Health care reform at your favorite restaurant

Here's one impact of the health care reform law that you might not have expected. Soon you'll be seeing calorie counts on your favorite chain restaurants menu boards, menus, and drive thru signs. The new law will require more than 200,000 chain restaurants to put calorie counts where they're clearly visible..and the law will apply to any restaurant with 20 or more locations. The idea is to make sure customers see calorie information as they are ordering. Many restaurants may currently post nutritional information in a hallway, on a hamburger wrapper or online. The law will require them to list calorie counts next to each menu item.

I think this is a great idea, but also wish they would have required restaurants to post information for fat grams as well as sodium. I know that I make different choices once I learn about what's really in some of those items.

For example, I just learned that those yummy mint shakes you get at a certain fast food restaurant at this time of year contains 550 calories and 13 grams of fat in a small (16 ounce) serving...so that helped me resist the temptation to go get one of those treats to celebrate my Irish heritage.

Until that information is more readily available..here are some tips to help you make better choices when you go out to eat.

*Pay attention to the descriptions on the menu. If it says it's deep-fried, pan-fried, basted, batter-dipped, breaded, creamy, crispy, scalloped, Alfredo, au gratin or in cream sauce it's probably high in calories, unhealthy fats or sodium. 
 
*Drink water with your meal. Soda is a huge source of hidden calories. One 32-oz  regular cola has around 425 calories.
 
*Hold the mayo. Skip the fat-packed salad dressings, spreads, cheese, and sour cream, etc. 

*Watch your salt. Fast food restaurant food tends to be very high in sodium, so whatever you do don't add more salt!

*Watch portion size - an average fast food meal can contain 1000 calories or more, so choose a smaller portion size, order a side salad instead of fries.  At a typical restaurant, a single serving provides enough for two meals. Take half home or divide the portion with a dining partner.  Then maybe you can even have dessert!

Information from: www.helpguide.org/life/fast_food_nutrition.htm