Thank god for you, Pizza Express.

Lovely bloggers Lily and Michelle!

When I am on following a diet, I develop a bit of a dread about eating out. So few places make allowances for diet plans and so a meal out usually means going seriously off the rails. I usually don’t even track my WW points because I know that I’ve probably eaten about four billion without even realising it. Nightmare.

There are a couple of restaurants that I will try and steer people to though as I know that they are diet-friendly and Pizza Express is top of that list. I can’t think of any other major restaurant chain that makes as much effort towards healthy eating. The thing is, when you go to Pizza Express, you want to eat PIZZA, and they get that. Their Leggera range completely scratches the pizza itch without the guilt (and their salads are awesome, too).

Their supermarket range is incredible, too, and for the longest time it frustrated me as they didn’t seem to shout about it (they do now though). Many of their pizzas like the Sloppy Guiseppe and Pollo Ad Astra are 500-600 calories for the whole thing, which is perfectly reasonable for dinner – and that’s not even counting their reduced fat range.

So – BEST EVENT EVER. Pizza Express invited myself and a few other bloggers to visit their Holborn store and find out about their new menu. They talked a lot about their efforts towards healthy living, not just for adults but for families as well (they do a lot of work with schools, teaching children about using fresh, healthy ingredients).

Then, awesomely, we got to make pizza. And not just adding toppings – we got to throw dough around and all sorts! So much fun.

Once we’d finished our masterpieces, they were taken away and popped in the oven before we all sat down for a lovely pizza dinner. As well as our own personalised pizzas, there were huge portions of the new Superfood Salad out which I am now a bit obsessed with (I even got it as takeaway for lunch the other day!). I always prefer not to order salad when I go out for dinner but now I can’t wait for my work lunch at Pizza Express next week because I need that salad in my life again!

This was a fantastic event, and I learnt a lot too. It completely backed up everything I’ve been banging on about for years about how great Pizza Express are (seriously, go back and read my early posts!) and it was so much fun. I know it probably sounds like I’m being sponsored by Pizza Express, but I promise I’m not – I genuinely think they’re amazing for considering healthy eating without compromising on taste. Even if you’re NOT on a diet, their pizzas are so much better for you than anyone else’s – and cutting down on your fat isn’t a bad thing for anyone to do. I love you, Pizza Express!

How stay on track on special occasions

I've been following the Weight Watchers plan for over two years now and I have come to the conclusion that you should never pass up a night of great food, wine and fun because you are afraid of going over your ProPoints allowance. I'm no stranger to a cocktail on the weekend and going for coffee and cake with friends but I still manage to stay within my budget. You can diet and have a social life, you just need to get the balance right.

Here are some of my top tips for eating out and staying on track:

• Check the ProPoints values of what’s on offer before you eat out and make wise decisions. Plan this into your budget, order first so you aren't swayed by other peoples choices and you will see a good result at the scales. The Weight Watchers site has plenty of information about what foods have low points but you can also use an Eating Out guide (I keep a copy in my handbag) or you can use the app if your meal out is unplanned and want to know the ProPoints in a hurry.
  
• If you think you are be in danger of going over your daily ProPoints budget you could have a light lunch, maybe a zero point vegetable soup or do some exercise to earn activity points.
   
• Don’t eat the bread/olives/popadoms before the main course arrives – they’re just extra calories that you don’t need.
  
  
• Don’t be afraid to tell the waiter or waitress that you would like your vegetables served without butter or your salad without dressing. Restaurant should be able to adapt meals to your requirements.
  
  
  Remember, if you are following the Weight Watchers plan then you have a weekly ProPoints budget of 49 so stop worrying, blow the lot on cocktails and enjoy yourself ;)

Diet Friendly Restaurants - Tibits, London.

There are few phrases that strike fear into the heart of someone in their first week of a diet than 'Let's grab a bite to eat!' Let's face it, the majority of eateries out there are calorific. Or, the only low fat option is a plate of leaves and a little bit of meat, which doesn't do a great job of soaking up half a bottle of white wine.

I asked on Twitter for recommendations for somewhere healthyish to go in London last weekend with a friend, and Harriet suggested Tibits, off Regent Street. It was an EXCELLENT suggestion.

Tibits is, essentially, a big salad bar. There's a huge selection of dishes - all vegetarian - mostly cold, but some hot, and most of it is really healthy, too (I must confess a couple of beer battered onion rings found their way onto my plate). It's measured by weight, so you take what you fancy from the buffet and then take your plate to get weighed and pay. If you want to try a bit of everything, you're looking at around £10-15 a plate, but you can take as little or as much as you want. Here's my plate:





The selection is huge - but my favourites were the butternut squash, green beans, the quinoa and the falafel. Oooh, and the red pepper houmous. And the goats cheese foccacia! My companion also said the curry was excellent.

I can't recommend it enough - it's so rare to find something healthy, filling and yummy and Tibits was all of those things. It's also fast and - crucially for a buffet - fresh, with the dishes replaced regularly, which so many places don't bother with! If you're in London for the day, I highly recommend. They also do takeaway - if I worked nearby I think I'd be in there every lunchtime!

I'm thinking of making Diet Friendly Restaurants a regular feature - I have a few in mind but if you can think of any please do make recommendations in the comments!