Warning: this dish may cause back fat and cellulite

Having just returned from enjoying a delicious lunch at wagamama, I'm now pondering the merits of food outlets providing nutritional information about their dishes. I'm not a calorie counter, rather I try to eat instinctively based on my above-average knowledge of things diet and nutrition related.

For example, at wagamama I ordered the Spice Chicken Itame. It's chicken breast pieces, stir-fried with broccoli, onion, chilli and zucchini, a host of other flavouring and served with white rice. My rationale for choosing is thus: it contains good quality protein (lean chicken), vegies and a satisfying but not ridiculous serve of carbohyrdates. It's also not creamy and rich like the curried dishes on the menu, oh and it tastes really, really good. Like 'I crave it between visits' good.

Once I'd all but licked the bowl I could see it was lined with an oily residue. This reminded me that although instictive eating can achieve much, unless I prepare a meal myself there is no way of actually knowing what it contains. A colleage of mine once interviewed food critic Matthew Evans (now food columnist at Grazia), who explained that most restaurant food is laced with hidden butter and other fat like duck or goose fat. I bet two thirds of a chef's gruelling apprenticeship is spent learning how to skillfully hide it.

I saw this first hand on Sunday while lunching at the Pasta & Panini bar at David Jones Food Hall. It's a sit-at-the-counter affair, where you watch while the cook finishes off the semi-prepared food in front of you. I was virtually mid 'I'll have the pumpkin risotto...' when I caught another customer's being prepared on the hot plate. My best homecook-estimate puts the butter added at 50g. I ordered spaghetti Bolognese.

Despite these experiences, I don't advocate plastering menus with nutritional information. On my recent trip to the US I had the misfortune of eating McDonald's at LAX. Once I'd polished off my faux-healthy grilled chicken wrap (and er, fries), I spotted the tray mat staring back at me with nutritional info for the entire menu. Not much to good to me after the fact, except to make me feel even more disgusting and guilty about what I had eaten. And I venture that for the fast food frequenters who this is designed to empower, it would do little to deter the next impulsive visit.

At the risk of sounding like a Duggar, the answer is we should prepare more of our own food. If we cooked food for ourselves more often, the occasional meal out doesn't need to be overscrutnised. Apart from being better for the budget and waistline, there are broader arguments about cooking in the home being positive enviromentally, socially and mentally. I'm talking about the financial crisis-induced revolution against consumerism, 80-hour working weeks and the disconnected life. It's about nutritional education, not information.

I'll step back from broader arguments now and return to regular hilarious* programming. So wagamama lunch tasted great, I enjoyed my DJs spag bol despite not knowing about its potential hidden fat and I'll try as much as possible to eat in so I can enjoy these meals on a regular (but not too regular) basis.

*According to a survey of me. And my boyfriend.

Three stirkes and you're out?

I've eaten THREE 3-course meals over the last THREE days. It's the dieters' triple threat, not to mention the worst nightmare for someone who has a problem saying words beginning in 'th' (which technically would also be correct as the meals were all 'free', too).

Why? I spent two days at Shellharbour on the NSW South Coast on a press trip. Supposedly was about testing out a bush walk to review for my readers, to inspire them to be fit and healthy, but mostly all I did was eat.

After a rough audit of my food choices during this trip (and the third meal at a launch in Sydney. Yet another 3-course meal with matching wines. Yawn – it's a tough life), I'd say I had a 51/49 strike rate – I manage to the right things most of the time... but only just.

I forgo afternoon snacks (tick)
But tend to get carried away with the bread (strike)
The bread at restuarants is so yummy, often some sort of sourdough, triple ground with ancient stones by blonde virgins, (or something similar but which fits on the menu better). It's also served with real butter softened with time and care, rather than a cocktail of chemicals. Having not eaten since lunch in preparation, I'm so low on blood sugar I fail to make the rational assesment of the further three mini-meals I'm about to eat and add a fourth course of bread. The lesson: One piece of bread is enough. You won't go hungry – trust me.

I skip the side sauce (tick)
But inhale every last chip in sight of my plate (strike)
I've posted previously about the devil in the sauce. Or the gravy. Or whatever-the-fancy-French name they've given to their leftover pan juices. I deemed the grain-fed porterhouse was tasty enough without the piped rosette of herbed butter (diet hero) but just can't seem to say no to potato side (loser). I sit in quiet awe of the sentence 'Can I have it with salad instead of the fries' but to date have never been able to utter it. The (not very helpful to your diet) lesson: Chips taste good and are hard to resist.

I drink lots of water (tick)
But it's mostly to rehydrate from the wine (strike)
Food and wine belong together like, er, Madge and Guy don't. There's nothing to really add here except to say that I'm going to try really hard to have two alcohol days in the near furture to make up for it. Hopefully within the next week. The lesson: Wine will not be your best friend in the morning.

I order tea not coffee or hot chocolate (tick)
But don't bother asking for skim milk (strike)
It might seem extreme to be obsessing over a quick flick of the wrist with the milk jug, but as I'd probably consumed 12,000 calories in the previous 3 courses, I need to save calories when I can. The lesson: Add one word – skim – to your order.

To summarise, even at the risk of sounding like I'm jumping on someone else's snappy diet dictum, the French eat 3-course meals pretty much every day and they don't get fat. It involves a complex set of lifestyle choices and I reckon switching to skim milk with my tea and eating fries (duh, they're French) might be a couple of them.