Ah yes, as you slowly work towards eating healthier, bumps along your way will likely be high-calorie and fat-laden restaurant meals. Whether you order take out, grab a quick fast food meal or linger over a fancy meal, restaurant meals present BIG CHALLENGES to your healthier eating efforts! And though you're willing to eat a few less grab-and-go breakfasts and brown-bag a couple more lunches, you’re unlikely to say so long to restaurant meals.

Ah yes, as you slowly work towards eating healthier, bumps along your way will likely be high-calorie and fat-laden restaurant meals. Whether you order take out, grab a quick fast food meal or linger over a fancy meal, restaurant meals present BIG CHALLENGES to your healthier eating efforts! And though you're willing to eat a few less grab-and-go breakfasts and brown-bag a couple more lunches, you’re unlikely to say so long to restaurant meals.

First appeared as Thoughts from the Experts blog on healthydiningfinder.com
Are you…
* Confused about how to put together healthier restaurant meals?
* Challenged by supersized portions served in restaurants?
* Flabbergasted about sodium and fat counts of restaurant foods?
* Unclear about how to make special requests without creating a scene?

An effort is underway with legislation, The Labeling and Education Act—LEAN Act—recently introduced in the U.S. Senate (S. 558) and House of Representatives (HR 1398), to require chain restaurants with more than 20 locations to provide Americans with detailed nutrition information, such as calories and grams of carbohydrate, fat, sodium and more.

On Sept 30 California’s governor signed the first state-wide legislation to require chain restaurants with more than 20 locations to offer up key nutrition facts, such as calories, saturated fat, carbohydrate and sodium, at the point of purchase (right next to the price of the item on menus or menu boards). No longer will the availability of this information on websites, on posters or in brochures be sufficient. The legislation goes into effect July 2009 and takes full effect in 2011.

A recent report from a Scripps Television station investigation reveals wide discrepancies between the restaurant’s nutrition facts (calories and fat) and those determined by laboratory nutrition analysis. The investigation took place over 3 months, in 8 cities and on meals mainly from sit down restaurants, such as Chili’s, Applebee’s, and Cheesecake Factory ; and one fast food restaurant, Taco Bell. Some discrepancies were several fold, even on healthier entries. Others were more on target.

So off we went, against my better judgement, to the new Friday’s. As expected, perusing the menu and visually eyeing the heaping platters being delivered to tables around us, that dodging large portions and mounds of fries would be challenge numero uno. Menu creativity, one of my key healthy restaurant eating strategies in Eat Out, Eat Right, needed to be implemented. Step one: order a few (less than the number of diners at the table) interesting and healthy items and share.

A new solve-all-your-food-problems guide and has quickly risen into to the top of the bestseller charts with the blizzard of the January weight loss frenzy. The title: Eat This, Not That by the editor of Men’s Health. Meanwhile the 3^rd edition of the bestselling title Eat Out, Eat Right authored, once again, by yours truly is hot off the press.