A Few of my Favorite Things at Restaurants, A-Z.

Navigating your way through a restaurant menu can be a difficult task, so here are a few of my favorite things off the menu, helpful for anyone who is embarking on a weight loss program. One for each letter of the alphabet!

• Applebee's - Pretty much anything off of their Weight Watcher's Menu. The Italian Chicken and Portobello Sandwich, 360 calories, and the French Onion Soup, 150 calores, are both winners.
• Baja Fresh - The Charbroiled Shrimp or Fish Tacos (280 and 340 calories), and the Chicken Tortilla Soup (270, or 220 without chicken) are plenty for a meal, and low on calories.
• Carl's Jr. - The Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich is fantastic, has no cheese and doesn't need it. 290 calories of fabulousness!
• Daphne's Greek Cafe - The Kabob Lunch with Chicken is good for 210 calories, and you can also get Avgolemono Soup for an additional 100 calories. The Greek Chicken Salad weighs in at 415 calories, not bad, but skip the Pita Bread unless you want to add another 190.
• El Pollo Loco - The BRC Burrito is ok at 528 calories, but that's all you can have. If you order the Chicken Breast, no skin at 153, you can also get a small Tortilla Soup at 222 or a Tamale for 180.
• Fitness Pizza - There are unfortunately only 2 locations for this amazing place, Brea and Yorba Linda. If you can make it in, go for the Iron Man Pizza (140 per slice), Triathlete (150) or the Hockey Player (160). Everything on the menu is pretty good, and they list nutritional information right there on the menu.
• G, G, G…. - Ok, there's really nothing I can think of for G. Sorry.
• Haagen Dazs - You can grab a small Mano, Raspberry or Strawberry Sorbet for 120 calories a piece.
• In N Out Burger - A Hamburger Protien Style is 240, if you go for the cheese, make it 340. So worth it! SKip the fries if you can, they're 400 calories for a small.
• Jamba Juice - From the Enlightened Menu, go for a 16 oz. Strawberry Nirvana or Berry Fulfilling, each 150 calories.
• KFC - This should not be on your diet plan, but ifyou have no options, go for the Roasted Caesar Salad, no dressing, and add on a packet of Light Italian dressing, a grand total of 265 calories. A Tender Roast Chicken Sandwich without sauce is 260, with sauce it's 390. Could be worse. My personal fave is the Crispy Twister, at 670 calories. So, if I have to have it, and I haven't for more than 2 years, I eat half. Hard to do, and not really worth 670 calores.
• La Salsa - 2 Baja Shrimp Tacos will set you back 370, and 2 Chicken Tacos La Salsa are 267…but be careful here. Much of their menu, even the Fire Roasted Bowls that look healthy, even the no rice and beans ones, can start at 800 calories or more, there are some menu items that are closing in on the 2000 calorie mark. For like one burrito. Careful!
• McDonald's - The Southwest Salad with Grilled chicken will cost you 320 calories, but I think the dressing is added sparartely, so add 100 for Newman's Own Southwest Dressing. Same goes for all their salads, The Asian Grilled Chicekn Salad is 290, but the Sesame Dressing on the side is another 90. Your best bets for all of their salad dressings are Newman's Own Low Fat Balsamic (40) or Newman's Own Low Fat Italian (60). A Premium Grilled Classic Chicken Sandwich without Mayo is 370, not bad. But a Big Mac is 560, in case you have no willpower that day. Just don't eat any fries, a small is 250 and a super size is 610. Ouch!
• Naked Juice - You can find these at bagel stores and some fast food places, in place of a drink. The Green Machine is 130 calores, the Blue Machine is 170, they all have nutritional info listed. You can always chug one of these in place of a meal.
• Olive Garden - The Lunch portion of the Linguine alla Marinara is going to be 340, as will the Dinner portion of the Pork Fillettino with Vegetables. Breadsticks are 140 a piece, so be careful! If you get the unlimited House Salad and Breadsticks, at least ask for the Light Italian Dressing, it will be better.
• Pick Up Stix - Shrimp with Vegetables is 170, and Szechwan Shrimp is 178. Beware of the House Special Beef, coming in at 873! A Teriyaki Vegetable Bowl is 450, but if you add chicken it shoots up to 1153! 700 calories of chicken? Go for a California Roll, 2 pieces are 200.
• Quizno's - A small Honey Bourbon Chicken sub will be 360 calories, and the Sierra Smoked Turkey with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce is 350. Instead of chips, get some of their free pickles and pepperoncini's at the sauce bar, they're virtually calorie free. A Small Tuscan Chicken Salad has 326 calories. These are your best bets, and the sandwiches are so good, you won't feel deprived of anything. For the extra 25 or 35 caloreies, get the sandwich instead of the salad. You'll be fuller.
• Rubio's - The Original Fish taco and the Chicken taco are each 300, and the Mahi Mahi taco is 310. But the Carnitas or Chicken Street Tacos are only 110 a piece! Don't get a combo of anything, it will head over 600 calories, or more!
• Subway - We all know that the 6" Subs under 6 are the best, the "Jared's Choices". So any of these are good. Leave off cheese for a 40 - 50 calorie savings…per slice, and they add 2 of those to a 6". Get the regular Wheat Bread too, none of the Fancy Schmancy ones with cheese and crap on them. A 6" Turkey on Wheat without Cheese or Mayo is only 280 calories. Never have mayo on a sandwich, sub in mustard. They have Dijon Mustard too, and you can have some of the red wine vinaigrette, just skip the oil.
• Taco Bell - Get a Fiesta Style Crunchy Taco for 150, this replaces the cheese with Fiesta Salsa. That's about the best you can do here, and you really shouldn't be eating Taco Bell anyway.
• U, U, U…. - Nothing here either.
• V, V, V…. - Or here.
• Wahoo's - THe Chicken Tortilla Soup is only 45 calories! And a Charbroiled Fish Taco is 170 , Blackened Fish Taco is 175, Shrimp is 180. Add soup to that and you're in business!
• X, X, X… - No X. Even for Ms. X.
• Yardhouse - I hit this place for Happy Hour with the girls somewhat often, and we get the Margherita Pizza, 2 slices are 250, the BBQ Chicken Pizza for 2 slices is 325, and the Thai Chicken Pizza is 340 for 2 slices. The Chopped Salad with no bacon and 1/4 of the avocado is 255, so that's good too. But the wine and beer will set you back, so be aware!
• Z Pizza - These pizzas need to be ordered on the Wheat Dough, and the California is 150 for a single slice of a small pizza. The ZBQ is 170 for the same amount, the Mediterranean is 160, the Provence is 160. These are all amazing pizzas, and worth the small amount of calories. Ask for less cheese to make it better. You can probably add shrimp to the Provence and not make much of a dent in your calorie bank.

Now, get out there and be armed with this information! There are always ways to eat better when you're out. Easy things like asking for no butter or oil, or less cheese, or just plain old asking for a box and only eating half. We can't eat at home all the time, so when you're out, keep your fitness goals in mind, and you can always talk to your helpful Personal Trainer for more tips!

Be eXcellent!

Ms. X - a www.socalworkout.com writer.

A Personal Training Orange County Expert