Healthy Dining in Italian Restaurants

Italian cuisine offer healthy choices because you can have lots of reduced-fat and vegetable-rich options, lots of grains, beans, peas and other legumes, which provide fiber and protein.



Order pasta rather than pizza. Choose red sauces - marinara, Bolognese, red clam, or puttanesca. Avoid Alfredo and primavera unless they serve cream-free varieties. Order antipasto with olives, kidney beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and other vegetables, with fewer cheeses and meats.



Ask to trim fat from poultry or meat and serve salad dressing on the side. Choose dishes that are steamed, broiled, baked, roasted, poached, or sauteed.



Healthy choices are chicken cacciatore, chicken Marsala, biscotti, steamed mussels, clams and other shellfish. Avoid most desserts in Italian restaurants because they usually are very rich.