Lighten Up Ethnic Cuisine: La Cucina Italiana:
Americans love Italian food. While pasta and pizza
are popular choices, Italian cuisine has much more
to offer. The cultural foods of Italy are as varied as
the 20 different regions in the country. Some of the
food is loaded with saturated fat, like the butter
and cream sauces typical of Northern Italian Cuisine.
Southern and Central Italy
uses more olive oil and the
sauces tend to be lighter.
The Mediterranean Sea
provides an abundance of
seafood and the weather is
conducive for growing a
variety of fruits, vegetables
and legumes.
There are plenty of healthy
dishes to choose from when
you eat Italian Food. Here
are some suggestions to
help you make informed
choices when you order out.
Appetizers/Soup/Salad
• Green salad, have the
dressing on the side or
use balsamic vinegar.
• Minestrone (tomato based
soup with beans,
vegetables and pasta),
consommé, Cioppino
(Fish stew with tomatoes
and seafood), roasted
peppers, shrimp, mussels
or clams sautéed in
wine sauce.
• Avoid antipasto and anything fried.
Pasta
• Watch your portion size. Most restaurants serve
up to three cups of pasta, so ask for a half or
lunch-size portion, split it with a friend or take
of it home for another meal.
• Lower fat sauces include: red clam, Marinara,
Pomodoro, Arrabbiata.
• Avoid Alfredo, Bolognese, Carbonara and pesto
sauces and manicotti, cannelloni, lasagna which
contain a lot of cheese.
Main Courses
• Chicken, seafood or veal
cacciatore or picatta, grilled
meat or fish.
• Eggplant Pomodoro.
• Avoid beef or sausage,
anything labeled parmigiana,
crema or fritto.
Pizza
• Thin crust is best. Ask for half
the cheese and choose
vegetable toppings or
Canadian bacon.
• Avoid olives, pepperoni,
sausage, and
hamburger meat.
Desserts
• Italian ice, fresh fruit.
• Avoid gelato and cannoli.
Just say No to garlic bread
• If you are served a bowl of olive oil to dip your
bread into, each tablespoon contains 14 grams
of fat and 120 calories.
A few words to help you lighten up at home
• Use the leanest meat possible if you are preparing
meatballs or meat-sauce. Drain the fat thoroughly
before adding the meat to other parts of
your dish.
• Try part-skim mozzarella and ricotta instead of
whole milk cheese or use a little less cheese than
recommended.
• When sautéing onions and garlic that will be
added to a sauce, use half the amount of oil
recommended.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dip sliced eggplant
in skim milk, followed by breadcrumbs. Place on
a baking sheet coated lightly with oil and bake
until crispy and done, turning once, 15-25
minutes. Works well in eggplant parmigiana.
