DINING OUT — Best Restaurant Menu Choices

The most difficult time to control salt consumption is when dining out. Making good nutritional choices can often be difficult, particularly when you don't know what has been added to the foods you order. For example, a healthy garden salad with low-fat dressing oftentimes has more sodium than a hamburger and french fries. Hard to believe, but what we think is healthy may not be low in sodium.

The following are your best choices from appetizers to desserts and by cuisine, including Chinese, Mexican and other specialty restaurants.

> General Selections
> Choices by Cuisine

GENERAL SELECTIONS

Appetizers Choose fresh fruits and vegetables, unsalted nuts, dried fruits or banana chips Avoid crackers, cheese dips, pates, cocktail sauce and meatballs

Cheeses Choose Swiss or goat cheese Avoid feta, brie and most other cheeses

Beverages Choose beer, wine, champagne, apple cider, tea, or coffee Avoid eggnog, Bloody Marys and Pina Coladas

Salads Choose tossed greens, carrot/raisin and gelatin salads Avoid three-bean and mayo-based salads

Salad Dressings Choose vinaigrette, oil and vinegar Avoid creamy dressings and Zesty Italian

Soups Avoid most soups

Entrees Choose roasted poultry, beef, or pork Avoid ham, sausage and breaded dishes

Side Dishes Choose vegetables without sauces, candied yams, glazed carrots, applesauce, or mashed potatoes Avoid stuffing, rice pilaf and cottage cheese

Breads Choose matzos or small dinner rolls Avoid biscuits, muffins, cornbread, focaccia bread and bread sticks

Condiments Choose au jus, honey mustard, cranberry sauce, fruit relishes and chutneys, jams and jellies Avoid olives, pickles, ketchup, Dijon-type mustards, gravies and most sauces

Desserts Choose meringue cookies, apple strudel, sponge cake, fruitcake, sherbet, sorbet, custard, or fruit tarts Avoid pies, pastries, gingerbread, angel food and frosted cakes

CHOICES BY CUISINE

> Asian > Fast Foods > French > Italian > Mexican ASIAN Although full of delicious flavors, Asian cuisine is loaded with sodium. Here's ways to lessen the salt. Limit your intake of sauces by using chopsticks and leaving the sauce on the plate. Ask that salt and MSG not be added to your selections, however, many are made with sauces that contain soy sauce which is high is sodium. Request more vegetables be substituted for some of the meat or fish in dishes. Do not add soy sauce to your meal.

Best choices Bean curd or tofu items Steamed rice Steamed or stir-fried dishes with vegetables Hot and sour soup Sweet and sour, chili, or garlic sauces (although still high in salt, these have the lowest amounts) Avoid Soy sauce and MSG Black bean, hoisin, plum, fish and oyster sauces Deep fried or battered dishes (i.e. tempura) Chow meins and lo meins Pickled foods FAST FOODS Even though the majority of fast foods are high in sodium, most eateries have some lower salt choices. Best choices Unsalted fries Veggie sandwiches Burgers (remove half the bun, hold the mayo and pickles) Yogurt or fresh fruit Avoid Breaded fish and poultry Subs and wraps Chips Condiments and cheese Pies or cookies FRENCH — If you stay away from creamy entrees and sauces, you can enjoy many French dishes.   Best choices Dishes with wine-based sauces Vinaigrette dressings Sorbet Fresh fruit desserts or tarts Avoid Creamy sauces (like hollandaise, morney, bechamel, or bernaise) Creamy soups ITALIAN — Many salty dishes have spicy meats or creamy sauces, here are some alternatives.   Best choices Pastas with marinara sauce Pasta/fagoli or marsala dishes Primavera Piccata (hold the capers) Oil and vinegar dressing Italian ices Avoid Antipasto platters Cheese or cream sauces MEXICAN — Although heavy in sodium-laden cheeses and sauces, you have many choices to keep your salt in check.   Request sauces on the side Ask that cheese not be added to your meal Substitute corn tortillas for flour Best choices Ceviche Grilled fish or chicken Beef or chicken tacos or tostadas Corn tortillas Fresh salsa or pico de gallo Guacamole Flan Avoid Tortilla chips Cheesy dishes, like enchiladas and quesadillas Burritos Beans and rice Chorizo (Mexican sausage) Flour tortillas

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Olympia, WA

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