Every type of restaurant has a few dishes on the menu that are better for you than others. There is almost always a low-fat dish. With a bit of knowledge you can eat out healthy. Read the below summery in order to learn what are the highlights for healthy eating in the most common cuisines on offer.

Main: The idea is to get top know the content of your food. Some types of cuisine are healthier than others. The offer in restaurants today is targeted to supply many tastes. With awareness to healthy diet increasing, there are low fat and low carb dishes on almost every menu. So do some research initially and soon eating out healthy will become an easy habit.

Mexican food:

Good Mexican food is for instance salsa, soft tortilla's, black beans, stripes of spiced chicken or beef or chopped steak. Salsa is essentially cooked and spices vegetables, tortillas are made of corn flour and as long as they are soft it means they were not fried. Beans contain essential amino acids and meat is rich in protein and usually when served in stripes is made from lean meat.

High in fat are tortilla chips, cheese, guacamole and sour cream. In general a fajita, enchilada or burritos are better than chimichanga or tacos (these last two dishes are fried).

Italian food:

Good Italian food is with tomatoes, pasta (not filled with cheese), grilled chicken, fish or sea fruits. A sauce based on tomatoes and maybe some vegetables is good. High in fat are dishes with fried eggplant or zucchini, sausage, cheese and sliced meat. Don't take pasta with a cream sauce like 'pasta carbonara'. Also don't take pasta filled with cheese, like cannelloni and ravioli. Everything that is called 'parmigiana' is also high in fat! A pizza with vegetables, grilled or spiced chicken, shrimps, tomatoes and low-fat cheese is fine. The thinner the pizza the better. All pizzas with extra cheese, pepperoni, sausage, anchovies, bacon and ham are too high in fat. Try if you find half a pizza enough. It is important to watch the amount. A remainder of pizza is tasty to eat the next day! So just ask the waiter to have it packed for you.

Chinese food:

Good Chinese food is for instance tofu (unless you are allergic to soy), vegetables, fish, shrimps, chicken and roasted pork meat. Duck sauce is good and Chinese mustard too. Soy sauce is not high in fat, but contains a lot of sodium. Don't take any deep fried appetizers, like won ton or egg roll. Instead of that try a soup. Rice is fine, as long as it is not fried rice. Think about how much you eat. A Chinese appetizer is usually big enough for two or three meals. Take what is left home, for a good lunch the next day. Order appetizers rather than the large main dishes.

Fast food:

If you must eat a hamburger, think about the size. Take a normal hamburger, not a double. Do allow to “super size” your meal. Take one without cheese, bacon, ham or special sauces. Of lettuce and tomatoes you can take as much as you like on the other hand. Same thing goes for sandwiches with roast beef etc. Try to stay away from chips, but if that is too hard, order the smallest portion. Grilled chicken is also a fine choice. But no fried chicken and also no chicken wings. A lot of fast food restaurants have salads on their menu. A salad with raw vegetables or grilled chicken is the best choice. Don't take a salad with fried ingredients, like bacon, or fried potatoes as a side dish. The most important is to take a low-fat dressing or no dressing at all. Most fast food restaurants have this on their menu.