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"It&amp;#039;s a modern-day Norman Rockwell moment: After a hectic day, the family hops in the car and heads to a favorite neighborhood restaurant \u2014 no cooking required, no dishes to be done, just a welcome opportunity to get out of the house and share a meal. But what&amp;#039;s served up at many restaurants could make you lose your appetite. The meals that are specially designed for kids can be some of the worst nutrition deals to be found: At Chili&amp;#039;s, a child&amp;#039;s Pepper Pals Little Chicken Crispers plus a side of Pepper Pals Homestyle Fries has a whopping 57 grams of fat \u2014 that&amp;#039;s 6 grams above the recommended daily allowance for an 8-year-old. At Ruby Tuesday, a meal of Kids&amp;#039; Minis (burgers and fries) weighs in at a jaw-dropping 917 calories, 71 percent of the 1,290 calories a child age 4 to 8 should eat in a day. A 2008 analysis of 1,474 kids&amp;#039; meals from national chain restaurants found 93 percent had more calories and 45 percent had more saturated fat and trans fats than kids need. That kind of eating sets the stage for obesity, says Margo G. Wootan, D.Sc., nutrition policy director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a watchdog group based in Washington, DC; Wootan led the research. Restaurant and fast-food meals are a major contributor to the excess fat, sugar, calories, and blood pressure \u2014 raising sodium in kids&amp;#039; diets, other studies show. Equally troubling is what kids&amp;#039; meals don&amp;#039;t deliver \u2014 fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and bone-building calcium. In one University of Minnesota Project EAT study of seventh through 12th graders, for example, those who ate fast food three or more times per week got about 25 percent less produce and about 21 percent less milk than those who didn&amp;#039;t eat any fast food. And in a Children&amp;#039;s Hospital Boston study of 6,212 kids ages 4 to 19, consumption of produce, fiber, and milk decreased significantly on days when the kids had fast food. &amp;quot;Combined with the overload of saturated fat, sodium, and calories, these nutrition gaps raise kids&amp;#039; risk for developing serious health problems, including heart disease and diabetes \u2014 which are showing up in teens and even younger kids in increasing numbers,&amp;quot; says Samantha B. Cassetty, M.S., R.D., nutrition director of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute.      Given that American kids now get more than 30 percent of their daily calories from foods consumed away from home, these fat- and calorie-laden meals are more worrisome than ever before. And in a down economy, the quest for healthy restaurant meals is even more important: Surveys show that most Americans continue to eat out at least once a week, but to save money, they&amp;#039;re choosing fast food more often. &amp;quot;Every meal matters,&amp;quot; says Bridget Swinney, R.D., author of Healthy Food for Healthy Kids. &amp;quot;If you eat out more than once or twice a month, it&amp;#039;s important to steer your kids to healthier choices for their health and their weight \u2014 and so they&amp;#039;ll learn, in their formative years, how to navigate a restaurant menu successfully.&amp;quot; Getting your kids to eat well when they eat out requires some education, planning, and patience. To help you, Good Housekeeping analyzed nutrition information from dozens of the nation&amp;#039;s top fast-food, pizza, and casual-dining chains. We polled top pediatric and adolescent nutrition experts, as well as parents of young children, tweens, and teens, for their best success tactics. Here, and in our nutritionist-approved meal guide, we&amp;#039;ll show how to put healthier fare in front of your kids and actually get them to eat it. Next: Being informed can help your kids make healthy choices. Step 1: Know before you go. Opt for a sit-down restaurant. You should make fast food your very last resort, and here&amp;#039;s why: In a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study that tracked more than 3,000 young adults for three years, each additional fast-food meal per week increased weight by a couple of pounds. But adding an extra restaurant meal didn&amp;#039;t \u2014 presumably because larger menus offer healthier options and smaller portions. So pick casual restaurants, even your local diner, over fast-food places. &amp;quot;In a fast-food restaurant, everything \u2014 the signs, the aromas, the meal packaging \u2014 is designed to push the big fries, burgers, and sodas,&amp;quot; says Harvard Medical School pediatrician David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children&amp;#039;s Hospital Boston. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s very difficult to get a salad or fruit instead of a burger and fries and feel satisfied.