General Guidelines to Dining Lean
By Catherine Kruppa, MS, RD, LD

Preparation:
o Do not starve yourself all day.
o Choose restaurants with a varied menu.
o Decide ahead of time what you will order.
o Do not hesitate to ask how foods on the menu are prepared.

Proximity Can Be a Problem
o Stay away from all you can eat buffets.
o Have bread, chips and butter removed from the table or at least away from you to avoid temptation.
o Ask that food you don't want be left off the plate.
o Ask the server not to bring the dessert cart to the table.

Portion Size
o Order the "luncheon" portion at dinner.
o Order 2 appetizers as your meal.
o Share an order with another person.
o Measure food at home so you will be familiar with the portion sizes.

Menu Terminology
o Leaner ways to cook meats and veggies include broiling, roasting, chargrilling, grilling, poaching, stir-frying, boiling and steaming.
o Most restaurants will brush or baste the meats with fasts during or after the cooking process. Ask for "no oil, no butter".
o The term "Prime" often refers to meat that is very high in fat.
o Most restaurants add margarine, butter, oil, or other sauces before serving boiled or steamed vegetables. Ask that it be left off.

- Terms that indicate a high fat food:

Fried	Pan-fried	Hollandaise
Crispy	Escalloped	Creamed
Creamy	Stewed	In its own gravy
Buttery	Casserole	Au Gratin
In a Butter Sauce	Hash	Parmesan
In a Cream Sauce	Pot Pie	In a Cheese Sauce

Don't Drink Your Calories
o Choose a calorie-free beverage such as water, mineral water, club soda, unsweetened iced tea, black tea or diet soda.
- Know the calories you are drinking: see section on alcohol

Salad Bars
o Salad dressings are about 80 calories per level tablespoon. Usually put 3-4 tablespoons (200 calories) on a small garden salad.
o Oil & vinegar - oil has 125 calories per tablespoon.
o Ask for dressings on the side.
o Lower calorie options: flavored vinegars, salsa, lemon.

Breakfast
o Select skim or low fat milk.
o Most cold cereals are low in fat.
o Oatmeal is typically the best choice on the menu.
o Order egg substitutes.
o Order ham or Canadian bacon.
o Hash browns = French fries.
o Pancakes are made with whole milk and eggs = 165 calories, 5 g fat.
o Waffles are worse = 550 calories, 21 g fat.
o French toast = 150 calories, 7 g fat
o Before butter and syrup!

Chinese
o Appetizers:
- Order steamed dumplings
- Fill up on soup
o Accompaniments:
- Steamed rice or plain noodles instead of fried. Savings = 130 calories
o Entrees:
- Order dishes that contain more vegetables than meat.
- Avoid sweet and sour entrees - deep fat fried.
- Avoid dishes with nuts- 200 calories, 20 g fat.
- Ask that your dish be prepared with as "little oil as possible"
o Order steamed foods with sauce on the side.
o Order fewer meals than the number of people at your table.
o Order Chop Suey instead of Chow Mein.
o Select tofu instead of meat.
o Ask for foods prepared without MSG.

Italian
o Appetizers
- Minestrone and bean soups
- Request that Bruschetta be prepared with very little oil.
- Avoid Caesar salad.
- Watch the high fat additions of olives, pine nuts, cheese and oil.
o Pasta
- Pasta noodles are low in fat.
- Each half cup portion of pasta has 100 calories. Restaurants serve between 2-4 cups.
- Sauces: red is good; white is bad.
- Avoid dishes that are pre-made - lasagna, manicotti.
- Avoid parmigiana meals - floured, fried, and topped with marinara and cheese.
- Hold the oil.

Mexican
o Appetizers:
- Move the fried chips. 25 calories per chip, 1.4 g of fat.
- Order baked chips.
- Ask for corn tortillas.
- Enjoy the salsa.
- Ask about tortilla soup.
o Salads:
- Taco salad in Taco Shell = 1065 calories, 70 g of fat.
- Select the chicken fajita salad.
- Use the picante sauce for a low calorie dressing.
- Don't eat the shell.
- Limit or hold the sour cream and guacamole.
o Entrees:
- Best option: fajitas, watch the high calorie accompaniments - refried beans, rice, guacamole, sour cream and cheese.
- Trim the meat - save 100 calories.
- Corn tortillas over flour - save 50 calories each.
- Little or no oil.
- Other lower calorie items: soft tacos, soft burritos, arroz con pollo.
- Limit high calorie entrees - chalupas, chimichangas, beef or cheese enchiladas, flautas, tacos, tamales
- Be selective with accompaniments: you don't need chips, rice, beans AND tortillas.
- Ask for cooked pinto or black beans instead of refried beans.

Thai
o Appetizers
- Soft Spring Rolls
- Hot and Sour Soup
- Vegetables Soup
- Seafood Salad
- Avoid: crispy spring rolls, chicken wings, chicken coconut soup, ground beef salad.
o Entrees:
- Coconut milk is the culprit.
- Baked chicken or steamed shrimp dishes are you best options.
- Steamed or grilled fish and jasmine rice.
- Watch out for pad thai - oily, eggy, peanutty noodles.
- Watch out for chicken curry.
- Avoid thai fried rice.

Read other articles by Catherine Kruppa