Eating Italian When You're on a Diet

Can you stick to your diet in an Italian restaurant? Most Americans think of heavy southern Italian food when they think of high-calorie items: meatballs, eggplant Parmigiana, veal Parmigiana, and lasagna. However, the food of northern Italy, while it may appear less caloric, also has its detractors: butter, olive oil, and cream.


Portions are overly generous in most Italian restaurants, so if you are dieting, this may be a good place for sharing — particularly important when you consider that an antipasto of cheese, marinated vegetables, salami, and garlic bread can use up a day’s calorie budget before the main course arrives.


Bread on the table served with butter or olive oil can be a diet buster. Ask for tomato sauce for dipping if you must fill up on bread and have the fats removed. Or better yet, out of sight, out of mouth; have the bread removed, too. Order vegetables à la carte as long as they’re not cooked with plenty of fat or deep-fried. And instead of a creamy dessert, order a lowfat cappuccino with fruit.


Choose more of these:



  • Light red sauce



  • Marinara sauce



  • Pasta (other than those stuffed with cheese)



  • Piccata (lemon-wine sauce)



  • White or red clam sauce (but ask the wait staff; some clam sauces are made with cream)



  • Wine sauce




Eat less of these:



  • Alfredo



  • Alla panna (with cream)



  • Butter



  • Carbonara (butter, eggs, bacon, and sometimes cream sauce)



  • Fried eggplant or zucchini



  • Frito misto (fried mixed vegetables or seafood)



  • Olive oil



  • Parmigiana (baked in sauce with cheese)



  • Prosciutto



  • Salami






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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/eating-italian-when-youre-on-a-diet.html

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