How To Eat Paleo In Restaurants

When you’re trying to dine with friends and find something paleo in a restaurant it can seem overwhelming initially. I can assure you that with a few tricks and a bit of making simple requests you’ll find that it’s easier to eat paleo in a restaurant than you might think. There are 2 basic ingredients to look for: meat & vegetables. Even the sketchiest diner will have a version of these 2 things that you can order. Fancier places are a bit easier because their menu typically has better food quality to start with.

A Basic Paleo Meal You Can Find In Almost Any Restaurant: A Bun-less Burger & Side Salad

While this combo isn’t likely to blow up your skirt with excitement it is easy to find and relatively cheap. Paleo friendly burger toppings include: tomatoes, onions, mustard, mushrooms, peppers, guacamole, pineapple, etc. Ketchup most likely has corn syrup and mayonnaise is most likely made with vegetable oil. Five Guys and Carl’s Jr both make great lettuce wrapped burgers. The biggest thing you’ll have to watch out for is whether the beef has been mixed with a plant based fillers.

What about salad dressing? Unfortunately most restaurant salad dressings are primarily made of vegetable oil. If the dressing is made in house you might get lucky and discover it’s made with olive oil. You can also ask for oil and vinegar and then just add the vinegar and salt if you suspect it’s not olive oil.

Alternately you can carry some minioliva with you. I usually keep a few in my bag. (1 isn’t enough for me) They’re filled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. They’re pretty sturdy packages and I’ve never had one break open on me.

I buy them locally at Cost Plus World Market in a smaller package. The package I have only contains 12 packets whereas the one pictured on the left has 50.

Alternately you can carry a small container of your favorite paleo salad dressing in a container in your bag. I’ve seen posts online where people will take an entire bottle of Primal Kitchen in their purse. Since Mark Sisson created my Primal Health Coaching Certification & Primal Kitchen I can get you a discount. Use the code EATWITHJEN when you shop the Primal Kitchen website to save an extra 10%.

Keep It Simple: Meat + Veg

This is another easy combination to find. Beef, Chicken, Pork, or Fish and then add steamed vegetables, a baked potato with bacon and chives (butter if you do dairy), a plain sweet potato, side salad, asparagus, or broccoli. I listed the things that are pretty common but use your best judgement and don’t be afraid to ask if you’re not sure.

With a little bit of practice and learning where your go-to spots are I know you’ll find that eating low-carb/paleo in restaurants isn’t as difficult as you might think. I’ve been eating this way since 2014 and it’s become ingrained in what I do that it no longer feels like I’m doing something different. Just keep doing the best that you can as often as you can. If it’s not perfect don’t take it as a failure. Move along, learn, and make a different choice next time.

Getting Over Your Fears Of Asking

When I first began paleo I didn’t want to be “that person” who made the waitstaff’s life hell by asking too many questions. I’ve been a waitress and honestly I’d rather work on splitting atoms than waiting tables; it just wasn’t my thing. What I have since learned is that I’m typically asking for the kitchen staff to do fewer things. Skip the bun, hold the toppings, forget the dressing, etc. After awhile you’ll get the hang of it and you’ll discover that in today’s world where most people have food sensitivities no one really bats an eye. I will say however to recognize the difference between a busy Saturday night and a slow Tuesday. Try to keep your requests as minimal as you can in a busy restaurant.

If you can do butter (not technically paleo but it’s better than vegetable oil) ask for your food to be cooked in that instead. Another option is to go with grilled meats and ask about seasonings. Things that are steamed typically come out plain so there’s not much to change there.

Check For Hidden Restaurant Ingredients Online

More often than not most people assume that a piece of chicken is only a piece of chicken. These are the ingredients in grilled chicken at some popular fast food restaurants:

Chick Fil A – Grilled chicken: (boneless skinless chicken breast, water, apple cider vinegar, soybean oil, modified corn starch, salt, yeast extract, sugar, chicken breast meat, chicken broth, dehydrated onion, dehydrated garlic, sea salt, cane molasses, spices, chicken fat, natural flavor [including smoke], lemon peel, red bell pepper, paprika, lemon juice concentrate, parsley and vinegar solids)

Wendys – Grilled Chicken Breast: Chicken Breast, Water, Seasoning (Salt, Natural Flavors, Corn Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Spices, Dehydrated Garlic Powder, Dehydrated Onion Powder, Paprika, Gum Arabic, Yeast Extract, Canola Oil, Sodium Citrate, Sugar), Potato Starch, Carrageenan, Xanthan Gum, Soy Lecithin.

McDonalds – Grilled Chicken Fillet: Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast with Rib Meat, Water, Salt, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Honey, Onion Powder, Natural Flavor, Dried Vinegar, Rice Starch. Grilled with Clarified Butter (Pasteurized Milk [Butterfat]).

Underlined = likely gmo ingredients

Bold = sugar ingredients

I have to admit that I was surprised that the McDonald’s version is “cleaner” than the others. It’s not perfect or paleo but since they are usually one of the only restaurants on road trips it’s something to keep in mind. It just goes to show that sometimes you never know.

What Happens When You Visit A Restaurant Without Obvious Choices?

Pizza Restaurants

To be perfectly honest this is sometimes an occasion when I throw in the towel of trying to be perfect. It depends on the day and what I have coming up because I know that pizza doesn’t make me feel good. The grains in the dough make my joints hurt and I’ll likely wake up with a puffy face and a headache. The tomatoes will make me tired the next day… I know that nearly everyone loves pizza so this is one of those places where you have to weigh your long vs short term goals. In order for any eating strategy to last indefinitely it must be enjoyable. We all have to die with a smile, otherwise what’s the point of life? Maybe you’ll only have 1 slice and one of their salads or maybe you’ll come up with your own creation.

Many places will bake pizza toppings with sauce and cheese. A word of caution, many restaurants add sugar to their red sauces. Either check the ingredients online or ask your server which sauce has the least amount of sugar. If you’re not sure skip the sauce and add fresh tomatoes to the toppings you’re having baked. Let’s face it. Pizza dough by itself is pretty bland, the same is true for spaghetti. Why not skip to the flavorful stuff and avoid the wheat hangover?

What about gluten-free? For one, gluten is a lectin and all grains contain lectins so in my book there’s no such thing as gluten free. This is why grains, even if they’re “gluten free,” aren’t paleo. Also from personal experience, things that are gluten free hit me harder than if I’d eaten wheat. It’s interesting. I find that a thin crust wood-fired pizza messes with me the least.

Mexican Restaurants

Mexican dishes are typically a carbohydrate disaster and they’re definitely not paleo. So how do you eat paleo in a Mexican restaurant? Burrito fillings can be eaten without a tortilla, just ask for the insides bowl style and use your fork, be sure to ask for no beans, or rice. I’ve simply ordered carne asada or carnitas. Tell them to hold the tortillas and ask for sauteed veggies on the side.

Tacos can be wrapped in a leaf of lettuce instead of a tortilla. You can enjoy that salsa with sliced cucumbers or other sliced vegetables instead of the high carb chips.

One of the most healthy low carb options in an authentic Mexican joint is the shrimp cocktail or ceviche. Guacamole (sans the chips) is your healthy fat.

If you want more tips on how to eat low-carb/paleo in restaurants check out my Low Carb Dining Guide.

Originally posted on September 30, 2019 @ 13:17

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