On the lighter side

Restaurant offers menu with healthier choices

BY CYNTHIA RAMNARACE

Evening News staff writer

The average American eats out four times a week, according to the National Restaurant Association.

What you choose to eat during those four meals can support or sabotage your attempt to diet or maintain your current weight.

Quatro's restaurant in Monroe has introduced a new lighter-side menu called "Kristie's," named after Kristie Ashworth, the registered dietitian who developed it.

The menu's goal was to provide selections that boost the immune system, promote a healthy heart and support weight loss. You'll see some ingredients that aren't on the regular menu, such as flax seed pasta, and extra information, such as the amount of calories, fat, cholesterol and carbohydrate in each dish.

"These are smaller portion sizes that are well-balanced," said Mrs. Ashworth. "With our lifestyle now, we're all running. We eat out a lot. You run home and you grab whatever's available."

Mrs. Ashworth hopes that what people consider grabbing on the way home will include a take-out meal from Quatro's. The Kristie's menu ranges in price from $7.95 to $12.95 for an entrée. The prices are lower than those found on the standard menu because the portion sizes are smaller. And if you order from the Kristie's menu, you can't ask for extra sauce on the Capellini Marinara or extra chicken in the Chicken Stir Fry. All portions are standard in order to keep them healthy.

Also, if you eat in the restaurant and order from the Kristie's menu, there's no bread basket. That's to keep with the goal of each meal being 500 calories or fewer with no more than 30 percent of calories from fat. Bread and olive oil can sabotage a person's best intentions easily.

The menu was introduced in May and response has been positive, Mrs. Ashworth said.

"People really like the portion size," she said. "They're surprised by how good they feel when they leave. They eat what' in front of them and kknow they can eat it all and not feel guilty."

Some items available on the menu include:

-- Chicken Marsala, a lightened version of a favorite on the Quatro's menu.

-- Broiled New Zealand Orange Roughy, topped with a lemon-olive oil blend.

-- Filet mignon, topped with mushrooms and au jus.

-- Flaxseed Fettucini Primavera with zucchini, carrots, broccoli and caulfilower in garlic and olive oil. In studies, flaxseed has been shown to lower the risk of high cholesterol and diabetes.

"Some don't realize I can have a filet, chicken marsala, and it's good for you," Mrs. Ashworth said.

Choices good and bad

Eating healthy while eating out can be a challenge. Here are some pointers from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the nutrition and health advocacy group.

When eating Chinese food:

-- The ideal serving is one cup of white rice, one cup of entrée.

-- Order a portion of steamed vegetables and add it to your entrée.

-- Avoid the sauce. Drain it off before piling the entrée on the rice.

-- The best picks are szechuan shrimp, stir-fried vegetables and shrimp with garlic sauce.

-- Avoid the eggroll, moo shu pork, kung pao chicken and sweet and sour pork, all of which are loaded with fat.

When ordering Italian:

-- Order dishes that are mostly pasta in tomato, clam or meat sauces. Avoid cream sauces.

-- When ordering sausage or meatballs, get them in tomato and not meat sauce.

-- Skip the cheese toppings on parmigiana dishes or ask that it be decreased by half.

-- Best dishes are spaghetti with either tomato, red clam or meat sauce.

-- Worst dishes are fettucini alfredo, lasagna and cheese manicotti.

When ordering Mexican:

-- Skip the sides, such as guacamole and sour cream. Instead, ask for extra salsa or pico de gallo.

-- Say no to the bowl of tortilla chips.

-- Fajitas are the best choice.

When ordering pizza:

-- Ask them to make it with half the usual amount of cheese.

-- When it comes to toppings, vegetables are best. Pepperoni is leaner than pork, sausage and beef.

-- Say no to stuffed crust.

-- If you have to have meat, only get one kind.

-- Order a salad, too, so you'll eat less pizza.

-- Avoid the bread sticks, buffalo wings and cheese bread.

When ordering fast food:

-- Hold the mayonnaise and the french fries. Order a salad instead.

-- Order a la carte. Value meals are only good on the pocketbook. They have no value for your waistline.

-- The best picks are Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad (with half the dressing it's 420 calories), Burger King Chicken Whopper Jr. (350 calories, 310 if you ask for reduced-fat mayonnaise), Subway's low-fat subs (ranging from 200 to 370 calories, all with fewer than 6 grams of fat), McDonald's Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait (380 calories, 280 without the granola) and the Burger King BK Veggie Burger (330 calories, 2 grams saturated fat).

-- The worst picks are the Burger King Old Fashioned Ice Cream Shake (a medium has 760 calories and 41 grams of fat, a large 1,200 calories and 64 grams of fat), Burger King fries (king-sized fries have 600 calories and 30 grams of fat), Burger King hash browns (390 calories, 15 grams of saturated and trans fat) and the Burger King Double Whopper with Cheese (1,150 calories, 33 grams of saturated fat).

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