To most people, Italian food means pasta. Pasta is low in fat, and whole-grain pasta is a good choice when available. It’s the full-fat cheeses and cream sauces that add all the saturated fat and calories. So ask for fettucine with marinara sauce. That’s amore!

Tips:

• Enjoy pasta as a main entree rather than an appetizer.
• Share foods with your dining companions.
• Ask your waiter to hold the cheese and the bacon.
• If you order pizza, choose toppings like spinach, mushrooms, broccoli and roasted peppers to keep down the saturated fat and add up the vegetables.

Fried calamari	Roasted peppers or minestrone soup
Cheese or meat-filled pastas or casserole-type dishes	Pasta primavera (with sauteed garden vegetables) or pasta with white or red clam sauce
Pasta with butter or cream sauces (such as Alfredo sauce)	Pasta with marsala sauce (made with wine) or marinara sauce (made with tomatoes, onions and garlic)
Any scallopine or parmigiana (floured, fried and baked with cheese) dish	Marsala and piccata dishes
Italian pastries such as cream cake	Italian ices