When eating out, desserts and drinks can often be much higher in calories than what you’d have at home.
Healthier desserts and drinks
It's good to focus on having a healthy main meal, but it can be easy to overlook desserts and drinks. These are important to consider as part of your overall diet
Desserts
When eating out, you may feel encouraged to have a dessert because it’s on offer, or others are ordering one. If you do opt for something, here are some tips to consider:
- fruit is a healthy and refreshing option for dessert and another chance to get one of your 5 a day
- consider having a hot drink instead of dessert, such as unsweetened tea or coffee
- if you do choose to have dessert, you can ask for a smaller portion, save some for later, or offer to share
Drinks
These are often overlooked when it comes to eating healthy, but they can be full of sugar and sweeteners. This includes some fizzy drinks, fancy coffees with syrup and cream, and milkshakes.
No added sugar drinks, including those with sweeteners, can be a useful swap for full sugar drinks if you are trying to reduce your calorie intake. However, over time you may wish to reduce these, especially if you are drinking them frequently.
- drinking water along with a meal can help with digestion and keep you hydrated
- one small glass (150ml) of fruit juice can only count as one of your five a day, as it is high in sugar
- pasteurised low fat milk options (semi-skimmed, 1% milk) are a good choice for hot drinks
- if you have non-dairy alternative drinks such as almond or soy milk, picking a lower fat or sugar option, with added vitamins and minerals, is a healthier choice
- avoid adding flavoured syrups to drinks as these can by high in sugar or sweeteners
To minimise the health risks associated with drinking alcohol, the guidance is to have no more than 14 units per week.
One unit is the same as one small single measure of spirits. A 175ml glass of wine or a pint of standard strength lager or cider contains 2 units.
- swap alcoholic drinks for low or non-alcoholic ones
- if you do order alcohol, ask for smaller measures
- use unsweetened mixers such as soda water with a slice of fruit, rather than sugary drinks
- swap sugary alcoholic drinks such as liqueurs, alcopops and flavoured ciders or mixers for lower-sugar alternatives