Low Calorie Brunch Guide | 5 Tips for Weight Loss at Brunch
By Courtney McMahan, RD
Brunch is a notoriously high calorie meal: sugary pastries, bottomless mimosas, pancakes drenched in syrup, and piles of home fries aren’t exactly the components of a nutritious meal.
But is there a way to go out for brunch and not go completely off the rails with your diet? Let’s look at some tips you can use to healthify your next weekend brunch.
Pick your protein
Many brunch menu options like pastries or pancakes will pack on large amounts of refined carbs and added sugar. Instead, opt for high protein choices like eggs, turkey bacon, smoked salmon, omelets, and frittatas. For extra protein, you can also exchange half of the whole eggs in your omelet or scramble for egg whites or exchange pork bacon or sausage for chicken or turkey. Try to fill one fourth of your plate with protein.
Up the fiber
In addition to feeding our healthy gut bacteria and keeping us regular, fiber helps us feel full and satisfied so that we don’t eat past fullness. Here are some ways to increase fiber at brunch: opt for whole grain bread for your toast, french toast, or sandwich; choose fresh fruit as a side; have oatmeal with berries; opt for an omelet loaded with veggies; or get a fresh side salad or another vegetable side.
Ask for sauces and butter on the side
Sauces and butter are one of the easiest places to wrack up extra calories at brunch. For example, a typical order of eggs benedict comes with four tablespoons of hollandaise sauce, which is 320 calories for the sauce alone! If you ask for it on the side and only use half, you could save yourself 160 calories. Same goes for butter; at 100 calories per tablespoon, you could save hundreds of calories by getting it on the side.
Watch the alcohol
For many, mimosas and bloody marys are brunch staples. And, while enjoying a few drinks won’t tank your calorie deficit for the week, research has shown that alcohol stimulates appetite and causes us to eat more than we would have sober.
When surrounded by all the decadent brunch food options, it is good to limit alcohol intake, or perhaps forgo it entirely.
Check out the menu in advance
As with any time we eat out at a restaurant, it's a good idea to check out the brunch menu ahead of time so you can decide on what you’d like to have. Planning in advance will allow you to choose what items you’d like to try and figure out how to make those fit into your nutritional goals. That way, you won’t be forced to make any spur of the moment decisions when it's your turn to order.