Let’s Go Out for … Italian - most popular side dishes in restaurants1

Pasta, lasagna and pizza, the main Italian food, are well-founded to become citizens of the American table.
"I think Italian food is a happy food --
Amy Brandwin, executive chef at Casa Nonna Restaurant in Washington DC and New York, said: "It's reachable and tastes a lot, but it's not going to be too serious . ".
This explains to some extent why Italian restaurants are the most popular ethnic restaurants in the United States.
However, the part of the restaurant that has repeatedly indulged in some of the world's most delicious foods can cause serious damage to your weight --loss goals.
But don't mourn your meatballs: you can have dinner at an Italian restaurant if you have the right information.
According to Melissa Joy Dobbins, authentic Italian cuisine is a healthy choice, with fresh ingredients typical of a Mediterranean diet, speaker and Lecturer, School of Nutrition and diet, Culinary College, Kendall College, Chicago.
"The problem is American Italian dishes and excessive portions.
"Venture into almost any Italian restaurant in the country and you will see a lot of extras at most family tables in Naples or Florence.
Like a bread basket without a bottom.
And a bunch of cheese.
Cover pasta with meat in front of a person, not in the center of a table for six people.
If you want to enjoy the healthiest and most enjoyable meal in an Italian restaurant, just like an Italian.
These tips are helpful from appetizers to desserts.
Of course: bread and appetizers contain protein. The best decision is to put the bread basket on the table.
However, if this is at risk of causing riots, eat at least some appetizers.
"Eat a small piece of cheese bread, or charcuterie, it will make you more satisfied and won't let you go and get another piece," Dobbins said . ".
Be careful with focaccia: a piece of bread can have a total of 4 smart points, twice as many as ordinary white bread.
Olive oil is not only a source of healthy single saturated fat, but a Cornell University study found that diners who use olive oil as a bread condiment eat 23% less bread than diners who use butter.
Don't soak all the bread;
One bubble is enough. Don’t O. D.
On luncheon meat, a common meat appetizer, ismisto salumi or Italian barbecue, including dry meat such as a familiar ham, as well as speck, mortadella and bresaola
While the meat is rich in fat and protein and contains about 70 to 90 calories per ounce, they are usually very thin slices.
"A thin piece of sandwich can be satisfactory because it tastes rich, but the point is not to make a sandwich with it," Dobbins said . ".
The small plates before considering going to snack pasta are called "antipasti" and they range from healthy options such as pickled vegetables, olives and artichokes to the heart --
The stopper is like a fried pumpkin flower stuffed with cheese.
"It is very good to make a tasting meal of antipasti," Brandwein said . ".
"The beauty is that you can choose an indulgence like the risotto ball and balance it with some healthier options.
"Soup is a main course in an authentic Italian restaurant, but you can also order it as an appetizer.
Traditional Tuscan and Florentine soups, with a combination of escarole, beans, pasta and sausage, can be a great alternative to a meat appetizer or a cheese salad.
Pasta or main course combines a course in a traditional Italian meal, and the second or second dish is usually a simple piece of meat, ordered separately.
If this is an option, please pay an extra fee to add chicken or shrimp to the pasta and skip the course.
"It's counter-intuitive because you're adding something.
But you can eat less with one dish.
"That plate is more fulfilling and satisfying than eating pasta alone," Dobbins said . ".
The pasta, with many shapes and sizes, is at the heart of the Italian dining experience.
Usually, the most harmful thing to a healthy diet is not the pasta itself, but the part.
"I often order half a portion of pasta," says Brandwein . ".
You can also order two different halves to separate the splurge from the healthier option.
It's hard to do this with lasagna, but you can ask the server to cut it in half and share it on both plates (a 1-
Depending on its composition and density, the Cup service will run 8 to 15 smart point values).
Fill your plate with hollow pasta like ziti, orecchiette, bucatini, etc.
It looks like it will give you a larger portion than solid pasta, like pasta or pasta.
This may help you to eat less while feeling satisfied.
By the way, the Italian risotto is the opposite.
"White noodles are similar to white rice in nutrition, but rice is more dense," Dobbins said . ".
"So you might have more risotto than light, hollow pasta. ” Go whole-wheat —
If you really like a cup
Wheat Pasta will subtract 1 smart point value from 6 smart point values of ordinary pasta
But it may not be worth it if you don't like it. While whole-
Wheat is undoubtedly a better nutritional option than white pasta, and it can also be chewy unless it is professionally prepared.
"As long as you eat whole grains somewhere, there is not much nutrition from a whole grain --
"Wheat pasta," Dobbins said.
"It may be worth ordering what you like and getting grain elsewhere.
"You know, beans are often used in traditional Italian cuisine, especially big fav beans, Canini beans and borotti beans.
Italian vegetable noodles fagioli (
Bean pasta)
This is a wise choice for the first dish, as beans replace a portion of the pasta, bringing fiber and protein to the dish.
