Smart Choices at Italian Rest.

I'd take a big Italian salad (ask for an oil and vinegar dressing) with some fried meat, maybe a minestrone-soup (shouldn't be anything else in it but broth and veggies) -- I'd NOT go for the pasta and the pizza, because for myself carbs are what makes me gain weight. Try vitello tonnato, thats veal with a tuna-sauce, eat olives (the green ones have less calories than the black ones), but skip the yummy Italian white bread. You might even take fish with any kind of veggies ... Go for an espresso as a "dessert", only taste the tiramisu or the tartufo off your neighbor's plate ;-))))

Eeeeew, STOP, forget about all I wrote above. You are NOT at a "real" classic Italian restaurant. Just checked out the menu of the restaurant you plan on going to. No vitello tonnato, no minestrone, no Italian salad on it ... So IMHO the only actually "caloricly controlable" (??!!) dish is the salmon with basil and lemon plus maybe a side of salad without all that crispy and fried and breaded and cheesed and baked stuff.

Good luck and enjoy your dinner!!!

My vote would be for the grilled salmon. I would choose the steamed potatoes, veggies, fresh fruit, or cup of soup depending on your calories available and what you are in the mood for. If you go with soup, look for a minestrone, those are usually much lighter options and can be filling. Say no to breadsticks, they are always a calorie trap.

I worked in restaraunts for most of my life, and know what it is like to be waitress, cook and manager.

We want to do you YOUR way!

Don't be afraid to ask questions, and request your food your way.

What do you like? If you like salmon, that looks great!

I like past prima vera with grilled chicken breast. Ask that they use chicken stock instead of butter.

Marinara sauce is lower fat/cals than any other sauces.

Avoid ANYTHING cream.

I also like grilled chicken, marinara and angel hair pasta.

Clear soup like minestrone is good, and of course salad with a nice house vinagarette on the side it delish!

The sodium will be high, no matter what, so anticipate a bit of bloat. DO NOT FREAK out if the scale is up a bit, it will be gone in a day.

Most important? ENJOY!!!!!!!

So the family is going out to dinner tonight at a local italian rest. I had a good work out this morning, and am saving my calorie intake for tonight. My question is what is the healthiest type of italian food that I can order? I don't eat a lot of it, so am not sure. I did notice that you can order whole wheat noodles upon request, so that is a plus. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Their website is http://www.benvenutos.com/Benvenutos_Menu in case you want to see what my choices will be. Thanks in advance!

Does MFP list any calories for their menus? Its always difficult when you can't find calories. Best option would be to break down the ingredients individually and calculate the calories of each. Assuming you know what the ingredients are and the amount being used. Lot of it becomes guestimation. Let me try looking through the menu and see what could be some alternate choices. But first, are you picky about what italian food to eat?