Tips for Eating Italian Food provided by the American Heart Association
To most people, Italian food means "pasta." And that's good, because pasta itself is low in fat. It's the pesto and cream sauces that add all the fat and calories. So bring on the fettuccine and breadsticks, and load up on marinara sauce. That's amore!
Tips: Enjoy pasta as a main entrée rather than as an appetizer. Share foods among your dinner companions. Ask your waiter to hold the Parmesan (grated) cheese, and the bacon, olives and pine nuts. If you order pizza, choose healthy toppings like spinach, mushrooms, broccoli and roasted peppers.
| Instead of |
Try |
| Fried calamari |
Roasted peppers or minestrone soup |
| Cheese or meat-filled pastas or casserole-type dishes |
Pasta primavera (with garden vegetables) or pasta with white or red clam sauce |
| Pasta with butter or cream sauces (such as Alfredo sauce) |
Pasta with marsala sauce (made with wine) or marinara sauce (made with tomatoes, onions, and garlic) |
| Any scaloppini or parmagiana (floured, fried and baked with cheese) dish |
Marsala and piccata dishes |
| Italian pastries such as cream cake |
Italian ices |
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