Eating Out Healthy: High-Protein Orders Anywhere

Eating out does not have to derail your goals. Pick where you are eating, your goal and your diet, and get 3 to 5 high-protein orders with approximate protein and calories, simple requests to make, what to go easy on and a drinks tip. Works for 17 kinds of restaurant, from Italian and Indian to airports and pubs.

Four rules that work at any restaurant

1. Protein first

Build the meal around a protein: meat, fish, eggs, tofu, beans or dairy. Around 20 to 40 g per meal suits most men, towards the top end if you are bigger or over 40.

Source: ISSN protein position stand

2. Use the plate method

Half the plate vegetables (and fruit), a quarter protein, a quarter grains or potatoes. You will rarely get it exactly; just steer the order that way.

Source: Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, NHS Eatwell Guide

3. Know your portions

Restaurant portions are often larger than what you serve at home. 85 g (3 oz) of cooked meat is about the size of a deck of cards. Decide how much you want, then share or box the rest.

4. Be smart with alcohol

UK advice is no more than 14 units a week, spread over 3 or more days; Australia says no more than 10 standard drinks a week and 4 in a day. A pint of regular beer is about 250 kcal and a 175 ml glass of wine about 150 kcal.

Source: NHS, NHMRC, USDA FoodData Central

1. Where are you eating?
2. Your goal
3. Your diet
Pick where you are eating above to see your best orders.

Best high-protein orders

    Smart swaps and requests

      Go easy on

        Drinks:
        If you only remember one thing

        All protein and calorie figures are approximate ranges for a typical restaurant portion, built from USDA FoodData Central entries. Recipes, cooking oil and portion sizes vary a lot between restaurants.

        How this eating-out guide works

        For each type of restaurant we picked common dishes that are easy to find on menus worldwide and give a good amount of protein. You choose your goal and your diet, and the guide sorts the orders: for fat loss, the leaner options come first; for building muscle, the most protein-dense options come first; for just eating well, a balanced mix. Vegetarian and vegan settings only show dishes without meat or fish (and, for vegan, without eggs or dairy).

        The protein and calorie ranges are estimates. We built each dish from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) values, using its restaurant-dish entries where they exist (for example Chinese stir-fries, chili, pizza, lasagna and Latin American plates) and typical ingredient weights for the rest (for example cooked chicken breast, rice, beans, tofu and olive oil). Paneer values come from the Indian Food Composition Tables. The low end of each range is a smaller restaurant portion and the high end a larger one, rounded to the nearest 5 g of protein and 50 kcal. Treat them as a guide to compare options, not as exact counts.

        Five habits that make eating out easy

        • Look at the menu before you go. Deciding at home is easier than deciding when you are hungry and the bread has arrived.
        • Order protein first, then add sides. If you know your daily target from the protein calculator, a restaurant meal can cover a third or more of it.
        • Ask. “Sauce on the side”, “double vegetables instead of fries” and “can you grill it instead?” are normal requests in most restaurants.
        • Eat slowly and stop when satisfied. You can always take the rest home.
        • Think in weeks, not meals. One big dinner does not undo a good week. Plan your other meals with the calorie calculator and get back to normal at the next meal.

        Read more: high-protein foods, how to lose fat and keep muscle after 35, protein after 35 and plant-based eating for men.

        Sources

        1. USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy): restaurant-dish and ingredient nutrient values
        2. Longvah et al. (2017), Indian Food Composition Tables, National Institute of Nutrition (paneer)
        3. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Healthy Eating Plate
        4. NHS: The Eatwell Guide
        5. Jäger et al. (2017), International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise
        6. NHS: alcohol units and the low-risk drinking guideline
        7. NHMRC: Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol
        8. World Health Organization (2023): no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health

        This guide gives general education, not medical advice. Values are approximate. If you have diabetes, kidney disease, food allergies, a heart condition or a history of disordered eating, or you take medication that interacts with alcohol, check with your doctor or a registered dietitian.

        More free tools: Protein calculator · Calorie calculator · Healthy food swaps · All tools