Is family enjoying one too many restaurant meals?

Eating in Restaurants

With many of us so busy during the day, a meal out in a restaurant can be a welcome relief. It’s an opportunity to sit down and really relax as a family, especially since mom and dad don’t have to concern themselves with food shopping and preparing plus clean up. But while restaurant meals can be a welcome reprieve, eating out often can wreak havoc with your family’s nutritional health says Vanita Pais, Dietitian at the Hospital for Sick Children. “Restaurant meals, the less you have, the better. If once a week is something practical for you, I would say do it, but once in two weeks is practical for you, that would be better. If you do end up going to a restaurant, lots of places do have nutrition tables now available. So looking at the distribution of sodium and other things that we don’t want too much of, we can use that to compare and make better choices. ”

The Parent Report’s guest expert is Vanita Pais, Dietitian at the Hospital for Sick Children.