Eating healthily out in Gràcia: what to order and where to go

Can you eat healthily when eating out?

Yes, and it depends mainly on the portion and the side dish. A study of more than 13.000 main courses from UK chains found an average of about 980 kcal per dish [1]. Only 9 % contained 600 kcal or less, and almost half contained 1.000 kcal or more [1]. Sit-down restaurants served dishes with more energy than fast-food restaurants [1].

It is a study of chains in the United Kingdom. Even so, the pattern is the same as what people who eat out every day tell us in consultations: a large plate, a fried side dish, and bread and dessert included.

The World Health Organization recommends at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day and less than 5 g of salt [2]. Eating out often means falling short on the first and going over on the second. That is why the advice for eating out can be summed up as more vegetables on the plate and less fried food and sauce.

How to put together your plate when eating out

Think of a divided plate. Half should be vegetables; one quarter, protein such as fish, lean meat, eggs or pulses; and one quarter, carbohydrates such as rice, potatoes, pasta or bread. Use olive oil for cooking and dressing, and drink water.

It does not all have to be on the same plate.

With a set-price daily menu, the first and second courses together make up your plate, and half of it should be vegetables.

A meal that fits the advice is a salad for the first course and oven-baked hake with potatoes for the second. One that does not is macaroni for the first course and breaded escalope with chips for the second. That is two carbohydrate-based dishes, one of them fried, and no vegetables. One day does not matter. If that is your everyday menu, there are too few vegetables and too many fried foods.

The set-price daily menu usually offers two useful options as well: pulses and fish. The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition recommends at least four servings of pulses a week and three or more servings of fish [3]. A first course of lentils or a second course of grilled fish is the easiest way to include them without cooking.

What should you order from a set-price daily menu?

For the first course, choose something with vegetables or pulses, such as salad, escalivada, vegetable soup, mixed vegetables, lentils or chickpeas. If all the first courses are pasta or rice, choose the one with the most vegetables and make sure the second course includes some.

For the second course, choose something grilled, baked or stewed, and pay attention to the side dish. Asking to swap chips for salad or vegetables is normal, and most places will do it without a problem. If the sauce comes on top, ask for it on the side.

Have one serving of bread; if the first course was already pulses or pasta, you can skip it without missing it. For dessert, choose fruit or yoghurt, and if you fancy the house dessert, share it. Drink water. Wine or beer is better saved for a celebratory meal than included in your everyday menu.

If you go out for tapas or have dinner out at the weekend

Tapas have a bad reputation, but they do not deserve it if you choose thoughtfully. The trick is to share and order in rounds. Start with vegetable and seafood dishes, and then, if you are still hungry, have something else.

Good options include escalivada, Padrón peppers, octopus, mussels, anchovies in vinegar, Spanish omelette or bread with tomato. At a Syrian or Greek restaurant, try hummus with crudités or a salad with feta cheese.

You do not have to avoid patatas bravas, croquettes or battered squid. Just order one portion for the table rather than one per person. The next day, eat as usual.

If you bring a packed lunch or buy takeaway food every day

If you eat at work, the most practical approach is usually to mix things up. Some days, bring a packed lunch from home; on others, buy food from somewhere that serves stews or vegetable dishes. Cooked pulses, a vegetable soup or a homemade dish of the day make a better lunch than a sandwich eaten standing up.

So your packed lunch does not depend on how you feel each evening, cook for two hours on Sunday and you will be set through Thursday. We explain this in our guide to batch cooking and organising your packed lunches for the week. The healthy weekly menu that is easy to prepare gives you seven days of meals and a shopping list. If you also want to lose weight, the weight-loss diet guide explains how to do so without going hungry or putting the weight back on afterwards.

What mistakes do we see in consultations?

Two things we often hear in consultations are “I’m eating out today, so it doesn’t matter” and “I’ll just have a salad and hold out until dinner”. Both often lead to a bigger-than-planned snack or dinner.

• Choosing the lightest option and still being hungry. A plain green salad will not keep you going until mid-afternoon. Add pulses, egg or tuna, or have it with a protein-based second course.
• Treating every meal out as an exception. If you eat out four days a week, the set-price daily menu is your usual diet. It deserves the same care as food at home.
• Writing off the day because of one dish. A second course with chips in a menu that includes vegetables is absolutely fine. What adds up is then having a soft drink, the whole loaf of bread and a sweet dessert “because it doesn’t matter now”.

Where can you eat well in the Gràcia neighbourhood?

One of our clinics is in Gràcia, and these are local places we know that make this way of eating easy. They serve pulses, vegetables, home cooking or plant-based dishes. This is not advertising or a review, and menus and opening hours change, so check before you go.

Takeaway or a quick meal

• Llegums cuits Bonavista (carrer de Bonavista, 27). A family-run business selling cooked pulses, with rice, quinoa, vegetables and stews to take away. It sorts out the first course of the week in five minutes.
• Descuina’t (plaça de la Revolució de Setembre de 1868, 15). Vegan takeaway food, with dishes that change every week, such as stews, soups, mixed vegetables and vegetable omelettes.
• La Botiga Griega (carrer del Torrent de l’Olla, 123). A shop selling Greek products and homemade takeaway dishes such as hummus, tzatziki and spinach pie.

Home cooking and vegetarian or vegan menus

• Les Tres a la Cuina (carrer de Sant Lluís, 35). Home cooking with daily dishes that change every day, for eating in or taking away.
• Café Floh (carrer de Verdi, 79). A vegetarian café and restaurant with a weekday menu and vegan options.
• La Perra Verde (carrer del Torrent de l’Olla, 12). A vegan tapas bar, more suited to a weekend dinner than every day. Sharing and ordering in rounds works here too.

Gluten-free

• GUT (carrer del Perill, 13). Mediterranean food with gluten-free and vegan dishes.

If you have coeliac disease, always ask how they prevent cross-contamination. A dish being gluten-free does not guarantee it has not come into contact with gluten.

A short walk from the neighbourhood

• Messié (carrer de Muntaner, 109, in l’Antiga Esquerra de l’Eixample). Pasta and pizza, with a fully gluten-free menu.
• MAAI (carrer de Regàs, 30, in Sant Gervasi, next to Gràcia). Food with gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options.