You can still have Italian, just think red sauce, veggies, pasta with holes, and meat that isn't fried! 

Course: Bread & Antipasto

Have Your Pane with Protein
The best decision is to leave the breadbasket off the table. However, if that would risk starting a riot, at least eat it with some antipasto. “Starting the meal with carbs sets the body up for hunger," says Dobbin. “Have bread with a small bite of cheese, or charcuterie, which offers more satisfaction and won’t send you reaching for another slice," she says. Adding protein will make that bite of bread more filling. Try to limit yourself to one piece, and watch out for the focaccia: a single piece can packing 7 PointsPlus values, twice the amount in a normal piece of white bread.

Use Oil, Not Butter
If you need to slick up your bread with something, use olive oil instead of butter. Not only is olive oil a source of healthful monounsaturated fat, but a Cornell University study found that diners who used olive oil as a bread condiment ate 23 percent less bread than those who used butter. Just don’t soak the bread entirely; one dip is enough.

Don’t O.D. on Lunchmeat
A common meat antipasto is misto salumi, or Italian charcuterie that includes dried meats like the familiar prosciutto, as well as speck, mortadella, and Bresaola. While these meats are high in fat and protein, with about 70-90 calories per ounce, they usually come in very thin slices. “A thin slice can be satisfying because it’s intense in flavor, but the key is to not make a sandwich with it," says Dobbins.

Consider Going Tapas
The small plates that precede pasta are known as antipasti, and they run the gamut from healthy choices like marinated vegetables, olives and artichokes to heart-stoppers like fried squash blossoms stuffed with cheese. Sounds a lot like Spanish Tapas? For a change, go with that approach. “It’s perfectly fine to make a tasting meal of antipasti," says Brandwein. “The beauty is you can pick one indulgence, like risotto balls, and balance it with a number of healthier selections."

Don’t Overlook Soup
Soup is a main course in authentic Italian restaurants, hence the $14 price and large serving. But you can order as an appetizer, of course. Traditional Tuscan and Florentine soups with combinations of escarole, beans, pasta and sausage can be good alternatives to meat antipastos or salads filled with cheese.

Pasta or Main Course

Combine Courses
In traditional Italian dining, the second course, or secondo, is usually a simple piece of meat, with contorno, or side dishes, ordered separately. If it’s an option, pay the premium to add chicken or shrimp to your pasta and skip this course. “It’s counterintuitive, because you’re adding something. But you’ll eat less food overall with one course.And that single plate will be more filling and satisfying than pasta alone," says Dobbins.

Go Halves on Pasta
Pasta, in its many shapes and sizes, is the heart of the Italian dining experience. Often, it’s not the pasta itself, but the portion that is most destructive to a healthy diet. “I frequently order a half portion of pasta," says Brandwein. You can also order two different half portions, and split the difference between a splurge and a healthier choice. It’s harder to do this with lasagna, but you can ask the server to cut it in half and serve it on two plates for sharing (a one-cup serving will run 7-12 PointsPlus values, depending on its ingredients and density).

Fill Your Plate with Air
A hollow pasta, like ziti, orrecchietti, bucatini, etc., will appear to give you a larger portion size than solid pasta, like spaghetti or fetticine. And that may help you eat less of it while still feeling satisfied. The opposite is true of risotto, by the way. “White pasta and white rice are nutritionally similar, but risotto is a much denser food," says Dobbins. “So you’re likely to eat a larger portion of risotto than of a lighter, hollow pasta, for instance."

Go Whole-Wheat — If You Really Like It
A cup of whole-wheat spaghetti will shave one PointsPlus value off regular spaghetti’s 5 PointsPlus value — but it may not be a point worth saving if you enjoy white pasta (and you don’t eat it every day). While whole-wheat is undoubtedly a better nutritional choice than white pasta, it can also be chewy and otherwise inferior in taste to it’s paler cousin unless expertly prepared. “As long as you are getting your whole grains somewhere, there is not much to gain nutritionally from one meal of whole wheat pasta," says Dobbins. “It might pay to order what you enjoy, and get your grains elsewhere."

Know Beans
An often-overlooked ingredient of Italian cuisine is beans, including giant favas, cannellini and borlotti. Pasta e fagiole (pasta with beans)is a smart choice for the first course since beans replace a portion of the pasta, bringing fiber and protein to this traditional dish. The dish comes in many regional variations, sometimes appearing more like a soup.

COOKING ITALIAN TERM DECODER

Al Dente – It literally means “to the teeth," but this term means you want your pasta firm in the center (not overcooked). “There’s no need to ask for this — you can assume it will be cooked this way in a quality Italian restaurant," says Brandwein.

A la Grille – Cooked on the grill. A great choice.

Arrabiata – An “angry" (spicy) red tomato sauce from the region around Rome. Red chilis kick up the heat. A good choice.

Arrabiata – An “angry" (spicy) red tomato sauce from the region around Rome. Red chilis kick up the heat. A good choice.

Arrosto – Roasted.

Burrata – A trendy, decadent cheese from Puglia that’s soft in the center, filled with strands of soft mozzarella and heavy cream.

Caponata – Italy’s answer to ratatouille, this Sicilian dish of eggplant, garlic, peppers and other vegetables can be served as an appetizer, or a companion to fish or bread.

Carbonara – A hearty meal of pasta in bacon or pork fat, with eggs and cheese. It can pack 13 PointsPlus values per cup.

Crudo – Literally “raw," crudo on Italian menus refers to raw fish in citrus and oil. Think ceviche.

Fra Diavolo – A term meaning “brother devil" usually means a dish has red sauce spiked with red pepper or cayenne.

Fresh Pasta – Unlike dried pasta, fresh pasta is soft before cooking and includes a large number of egg yolks. It’s most popular for stuffed and shaped pastas that are made onsite.

Fritto – Fried.

Gnocchi – These Italian dumplings are pasta stuffed with potato or, sometimes, cheese. One cup of potato gnocchi has 5 PointsPlusvalues per cup; cheese kicks it up to 12.

Mozzarella di bufala — Cheese is made from the milk of domestic water buffalo. It’s higher in protein, fat and minerals than cow’s milk, and has about 3 PointsPlus values per ounce.

Polenta – Ground cornmeal is made into a creamy porridge known as Polenta. “Corn in itself gets a bad rap," says Dobbins. “It depends on the preparation, so be aware it may be loaded with cheese or cream." Plain Polenta has about 3 PointsPlus values per cup.

Zabaglione – An egg and sugar sauce that often dresses desserts or fruit. It packs about 4 PointsPlus values per half cup.

This information was provided courtesy of WeightWatchers for informational purposes only.