- Eating Out? Eat Wisely.

Here’s a few tips that may help you stay on track when striving to eat well while eating out. First, everyone knows about visualizing an imaginary line down the middle of your dish once your pasta entrée arrives, right? Often a pasta entrée is actually as many as four servings, so pay attention to how much you mangia!

Ask for water as soon as your server shows up. Aim to drink the whole glass (or two if the glass is small) before your meal arrives. You’ll eat less and you’ll have a nice doggie bag lunch for the next day. Next? Lighten up on that bread basket! Place just two slices/pieces on your bread plate, and practice a little self restraint. Sip on that water and let the others at the table enjoy the rest of the bread. Once every crumb has been consumed, do your table a favor and don’t ask for a refill. You can't miss if you always start with a nice simple side salad. Choose a dresssing wisely, and have it on the side. The water a salad will help to fill you up, and you’ll consume less of your entrée. With the cooler weather around the bend, I prefer soups (non-creamy) they also do the trick.

Appetizers? If you must, and why not try to share it with at least one other person? For the main dish fish is always at the top of my recommendation list. Poultry comes in second and lean beef third. In a perfect world grilling is the way to go, but hey, if you can act on the bread, water and salad tips, why not loosen the reigns as to how the entrée is prepared?

After all, dinning out means enjoying the full restaurant experience, a big part of which is enjoying the food pretty much the way the chef entended it to be enjoyed. Even when you eat out it's all about modifying your lifestyle, not getting caught up in calorie counting. So, eat out, eat wisely, eat in Dutchess County and eat plenty of wholesome foods!