Restaurant desserts can fit into lean eating plan

With high gas prices and what appears to be regular bad economic news, many of us dine out less. This may be a good thing for those of us concerned about losing or maintaining weight. But, we haven't stopped dining out completely and from time to time we're faced with difficult dining decisions, especially desserts.

If you own David Zinczenko's "Eat This, Not That!" you've got a handy guide that helps you see what restaurant dining decisions make sense, and what's dietary nonsense. But, restaurant desserts rarely appear there. If I want to be moderately indulgent, I find dessert decisions the hardest to make. A little Web-based research before the outing can help me decide.

For example, on a recent afternoon, some friends suggested we head to Chili's for dinner. Before that, though, I headed to Chili's Web site where I found the complete nutrition analysis of every menu item. Based on that information I decided to say, "No," to openers like the Texas cheese fries with jalapeno ranch dressing at 2,070 calories and 160 fat grams, as well as classic nachos at 1,450 calories and 108 fat grams.

I gave a thumbs-up to the tostada chips with hot sauce at 480 calories and 36 fat grams, but also planned to share them. For dinner, I figured I'd go with the guiltless grilled salmon with black beans and seasonal vegetables at 480 calories and 14 fat grams. The chicken fajita pita (without fries) could also work at 350 calories and 13 fat grams.

Next, I had to figure out what I could do for desert, since I knew my friends rarely forego it. Chili's chocolate chip paradise pie with vanilla ice cream sent off sirens with its 1,600 calories and 78 fat grams, for a single serving.

Then I discovered "Sweet Shots," shot glasses filled with strawberry wave cheesecake (220 calories), Dutch apple caramel cheesecake (230 calories) or warm cinnamon roll (220 calories). I knew to steer clear of the double chocolate fudge brownie Sweet Shot at 410 calories and 24 fat grams. Simple.

In a previous conversation, my friends also suggested that we all head for The Cheesecake Factory some time. Just in case they changed their minds later and suddenly switched, I headed over to The Cheesecake Factory's site to check out the nutritional information. I looked everywhere there and found none.

Since I've never been to The Cheesecake Factory before (it just didn't seem weight-loss/maintenance friendly) I looked at their menu on the web and found that except for a bowl of steamed edamame (soybeans) there didn't seem to be any lean appetizers. For dinner, it appeared that their "Weight Management" spicy chicken salad could work for me with their "Low-Cal" dressing. The three other WM salads had crispy noodles (probably fried), nuts (healthy, but high in fat and calories), or cheese or bacon (both higher in fat and calories than typical salad greens).

Then I looked at the dessert section and spied Chris's Outrageous Chocolate Cake. Uh-oh. I had to rely on Nutrition Action Healthletter's Web site to come up with the calories for this scale-buster. This dessert weighed-in at 3/4-pound, stood 5-inches tall and delivered almost 1,400 calories, 33 saturated fat grams and 5 trans fat grams.

The only safe dessert on Cheesecake Factory's dessert menu: a goblet of fresh strawberries. I'd order that and take a single, small taste of my friend's cake. That way, there'd be no surprises on my next weigh day.

Try this recipe: Although these pancakes aren't jack-o-lantern orange, they still reflect the season. Sauteed apple slices compliment these pumpkin pancakes perfectly and the sugar-free syrup, while not as flavorful as real maple syrup, helps keep this weekend breakfast low-calorie.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, shared recipes and makeover requests for your favorite dishes. Address them to Don Mauer, Daily Herald Food section, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or don@theleanwizard.com.

Pumpkin Pancakes

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