Using common sense in restaurants (from Jill)

I think that it is really great that so many restaurants are trying to cater to consumers' health concerns by trying to provide "healthy" menu items, but, we still need to be savvy consumers and make sure that what they are advertising is what we are getting. Why? An independent research firm recently analyzed various "healthy" dishes from large chain sit-down restaurants that have "guiltless" and "skinny" meals and found that the calories and fat can be almost double what the menu says the content should be! Now, I am not saying that this is being done on purpose to mislead us and most likely is a variation based on the way it is prepared in the individual restaurant so, what do we do? Of course, these menu items are often a much better "jumping off" point when trying to decipher a menu BUT, you still need to be aware as a consumer, what the portion size should be and what the toppings should be (as described on the menu) and not just blindly eat whatever is served because it may be much more than you were expecting. You are making such a good effort to order "healthy" meals in restaurants so please make sure that you are getting what you asked for :-) Jill