NutritionDoc

1. Choose a restaurant that meets your needs. Patronize places likely to offer healthful choices. Do not expect a rib joint to carry low cal fare.

2. Practice portion control. Request a doggy bag at the start of your meal; do not wait until the end or you may be tempted to clean  your plate. Stop yourself from eating by discreetly popping a mint or gum.

3. Make special requests. Do not be shy. Ask for mustard insted of mayo, salsa instead of butter for baked potatoes, broccoli instead of cole slaw. After taking one roll, ask your server to remove the basket.

4. Resist the urge for a bargain. Super sized meals offer more food for the money but are no bargain if they put on pounds.

5. Do not let yourself get ravenous. Excessive hunger can make you throw caution to the wind when picking a place to eat.

6. Be the first to order. Waiting until everyone in your party has ordered can weaken your resolve to eat right.

7. Focus on filling appetizers. Skip high fat choices; order tomato juice, fruit cup, veggie tray, broth-based soup or smoked seafood.

8. Sideline your dressing. Using a fork, dip salad greens in the dressing instead of pouring it on.

9. Build the meal you need. Instead of a standard entree, order a salad and a bean based soup like lentil, minestrone or black bean. Or make a low fat meal out of shrimp cocktail, spinach salad and a baked potato.

10. Be adventurous. Dining out does not have to be unhealthful. Think of it as your chance to order good -for- you foods you haven't tried at home, such as quinoa, broccoli rabe, pork tenderloin or mahi mahi.

"The responsible adult in you will want to read the bag," says the ad for Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix. Why? So you will notice the "50% Less Fat than regular potato chips" claim on the front.

In fact, you are better off reading the small print in the ingredient list on the back. That is where you will find that Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix consists mostly of refined corn meal and white flour, sugar, candy coated chocolate pieces, sugar coated peanuts, butter, sugar, salt, and a host of artificial flavors and colors (Blue2, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40).

It is bad enough that General Mills is selling junk. But to pretend that Chex Mix is healthy because it has got less fat than Chips? That's chutzpah.

"Need Help Checking Vegetables Off Your 'to do list'?" asks the ad. No sweat. A 12 oz. bottle of V8 has "three full servings of vegetables".

Wrong.

According to the government, a serving is 1/2 cup of veggies or 3/4 cup (6oz) of veggie juice. That puts two, not three, servings of veggies in a 12 oz bottle of V8

And what a two servings they are. For starters, the bottle of V8 delivers 880 mg of sodium. There is no way you will stay under a 1500mg limit or even a 2400mg limit after you squander 880mg on a 70 calorie drink.

Also, V8 is mostly water and tomato concentrate. It has also got some carrot, celery, beet, parsley, lettuce, watercress, and spinach juice, but the company won't say how much. Surely, you are better off with two half cup servings of broccoli, carrots, spinach, peas, or asparagus than with a salty glass of mostly tomato juice.

And . . . since when would you WANT to check veggies off your "to do list"?

Despite the name, canned refried beans are often free of bad fat, high in fiber, and a decent source of protein and iron. The problem: sodium can reach 400 to 600 mg in every half cup, depending on who's doing the cooking.

Not anymore.

Amy's has added Vegetarian Organic Refried Beans (traditional or black) to its new line of Light in Sodium foods.

They are not salft free. If you have ever tried mashed beans without salt, you will know why. At about 200mg of sodium per half cup they are salt sensible.

With ingredients like organic beans, filtered water, organic onions, organic high oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil, organic garlic, seat salt and spices. Amy might as well be cooking from scratch in your kitchen.

And the directions - "heat and serve" - do not begin to cover the possibilities.

Wrap with grilled veggies and salsa in a tortilla. Serve instead of rice or potatoes as a side dish with chicken or fish. Mix with brown rice, diced onion and tomato, and a shot of Tabasco. Or just fill up a bowl and serve with red pepper slices.

With experts advising anyone midde-aged or older to get no more than 1500 mg a day of sodium,"light in sodium"should be the norm - not a novelty.

Choose wisely . . . . live well.

"High in protein, vitamins and minerals. Everything you expect from an energy bar, with the great taste you expect from Snickers," promises the ad for Snickers Marathon Energy Bars.

What DO people expect from an energy bar? The name implies that it will make you feel more energetic than you would feel after eating other foods. Wrong. When the word "energy" appears on a food label, it means "calories" nothing more. Apparently, "Calorie Bar" does not have the same appeal.

Marathon bars are largely caramel, corn syrup, and chocolate, spiked with protein from a mixture of soy and whey protein isolate, peanut flour, and calcium caseinate.  In other owrds, they are still candy bars. They may be better than ordinary candy bars, but most of us are not marathon runners ( well . . . .  except Ross Johnson) We do not need to swallow 150 - 220 calories in a few bites. In fact, foods with fewer calories per bite - like fruits and veggies - would help us stay (or get) slimmer.

Snickers got one thing right: about the only people who might need energy bars are those in the middle of a marathon. For everyone else, there is ordinary food.

Choose wisely . . . live well.

To intensify the flavor of whole spices ( cardamom, mustar seed, coriander, fennel seed, etc.) just stir them in a dry nonstick skillet over medium heat for 1 minute.

"We stack meat and cheese. Meat and cheese. No veggies," boasts the ad for Burger King's new BK Stackers.

Are they kidding? Unless you are suicidal, why on earth would you want to wolf down a Quad Stacker - 4 hamburger patties, 4 slices of cheese, 8 strips of bacon, plus sauce and bun? That is half a day's calories (1,000) 1 1/2 days worth of sat fat (30 grams) 3 grams of trans fat, and more than a day's sodium for anyone 50 or over (1800mg).

Not so hungry? Try a Double or Triple Stacker.

Urp!!

Does Burger King have a deal with Jenny Craig? Or perhaps the surgeons who do coronary bypasses or stomach stapling? Surely, they could not be hurting for customers.

Maybe BK's corporate honchos are hoping that young or middle aged males will see the first four-burger stack at a major fast food chain as a test of their toughness. Nothing like a 45 inch waist to make you look macho.

Do companies sit around trying to dream up new Food Porn candidates for us? Nah. They are just trying to make a buck.

Translation: who cares how fat and how sick Americans get as long as Burger King keeps 'em coming in the (soon to be widened) door.

Choose wisely . . . live well.