There are many different places in this dish and sometimes it looks more like soup.
An ounce of Parmesan added four smart spots.
If you want some, ask the waiter to grind a little on your pasta --
Or sprinkle it on yourself and take the cheese off the table.
Otherwise, you will be tempted to continue eating more cheese throughout the meal.
Don't add Parmesan cheese to the pasta stuffed with formacho.
"You already have cheese in your pasta," Dobbins said . ".
Another tip: Italians don't add cheese to pasta, including shrimp or clams.
So try their way.
Learn about gluten
Free pasta, you will see this on more menus now, but don't think of gluten
Free Pasta is healthier or less calories than white or full pastawheat pasta. Gluten-
Developed free food for people with gluten intolerance (
Or diarrhea)
Wheat, barley, oats and rye are not included.
Unless you can't stand gluten, it's no good to order this pasta.
There are hundreds of pasta sauces for all the gravy, but they are actually divided into several main categories.
Two rules: first of all, the sauce on one side is always required to control the part.
Second, sauces usually get the help of butter or cream before serving, so ask the waiter to give up this step.
Otherwise, you can only be prepared.
"People often try to change sauces when ordering, but they are ready," says Brandwein . ".
"You can't put both panchetta and cream aside.
Although there are many varieties of pasta sauce, they are mainly divided into the following categories: About 3 smart points for each half cup of simple tomato sauce (
The famous tomato work method in southern Italy, or the tomato work method in the United States)
Usually the best choice.
"This is one of the rare cases where cooking is better than fresh," Dobbins said . ".
"Tomato sauce actually concentrates the nutrients of fresh tomatoes, which contain vitamin A, C, and lycopene. ” Adding meat (
Make a meat sauce)
Fish or cheese can double the value of smart points.
About 5 Smart points of vodka sauce per half cup this is really just a marinade with a lot of cream, butter and vodka, but people think it's their own variety.
Every half cup of Alfredo is made of heavy cream, butter and Parmesan, about 14 smart spots, and the evil Alfredo sauce is your worst choice --
Although garlic and sesame oil contain more calories per teaspoon. Why?
Because you use a lot more Alfredo sauce than the garlic sauce or olive oil you use.
The chef may pour more than two cups of sauce on your noodles.
Dobbins suggests that if you like Alfredo sauce, try to balance the fat by choosing a vegetable or protein such as chicken pasta primavera. Olive oil-
Unlike Alfredo, most of the "white" sauces that are not made of cheese use olive oil as the base ingredient and then cut them in white wine or broth.
The smart value of a teaspoon of olive oil is about 1 point (a half-cup has 33);
A simple "oil and garlic" pasta dish may be used about one
The third cup of oil.
A typical white clam sauce can run 5 to 7 smart points per half cup.
This northern Italian sauce is made of olive oil, pine kernel, garlic, basil and Parmesan cheese.
While it can be very easy to fattening, the strong taste will make you much less than the marinade.
You can sprinkle 4 tablespoons.
9 smart point values)
A plate of pasta.
Menu decoder Al Dente: literally means "to teeth", but the term means that you want your pasta company to be in a central position (not overcooked).
"There is no need to ask for this --
"You can assume it will cook in this way in a high-quality Italian restaurant," Brandwein said . ".
Arrabbiata: "Anger "(spicy)
Red ketchup from the surrounding area of Rome.
The Red Pepper is hot. A good choice.
Baked.
Burrata: a stylish, decadent cheese from Puglia filled with cream.
Caponata: Italian answer to ratatouille, a Sicilian dish consisting of eggplant, garlic, peppers and other vegetables, which can be used as appetizers or as fish
Carbonara: a hearty meal of bacon or pork fat pasta, eggs and cheese.
Each cup can be packed with 16 smart point values.
Crudo: the literal meaning on the Italian menu is "raw", referring to raw fish in citrus and oil. Think ceviche.
Fra diavolo: the term "devil brothers" usually refers to a dish of red sauce that is added to a red pepper or cayenne.
Fresh pasta: Unlike dry pasta, fresh pasta is soft before cooking, including a large amount of egg yolk.
This is the most popular for filling and shaped pasta made on site. Fritto:Fried.
The Italian dumplings are made of potatoes or cheese.
A cup of potato balls has 7 smart points per Cup;
The cheese brought it to 17.
Buffalo cheese-
Cheese made from domestic buffalo milk, with a higher protein, fat and mineral content than milk mozzarella cheese, with about 4 smart points per ounce.
Corn porridge: cream porridge made of ground corn flour.
"Please note that it may contain cheese or cream," Dobbins said . ".
There are about 7 smart spots per cup of ordinary corn porridge.
Zabaglione: an egg, white wine and sugar sauce that often dresses for desserts or fruits.
It packs about 7 smart point values per half cup. .