&amp;quot; If you don&amp;#039;t have time for a table-service meal, try delis and chain sandwich shops such as Subway, suggests Wootan, where you can find lower-fat deli meats, opt for whole-grain breads, and ask for extra veggies on your sandwich. &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ll find more choices that are lower in calories and fat than at a burger place,&amp;quot; she says. Look up nutrition info for your top three spots. When University of Arkansas researchers asked 193 people to guess the number of calories in samples of less-healthful restaurant meals, participants underestimated by more than 600 calories. In other studies, even nutritionists have lowballed calorie counts. The lesson here: The more you know up front, the better the choices you and your kids can make. &amp;quot;Most families go to the same fast-food places over and over, because they&amp;#039;re conveniently located,&amp;quot; notes Swinney. So quickly research the nutritional content of the food served by going online to big chains&amp;#039; Web sites. Also check the eye-opening photographs of 13 chain restaurants&amp;#039; menu boards \u2014 complete with calorie counts, which are required in some U.S. cities \u2014 at menulabeling.org. Since your local diner generally won&amp;#039;t have its nutritional info listed anywhere, your best bet is of course to avoid what&amp;#039;s fried and swimming in sauce. Beyond that, consider steering your kids to the breakfast section of the menu: Two eggs, two slices of bacon, a slice of wheat toast, and a fruit cup can make a perfectly acceptable meal \u2014 plus the fun of eating A.M. food at night. Snack strategically. Offer up fruit or low-fat cheese sticks as you&amp;#039;re about to head out the door, so kids won&amp;#039;t gorge when they get to the restaurant. &amp;quot;A healthy snack en route fills nutritional gaps in the meal ahead and takes the edge off hunger, so the bread basket or supersized portions won&amp;#039;t be as tempting,&amp;quot; says Swinney. Step 2: Drink to their health Surprisingly, you should encourage your kid to drink milk when dining out. An 8-ounce carton of low-fat milk packs 30 percent of your kid&amp;#039;s daily calcium, 8 percent of magnesium, 11 percent of potassium, and 25 percent of vitamin D \u2014 bone-building, blood pressure-lowering nutrients shortchanged in many kids&amp;#039; diets. It also supplies 8 grams of fill-you-up protein, all for just 100 calories. The USDA recommends that kids get two to three servings of low-fat or fat-free dairy a day, but they&amp;#039;re not getting enough: In one study that tracked 2,371 girls for a decade, milk consumption dropped more than 25 percent while soda consumption almost tripled. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s difficult for kids who aren&amp;#039;t getting three servings of milk or other dairy products a day to meet their calcium needs,&amp;quot; Swinney notes. To control calories and saturated fat, ask for fat-free or low-fat milk; we discovered that many chains stock it, even if it&amp;#039;s not on the menu. If a restaurant doesn&amp;#039;t stock low-fat, go for chocolate, which is usually made with low-fat milk. Even whole milk is all right on occasion \u2014 the nutrients are worth a few extra calories. (Steer clear, however, of ultra-rich hot chocolate, which at Panera Bread packs a hefty 390 calories and 12 grams of saturated fat; low-fat chocolate milk, on the other hand, contains just 158 calories and 2.5 grams of saturated fat.) Just say no to juice. &amp;quot;Parents think it&amp;#039;s a good way to get another serving of fruit, but it lacks fiber and is high in calories,&amp;quot; says Wootan. &amp;quot;Whole fruit is always a better choice.&amp;quot; Of course, avoid soda, milkshakes, and fruit drinks \u2014 they&amp;#039;re essentially liquid candy that encourages weight gain. The damage: A child-size cola packs about 95 to 110 calories; a 32-ouncer, a whopping 250 to 400. Milkshakes contain 350 to more than 1,000 calories apiece (and 10 to 26 grams of fat), and fruit drinks and slushes aren&amp;#039;t much better, with 100 to 600-plus calories per serving. Next: It&amp;#039;s easier than you think to get your child to eat their veggies! Step 3: Get produce on their plates Rare is the child who spontaneously orders mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette. In fact, researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that nearly all children and teens (75 to 95 percent) don&amp;#039;t get enough veggies, especially dark green or orange varieties, and a quarter of children ages 1 to 8 and three quarters of older children and teens don&amp;#039;t get enough fruit. What&amp;#039;s more, those who eat fast food frequently get even less than those who do not. &amp;quot;Make produce \u2014 not french fries \u2014 the side dish of choice with burgers, sandwiches, even pizza,&amp;quot; Cassetty says. &amp;quot;Kids need the fiber, the antioxidants, the vitamins and minerals. Vegetables also fill you up for very few calories, so they counter the calorie and fat overload of restaurant food.&amp;quot; For kids who turn up their noses at the usual menu options (salads or cooked broccoli), try these tips: Look for fun stuff. KFC and Chili&amp;#039;s were among the eateries offering corn on the cob. A 51\u20442-inch ear of corn with butter flavor at KFC had 140 calories, almost no sodium, and 4 grams of fiber. &amp;quot;Veggies you can pick up to eat are fun, and they take longer to eat, so your child will fill up on fewer calories,&amp;quot; Swinney notes. (Yes, corn is starchy, but it&amp;#039;s fiber-rich and lower in calories and fat than fries; just avoid adding extra butter.) Customize your pizza with several vegetable toppings and half the cheese. You&amp;#039;ll cut the fat, and kids could get at least one official vegetable serving in two slices.  