I had to go to baseball tournament this weekend and was worried about the meet ups after the games to chow down. I try to look up restaurants nutrition normally before we go out to eat but I knew I couldn't prepare this time well I must say I was quite suprised to find low fat /low calorie/ and even low carb options on the menus. I have been to Applebees before and was famliar with their weight watchers menu ( which I love) but through media its the only one I'd seen advertised. We went to TGIF's and they had a menu where everything was under 500 calories and 10 grams of fat Woohoo got me so excited . The following day we did brunch at IHOP and they too had a menu everything under 600 calories. I'm glad to see that eating out is going to become easier and not a guilty pleasure . So does anyone else know of any other places that are offering healthier choices ? Now too bad I can't get my local non franchise places to offer lowfat options buts its a start.

non chain restaurants are good choices as well - Im not a big fan of the chain and honestly - just ask how things are prepared and ask for it to be prepared to your specifications... most places will accommodate your wishes.

SOme things you just know to stay away from - overly sauced dishes, deep fried, butter - etc.. but grilled can often mean shot with the bottle of oil frequently. Just say very little oil.

Broiled sauce on the side is how I will order anything (I tend to not like sauces unless I've made them anyhow)

Ya know if you become a regular at the nonfranchise places - talk to t he owner or chef - they might accommodate -there was a restaurant I used to go to a lot in the town I used to live in in new hampshire - I wa there every other week and was pretty much a pain int he ass when i ordered (but I've always been a pain in the ass - think sally in when harry met sally - I'm fussy and always have been) the chef came out one night and wanted to know whay my deal was - I said I was watching calories and therefor needed adaptations... He said -but we have low fat items on the menu - and they did but it was allsteamed and bland - Istill liked flavor.. he invited me to lunch one day and I spent about 2 -3 hours with him basically helping put together some low fat - but really tasty choices on their menu... You never know unless you ask...

somewhere in tomo's diary he's got a post about eating out... maybe if we asked nicely -he'd copy and paste t into here

You ROCK Mal!

it was actually so much fun for me to do it and I'd love to do it again - one of my "If i won the lottery that's what I'd do" things is open a restaurant... actually just plannig the menu would be more fun for me than the actual resturant work... I love flavor... and love to pair flavors.. and it doesn't have to be high fat...

but with local restaurants - most will accommodate..

My biggest issue is I don't like seafood ,not a single bit, so where most can order fish broiled I get stuck with grilled chicken alot. I live in north Jersey (aka little italy) and it's not so easy to get a low calorie version of chicken parm. hehe . We don't eat out that often so its not a huge problem for me to pick something healthier ( or just be bad that night ) at locals but it was nice seeing the lowfat trend take off.

well chicken parm usually means deep fried chicken smothered in mozarella cheese... but it could be adapted -you don't know unless you ask...

I'm afraid not too many places around here are going to have low fat cheese so even If I have them grill the chicken instead ....the cheese...... I'd rather just do that kind of adaption at home. For the maybe twice a month we eat out it just easier for me , but if you frequent places often I could see asking.

Male made a good point that many seem to forget.

"Good" dishes can be made in a terrible way at many chain resturants.

A good chicken dish that I love has these 2 sauces on it. I didnt realize until the other month that the sauces had hundreds of caliroes in them. Well, not hundreds but a LOT. Disappointed me.

instead of lowfat cheese, which isnt near as flavorful as the real stuff - you could always ask for less cheese to be put on it... wen i lived in guidoville in north jersey some of the italian restaurants would put close to a lb of cheese n the parmesan dishes - it doenst need that much for the flavor