Restaurant Dining--The Meatless Way.

Making the change to a plant-based diet? Try these tips for eating out without the steak.

Without question, a diet based on plant foods can contribute to good health These days vegetarians have a wide range of nutritious foods to choose from when sitting down to a meal in a restaurant. A plant-based diet tends to contain more fiber, less saturated fat and cholesterol, and more phytochemicals--active compounds that may play an important role in preventing and treating diseases such as cancer.

If you want to omit animal protein from your diet, or if you already do, you are making a healthy lifestyle change. The trick is to choose a balanced vegetarian diet. Here are a fey,. suggestions for selecting low-fat, high-carbohydrate restaurant meals that will satisfy the nutritional requirements imperative to a vegetarian diet:

Appetizers--Fresh fruit, vegetable sticks, tomato juice, fruit juices, and Crackers make great starters for your meal,

Breads--Unbuttered rolls and breads are wonderful--request extra the standard fare is buttered, as with garlic bread, request some plain bread.

Soups--Broth-based soups, such as vegetable, minestrone, and lentil soups, are good sources of protein and carbohydrates, and are more healthful than creamy chowders and bisques. These are also an excellent source of fluids.

Salads--Boost the protein and calcium value of salads by adding grated nonfat mozzarella cheese, cubes of tofu, or a scoop of chickpeas, egg slices (discard yolks), three-bean salad, walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, or peanuts. Salads can easily heighten your intake of potassium, a mineral that protects against high blood pressure. You should try to get at least 3,500 milligrams of potassium a day--an easy task for salad lovers. These are some of the veggies richest in potassium:

* Romaine, four large leaves (400 milligrams)

* Broccoli, one cup, chopped, raw (380 milligrams)

* Tomato, one medium (370 milligrams)

* Carrot, one large (340 milligrams)

Do be sure to get a calcium-,protein-, and potassium-rich salad if salads are the mainstay of your diet. Don't try to live on lettuce alone!

Salad Dressings--A few innocent ladles of salad dressing can transform a healthy salad into a high-fat nutritional nightmare! On a large salad, :dressing can easily add 800 to 1,000 calories. At restaurants, always request that salad dressing be served on the side so you can control the amount you consume. Add the dressing sparingly, or dip the salad into the dressing before each bite.

Pasta--Pile it on! Choose pasta served with tomato sauces rather than high-fat cheeses, oil, or cream sauces. However, rather than omitting a food you truly love, simply request to your server that he or she halve the portion of sauce regularly served and top the dish with extra protein and iron-rich vegetables such as broccoli, tomatoes, and various seasonal peppers. Also, be on the lookout for cheese-filled lasagna, manicotti, and tortellini. They tend to be high-fat choices.

Potatoes--You can also make these a mainstay of your vegetarian diet, Unless the chef loads them up with butter or sour cream, these dishes can be terrific sources of carbohydrates. Request that the toppings be served on the side, so you can control how much you eat. Of course, this is a special request, but remember, you are the customer! Top it off with various steamed seasonal veggies, fiber-rich legumes, and salsa, and you have a low-fat, nutrient-rich way to enjoy what might otherwise be a dry potato.

Vegetables--Request plain, unbuttered vegetables with any special sauces (hollandaise, cheese, and lemon-butter) on the side.

A word on tofu (soybean curd) and other soy products: soy milk and tofu are excellent additions to a meat-free diet. They not only contain a source of high-quality protein that is equivalent in value to animal protein, but also have properties that may protect against heart disease and cancer. The more often you include soy foods in your diet, the more likely you are to lower the bad cholesterol, increase the good cholesterol, and delay cancerous tumor growth. Fortunately, because of the growing number of vegetarians today, restaurants have begun to incorporate healthy meat alternatives into their menus.

On those occasions that you are faced with a meal that is all wrong for you, try to make the best of a tough situation. For example, scoop the sour cream off the potato or drain the dressing from the salad. You may also supplement a deficient meal with fig bars, pretzels, whole-wheat crackers, graham crackers, bagels, raisins, dried fruit, and various types of nuts. Pack these emergency foods to bring along with you. However, try to make special requests. Remember, you are the boss when it comes to restaurant eating. It's the restaurant's job to serve you the low-fat, nutrient-rich foods that enhance your healthy plantbased diet. Bon Apetit!

RELATED ARTICLE: Tips For Eating Out

Pizza

Vegetarian pizza--try adding pineapple; also, try your pizza without cheese--it's good!

Fast Food

Vegetarian burgers, bean burritos, bean soft tacos, bean tostadas (with or without cheese), pancakes, muffins, biscuits, baked potato with vegetable toppings, and salad bar. In restaurants without "veggie burgers," just ask for a regular burger or cheeseburger minus the meat--ask for extra lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles.

Italian

Lentil soup, minestrone soup, pasta e fagioli (pasta with beans), pasta primavera, pasta with marinara sauce, vegetable lasagna, cheese manicotti, or baked ziti.

Mexican

Bean burritos, bean tacos, chalupas, gazpacho, cheese enchiladas, spinach burritos, spinach or cheese quesadillas, bean nachos, chile rellenos, vegetable fajitas 

Indian

Dal, vegetable curries, raitas, idli or dhoka (steamed bean and rice cakes), vegetable sarnosas, palak panir (spinach and cheese), mutter panir (garden peas with cheese), vegetable pakoras

Chinese

Vegetable soup, hot and sour soup, vegetarian spring rolls and egg rolls, pot stickers (steamed vegetable dumplings), Chinese salads, mixed Chinese vegetables, broccoli with garlic sauce, steamed greens, vegetable lo mein, dishes made with tofu (bean curd) or seitan (wheat gluten)

American

Cooked or dry cereals with skim milk, pancakes and waffles, fruit, vegetable plates, grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, meatless Reuben sandwich, baked potato, vegetable soup

Middle Eastern

Hummus, tabouli, falafel sandwiches, stuffed grape leaves, baba ghanoush, vegetarian stuffed cabbage leaves, spinach turnovers

Reprinted from Being Vegetarian: Up-to-date Tips From the World's Foremost Nutrition Experts, by the American Dietetic Association with permission from the publisher, Chronimed Publishing, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Marie R. Cole is a writer living in Bedford, New Hampshire.