How to Eat Healthy at an Italian Restaurant

You can't help but love the comforting and satisfying flavor of authentic Italian food! But, what about all of those calories and fats, not to mention the carbs? It's even more difficult to control these factors when you're dining out an Italian restaurant. The good news is you can take steps to make your next Italian restaurant meal healthy.

1. Start with a salad dressed a light olive oil and vinegar dressing. No creamy dressings to add fat and calories! Tell them your waiter to hold the croutons and cheese and go light on the olives.

2. Substitute a bowl of minestrone soup for the fat laden appetizers found on most Italian menus. Minestrone soup is not only low in calories and fats, it has a variety of heart healthy vegetables. It's also filling which means you'll eat less of the main course.

3. As far as an entree goes, consider ordering a chicken dish with a tomato based, noncream sauce. If you must order pasta, ask for a small portion of pasta with extra sauce. Be sure to order a tomato based sauce since cream sauces often have a shocking number of calories and fat.

4. Add a side of steamed vegetables to your entree which should fill you up and give you a dose of healthy antioxidants. You can also ask to have some vegetables added to your pasta dish to replace the smaller portion of pasta you're eating.

5. If you order pizza, make sure it has a thin crust. Go heavy on the tomato based sauce and light on the cheese. Add extra vegetables of all types to your pizza including mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, red peppers, and anything else you can find that's green. If possibile, avoid eating, the crusty heel of the pizza.

6. Hold the bread basket. Some Italian restaurants such as Olive Garden serve a big basket of bread sticks at the beginning of the meal. Ask that these be held back so you won't be tempted. Those garlicky bread sticks can be quite addictive!

7. Pass on the tempting dessert offerings. I can think of very few Italian desserts that aren't laden with calories and fats. If you have a desire for something sweet, order a cappucino with skim milk and add a packet of artifical sweetner. Sip it slowly and enjoy the atmosphere.