Americans love to dine out. In fact, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) reports that the average person buys a meal or snack from a restaurant nearly six times per week, and that combined sales this year are expected to reach $566 billion. They also report that the 2009 trends in dining out will be people seeking healthier foods and greener restaurants.

    In addition, the NRA also reports that roughly 75 percent of adults are trying to eat more healthily than they were two years ago when dining out. Parents are also making it a priority to find restaurants that offer healthy children’s menu options, so much so that NRA has said that healthy kids’ meals are among the hottest restaurant trends in 2009.

    According to the American Heart Association (AHA), people can eat out and still be healthy. However, it’s important that they give some thought to what they are ordering, to try to avoid foods loaded with cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fat. When dining out, consumers who are seeking healthy meals should consider the following tips:

• Eat smaller portions by asking for a to-go container right away and putting a portion of the food in it, or by sharing a meal with others at the table.
• Skip the cheese or ask for it to be on the side, to have more control over how much goes on.
• Choose a lot of vegetables and dishes that have lighter sauces, rather than cream-based ones.
• When eating fish, opt for boiled, baked or grilled, rather than fried.
• With salads, order dressing on the side, to control how much goes on. Many salad dressings are loaded with fat.
• Opt for broth-based soups over creamed ones, which usually have more fat and calories.
• Don’t be afraid to ask the waiter questions and to put in requests for things to be prepared in a healthier way.