Italian restaurant menu advice

heath5913

I'm going to an Italian restaurant tomorrow which I have never been to before and there is no online nutritional information. Any ideas what healthier choices would be or general advice on healthy eating-out habits? I'm not going to get too caught up in calories counting etc but I know I'll feel better in myself if I choose something relatively sensible as opposed to overindulging.

Any advice is appreciated!

http://www.caffepiccolo.co.uk/chiswick/index.php

dirtnap63

It really depends on your idea of "healthy". If you've spent any time at all on these boards you'll know that virtually everyone has a different opinion of what constitutes healthy foods. Personally I believe in an everything in moderation approach. I wouldn't worry too much about the individual choices, just try to get a balanced diet of protein, carbs, fats and fibre. Even then, it's only one meal and is not going to make a big difference in the grand scheme of your diet. For what it's worth Italian cuisine is considered one of the "healthier" cuisines around, as they tend to use olive oil instead of butter or shortening and an abundance of fresh, non processed foods.
Go out and enjoy. Buon' appetito!

Summergirl_88

If you choose pasta, anything with a tomato based sauce is going to be healthier than a creamy cheese sauce. Maybe try and refrain from having extra Parmesan on top as well and that should help.

Summergirl_88

Personally I'd have a tough time choosing because everything on that menu sounds delicious!! The Penne alla Arrabbiata sounds like a safe choice but I say get what you fancy and carry on as normal the next day

heath5913

Some of my family members were ill so we postponed it til later in the week. I think I'll go for a salad to begin, a tomato sauce pasta dish for mains and perhaps the sorbet/half a dessert if I feel I want pudding although I'm guessing I'll be pretty full. Thanks for the advice!

Rado_SVK

I'm working in a Italian restaurant as a waiter for nearly 6 years now and until I started working out I didn't know anything about our nutrition menu values....by my opinion,for anyone doing sport,fitness and diet far the best you can get in a Italian restaurant in terms of nutrition is a Chicken and mushroom risotto! Hands down...packed with carbs,protein,should round at about 850 calories,will be among the dishes with the lowest fat on the menu and most of all taste delicious!
..just to add as advice: usual pasta dishes with tomato sauce will round at 550-700 calories...if you are on diet absolutely avoid creamy sauces..I know you know..but believe me,you have no idea those dishes will have up to 100g and over of fat..
If anyone have further questions about a usual Italian restaurant menu,secrets,then please feel free to ask.

kingofcrunk

If you're goal is to eat as little calories as possible then you could go for a salad and ask for the dressing on the side and for the dough balls / croutons to not be included.

If that sounds too depressing for you then possibly go for one of the pastas that has a tomato based sauce as opposed to olive oil / butter / cream / cheese.

Or you could order one of the 'specials' - maybe the chicken with the vegetables - you could ask for the mozarella to not be put on and that would reduce calories. Or have one of the other specials without the chips.

It depends how you want to fit it into your day. I love the aubergine dish that Italian restaurants do (with the mozarella and tomato sauce), and I know the one at pizza express is almost 700 calories so its not a light meal at all.

Enjoy your meal.

EmmaKarney

Tuna Niçoise, hold the dough balls.

Or something seafood based?

Don't drink wine.

WBB55

Personal thin crust pizza with light cheese and lots of vegies.

andiechick

Nice juicy steak with veg....mmmmm!

Vailara

I find that Italian restaurants tend to do thinner pizzas than chain places like Pizza Hut, Dominos, etc. Pizza is probably one of the worst choices but it's not so bad as it seems if it's a thin base. If pizza was what I really fancied then I'd have it just for that meal. My local Italian does half portions of pizza and pasta which is great!

This sounds nice from the menu if you like tuna "Fettuccine all Tonno Fresco - Fresh tuna steak, garlic, spring onion, cherry tomato, white wine & tomato sauce".

Avoiding the bread and butter is hard!

Aymzc

I'm going to an Italian Friday night and again no nutritional values on the menu. I was thinking either Risotto, Salmon or Seafood Linguine.

Any help greatly appreciated, thanks

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