* Clear broth-based soups like Chinese won ton or hot and sour soup, consumee, tortilla soup, or minestrone.
* Lettuce or spinach salads with vegetables and dressing on the side. Go easy on the bacon bits, croutons, cheese, and mayonnaise-based items like macaroni salad or tuna salad (1/4 cup tuna salad = 190 calories).
* Raw vegetables (crudités) with a small amount of low-calorie dip.
* Steamed vegetables with a slice of lemon; grilled veggies if not drenched in oil.
* Meats that are grilled, broiled, roasted or baked without added fat. Choose seafood that is broiled, baked, steamed, blackened, or poached—think tender sole poached in parchment with broth, savory vegetables and herbs.
* A reasonable portion of steak–3-6 oz.; other lean meat cuts served au jus, with a piquant fruit sauce, or stir-fried with vegetables. Again, go easy on the rich sauces.
* A baked potato with a pat of butter or small amount of sour cream. Top with broccoli, low-fat chili, or salsa.
* Sandwiches on whole wheat, pita, multigrain breads; with low-fat deli meats and cheeses; mustard, relish, ketchup, or low-fat mayonnaise. Add flavor and vitamins with roasted sweet peppers, lettuce, tomato, jalapenos, and chopped olives (small amount).
* Fresh fruit, sherbet, and angel food cake are good choices for dessert.

* Order regular portion sizes instead of the jumbo sizes now common. Try an appetizer, half an entrée, or share a meal with a friend and order an extra side salad. Ask for half the entrée to be wrapped up to go before the food is brought to the table.
* Get exactly what you want by ordering each item separately (a la carte). For example, one chicken enchilada easy-on-the-sauce, side salad, and fruit desert instead of the #8 enchilada plate with rice, beans, sour cream, guacamole, etc.
* Learn to spot which dishes are made with lower calorie cooking methods.
* Ask how dishes are prepared and can they can do it your way: grill the chicken, steam the vegetables, bring sauces and salad dressings on the side, put just a dollop of cream sauce on the pasta primavera and extra grilled vegetables.
* Don’t tempt yourself! Have the waiter remove the bowl of chips or peanuts, or the basket of bread, after you’ve had a small portion. Calories from mindless nibbling can add up before you know it. Don’t sit near the desert cart.
* Limit alcohol. It’s high calorie, has few nutrients, and can weaken your will power.

1. If you are going to eat out, think about what you are eating the rest of the day so you can plan well and not blow your “calorie budget”.

2. Have it your way. Restaurants are in the business of serving customers. Don’t be afraid to ask for items specially prepared the way you want them.

The Plan:

When you know you’re going to eat out, think about what foods you’ll choose over the whole day. For example, plan on a light lunch if you’ll eat out at dinnertime. Try not to skip meals, which may make you overindulge later. And most importantly, try not to show up at the restaurant famished! If you’d like to splurge on a higher calorie entrée, plan to skip dessert, and commit to sticking to your plan once in the restaurant.

* Serve margarine rather than butter with the meal?
* Serve fat free (skim) milk rather than whole milk or cream?
* Trim visible fat from poultry or meat?
* Leave all butter, gravy or sauces off a dish?
* Serve salad dressing on the side?
* Accommodate special requests?
* Use less cooking oil when cooking?

ACT!
Select foods which are:

* Steamed
* Garden fresh
* Broiled
* Baked
* Roasted
* Poached
* Lightly sauteed or stir-fried

Fat is a valuable energy source and carries fat-soluble vitamins needed for proper growth and development. It also contributes important taste and textural qualities that are part of enjoying food.

Too much fat, however, can increase the risk of heart disease, obesity and other health problems. When moderating fat intake, it’s important to consider these points:

• Health authorities recommend Americans consume 30 percent or less of their total daily calories from fat, with 10 percent or less of those calories from saturated fat. Remember, the 30 percent refers to your total fat intake over time, not single foods or meals. Use the following chart to guide your fat intake.
• If you eat this Total fat Total saturated number of calories per day fat per dayper day:
  (grams) (grams)
  1,600 53 or less 18 or less
  2,000 65 or less 20 or less
  2,200 73 or less 24 or less
  2,500 80 or less 25 or less
• Use the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to help determine how much fat is in foods. Remember, it’s the total fat intake over time that’s important. A food high in fat can be part of a healthy diet as long as it’s balanced with other lower-fat food choices.
• All fats are a combination of saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Each of these types of fats have different effects on the body, but all contain nine calories per gram.
• Blood cholesterol levels are influenced by family history, weight, age, smoking, physical activity and eating habits. Studies have shown that diets which are too high in certain saturated fatty acids and dietary cholesterol can raise blood cholesterol.