooks like to dine in a restaurant occasionally—it’s a break from cooking, a chance to experience new tastes (and maybe pick up some new ideas), and it’s fun to have someone else plate your food. But chefs caution there are several things to remember not to order or eat. Herewith just a few. Some have to do with weight control, others with hygiene and food safety.

For the sake of your waistline, do not order those “endless” or “all you can eat dishes. For instance, chips and salsa that is constantly replenished. As you sit and visit, waiting for your food, you almost unconsciously keep nibbling on what’s in front of you. Before you know it, you’ve consumed so many chips you’ve compromised your appetite for the meal. And those fried chips are not innocent—they have probably been fried in trans fats. The same is true for bread with olive oil dipping sauce, although in this case, it’s the oil and not the bread that you should suspect. Olive oil may be heart-healthy, but it has more calories than butter. And then there’s endless pasta—your bowl will be refilled as many times as you want. The thing is most restaurants serve huge portions of noodles to begin with, so if you ask for more, you’re eating two meals.

The same is true for entrée salads. Restaurants load them with lots of dressing (learn to ask for it on the side) and toppings that are high in calories—cheese, bacon, croutons, etc. So that salad you thought would be healthy, may end up with more calories than a Big Mac. Salads to watch are Cobb, taco, and crispy chicken—where the chicken is fried.

Speaking of a Big Mac, it’s best to avoid all fast food, no exceptions. That burger, fries and a shake can end up well over a thousand calories, too much of it from trans fat. Also to avoid trans fats, which can raise cholesterol levels and promote heart disease, avoid fried foods—that chicken-fried steak you love, fried chicken, French fries. It’s hard but you can do it.

Avoid creamy soups. Many have as much as 500 calories per bowl and filling enough to be a main dish. If you want soup before your meal, stick to clear broth. Watch out for soup of the day or house soup—it’s often a mishmash of leftovers.

Restaurant deserts have hidden dangers too. They are usually loaded with fruit, artificial sweeteners, and lots of plain old sugar.

Switching to hygienic hazards, you know those lemons and limes you like to add to your water or tea? Don’t do it. They are big germ carriers, either because your wait person doesn’t use tongs and gloves to transfer them from container to your glass or even because you yourself squeeze them, letting the juice run over your hands (when did you last wash your hands?)

Unless you’re going straight home to the refrigerator, don’t ask for a to-go box or doggie bag. Food left at room temperature for two hours is considered a hazard. For the same reason, avoid buffets—those dishes may be set out piping hot but over time they cool to room temperature and ou can’t be sure how often they are rewarmed. Also buffets present the situation of many hands dipping into a common bowl—a huge opportunity for transferring germs.

Some dishes that may carry food-borne illnesses—those sprouts in your sandwich, raw oysters, certain fish, ground meat such as medium-rare hamburgers. Avoid Hollandaise sauce—it is difficult to make, so chefs make it in large batches—what you get on your Eggs Benedict may have been sitting out for hours. Order bottled water instead of tap water, avoid ketchup in the bottle (chefs tend to combine half-full bottles at the end of the day), and bread baskets—if you think they don’t go from table to table you’re wrong.

All this is enough to scare you off restaurant trips forever, but it shouldn’t. Exercise caution and common sense. And never order fish on Monday—the markets are closed, so that fish has sat all weekend.

I like to leave with something positive, so here’s an easy good chicken recipes I’ve just discovered

Chicken Caesar salad

Ingredients

Chicken tenders

1 cup bottled Caesar dressing

1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan

Parsley (optional)

Romaine lettuce

Directions:

Pound chicken tenders if too thick. Mix Parmesan into dressing and combine. If using parsley, stir in 2 Tbsp. chopped. Coat both sides of each piece of chicken. Broil until chicken is cooked through—it should brown slightly. Spread lettuce into soup plate or dinner plate; top with chicken pieces. Add more dressing if necessary. Add croutons if you wish.

Serve to family raves!