A young couple eating dinner at a restaurant

Dining out this weekend? 5 tips for choosing healthy restaurant meals.

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  • Use portion control. We all know restaurant portions can be oversized and packed with calories. To reduce calorie intake, try splitting an entrée with a family member or friend, ordering an appetizer with a salad, or have your server wrap up half of the dish for you to take home.
  • Know the “code words.” Watch out for terms like crispy, fried, battered, crusted and creamy. They are often code for high-calorie and high-fat. Terms that generally mean a dish has been prepared in a healthy manner include steamed, broiled, baked, grilled and roasted.
  • Ask what’s in the dish. You can request that your meal be prepared without butter, cheese, oil or added salt. Many chefs are happy to accommodate these requests.
  • Ask your server to put condiments and salad dressings on the side so you can control how much you use.
  • Avoid sugary beverages, which can easily add hundreds of calories to your meal. Stick with water, unsweetened tea or coffee.

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