Overview

I needed to lose weight for health reasons. (Don't we all?) In that I work in an office and frequently eat out, I needed to find places that served healthy meals. The problem is that while there are a few "heath food" restaurants and grocery stores, they are few and far between. Furthermore, many so-called health foods are expensive, lacking in flavor, and ironically not all that healthy.

I found that the best approach to eating well in restaurants is to simply continue going to your usual restaurants but to make better choices when selecting your food.  Of course, making better choices means making informed choices which requires research.  The articles in this blog are notes from my research on the places and eats in the Bay Area or more specifically, Mountain View.  I hope that these notes can be a benefit to you.  I also welcome your suggestions and recommendations.

Indian Food

Indian food works very well for a diet.  Indian food, particularly south Indian food, is mostly vegetarian, so it is low in calories and fat and high in fiber and protein.  In practice, most Indian restaurants serve reasonable portions of food unlike many Mexican or Chinese restaurants.  This is especially important to those of us who have an ingrained need to clear our plates.

Most Indian dishes are flavorful.  Some are spicy hot but usually can be ordered with less heat if that is your preference.

The best Indian foods for the diet are those that have lentils known as dal in Hindi.  Besides being nutritious, foods with dal are filling.  (Tip: drink a glass of water before, during and after a meal with dal to really fill up.)

As with any other types of food, avoid dishes with fried foods and cream sauces.  Most Indian restaurants are fairly good at labeling their dishes especially those that contain meat.  However, they are not very good at identifying which ones contain paneer (cheese), butter, or cream, so vegans be aware.  You can ask your waiter or counter person about what their dishes contain.  Most servers are helpful but language and thick accents can be a problem, so it is best to do some research in advance.

See the Wikipedia article about Indian Food for more detail.

Indian to English Decoder

In French, oeuf means egg, cheese is fromage...
it's like those French have a different word for everything.
- Steve Martin

Likewise, Indians have an Indian (Hindi) word for everything.  The following are some words that are good to know along with some commentary.  Click on the words to see the Wikipedia descriptions.

Aloo - potato

Gobi - cauliflower

Masala - a mixture of spices.  Example: vegetable masala is a mixture of vegetables and various spices.  Usually a bit on the spicy (hot) side.

Naan - leavened, oven-baked flatbread somewhat like pita bread that is made in a tandoor (oven).  Usually folded and used to scoop up food include of a spoon.  About 100-150 calories per quarter slice.  Also see Roti.

Paneer - Cheese, usually served cut into cubes and served as part of another dish such as saag paneer.

Roti - an unleavened flatbread made from atta flour.  Typically around 50-100 calories with 1-2 grams fat and 3 grams protein.

Saag - A cooked spinach and mustard leaf based curry dish. Sometimes made with panaar (cheese)

Resturants

The following restaurants are generally good or at least have one dish of note.  By good, I mean low calorie, low fat, high fiber, and tasty.