Tips for Eating Healthy at Italian Restaurants

Italian restaurants are excellent dining options for a variety of occasions. However, it can be difficult to eat there if you're watching your weight or trying to eat healthier. Even though it many be difficult to find healthy menu options, it is possible to frequent Italian restaurants and still achieve your healthy eating goals. You just need to be smart about what you order and make sure you stick to your plan of eating healthy.

Minestrone soup is a good choice. This vegetable soup is low in calories and fat, making it a great appetizer option. One serving has approximately 100 calories. Additionally, soup tends to make people feel full, so starting off with a bowl of it will ensure that you do not overeat later in the meal. This can be very helpful given the large portion sizes at many dining establishments.

A salad with dressing on the side is another good appetizer option. Salad is generally quite healthy, at least until you add the dressing. Salad dressing can be quite fattening. That's why it's always best to either skip the dressing entirely or order it on the side so that you can dip individual pieces of lettuce into the dressing. That way, you won't eat as much of it and will be able to avoid the extra calories. Another option is to order a low-calorie dressing, such as balsamic vinegar.

When it comes to the main course, it can be difficult to find a healthy option. However, some Italian restaurants will have a special section of the menu dedicated to low-calorie foods. If the menu doesn't have this section, some good options are linguine with marinara sauce, cheese ravioli with meat sauce, or Portobello ravioli. All of these dishes are high in fiber and relatively low in calories, so you should be able to enjoy them without derailing your weight loss plans. You might also want to consider a seafood option, such as grilled salmon with pasta.

When it comes to food to avoid, it is be best to skip anything with a creamy sauce, as these dishes tend to have more calories. However, if you eat in moderation, you can still get high-calories dishes if that's what you really want to order. Just make sure to stop eating once you're full and take the rest home with you.

One thing you should definitely avoid is filling up on bread before the main course arrives. Many Italian restaurants provide baskets of bread for patrons to snack on before their main course comes. This can be very tempting, especially if the bread is warm and fresh out of the oven. However, this bread is full of calories, so it's best to eat it sparingly or avoid it entirely.


One of the Italian restaurants Kingstowne, VA, residents love is Paisano's Pizza. To see their menu, visit: http://www.pizzapaisanos.com.

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