Check the adult options if you or your kid doesn&amp;#039;t like the veggies on the kids&amp;#039; menu. Red Lobster offers fresh asparagus in season, Chili&amp;#039;s has marinated portobello mushrooms, Bob Evans has glazed carrots, and Ruby Tuesday has creamy mashed cauliflower that delivers 5 grams of fiber, among other options. Bonus tip: Let &amp;quot;Why don&amp;#039;t you just try it?&amp;quot; be your fallback phrase. Swinney says it takes 10 to 15 exposures to a new food for a kid to really know whether she likes it. Don&amp;#039;t forget about fruit. &amp;quot;Since it&amp;#039;s usually raw, there&amp;#039;s no added fat or sodium the way there can be with vegetables,&amp;quot; Swinney notes. We found apple slices at McDonald&amp;#039;s, Burger King, and Subway; mandarin oranges at Wendy&amp;#039;s and Chili&amp;#039;s; seasonal fresh fruit and cinnamon apples at Denny&amp;#039;s; melon wedges at Red Robin; and fruit salad or fruit cup at Chik-fil-A, Cos\u00EC, and Panera Bread \u2014 to name just a few. Step 4: Nudge them toward lean main dishes. A few key moves to make: Subtract the sauce, cheese, and bacon. This makes a tremendous difference: A plain Whopper Jr. has a reasonable 290 calories and 12 grams of fat \u2014 fine for a tween or teen once in a while \u2014 but add cheese and mayo, and the numbers catapult up to 420 calories and 25 grams of fat. At Red Robin, a California Chicken Burger with everything on it packs 57 grams of fat; hold all the sauces, cheese, guacamole, and bacon, and it plummets to a manageable 9 grams of fat. Give up the crunch. We know, we know: You&amp;#039;ve heard before that you should point your kids toward grilled \u2014 not crispy or fried \u2014 chicken and fish. But let these numbers convince you just how vital this is: At Red Lobster, the kids&amp;#039; broiled fish has 150 calories and just 1 gram of fat, while the kids&amp;#039; chicken fingers pack 414 calories and 24 grams of fat. At Chili&amp;#039;s, the Pepper Pals Grilled Chicken Platter for kids has a reasonable 150 calories and 1 gram of fat, while the Country Fried Chicken Crispers have an astounding 560 calories and 37 grams of fat. (If your kid really craves something crunchy, order him a side salad \u2014 with dressing is OK \u2014 and ask your server to go heavy on the crisp veggies like carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers.) Turn appetizers and soups into entr\u00E9es. Scope out the starters on the adult menu for wise nutritional buys. Among the options we found were a 160-calorie bowl of low-fat chicken noodle soup at Panera Bread (pair with a salad or whole-grain bread) and 440-calorie Asian dumplings at Ruby Tuesday (with a side veggie). Perfect for smaller, adventurous appetites. Tip: Steer your kid toward bean soups, if possible; they&amp;#039;re high in fiber and antioxidants. Borrow from the main menu. Granted, grown-up dinner entr\u00E9es can be expensive, but if two family members split a dish, it can be a win-win, nutritionally and financially. At Chili&amp;#039;s, the Guiltless Grilled Salmon has just 395 calories and 6 grams of saturated fat (add some side dishes to make a meal of it); the chicken fajitas at Red Robin with guacamole and saut\u00E9ed vegetables (hold the sour cream, melted margarine, and garlic-parmesan spread) clock in at 810 calories and 21 grams of fat.  Next: Three more things to avoid when dining out. Step 5: Orchestrate Their Orders It is, of course, much easier to order for little kids (or at least steer their choices) than it is to convince a teenager that what he really wants is a nice chopped salad and some milk versus a chili-cheeseburger and a bottomless glass of root beer. But it can be done, if you know how to guide a tween&amp;#039;s or teen&amp;#039;s choices: Walk the talk. Order first \u2014 before your kids do \u2014 and order wisely, suggests Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Ph.D, a professor of public health at the University of Minnesota and author of I&amp;#039;m, Like, SO Fat!: Helping Your Teen Make Healthy Choices About Eating and Exercise in a Weight-Obsessed World. &amp;quot;If you order salad, your kids will be more likely to do so,&amp;quot; she notes. &amp;quot;It sets the tone.&amp;quot; Steer tweens around the menu. Laura Plunkett, 45, a mom of two teens in Marblehead, MA, took control by reading through the menu and suggesting choices to her kids when they were preteens. &amp;quot;We kept it positive,&amp;quot; Laura says. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;d say things like, &amp;#039;The kids&amp;#039; menu doesn&amp;#039;t have good options today&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;Here are items that look good from the regular menu.&amp;#039; That really helped guide their choices.&amp;quot; Don&amp;#039;t dictate to teens. &amp;quot;Telling teens what to order or criticizing a choice they&amp;#039;ve made is counterproductive,&amp;quot; says Anne Fletcher, R.D., author of Weight Loss Confidential: How Teens Lose Weight and Keep It Off \u2014 and What They Wish Parents Knew. &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re going to exercise independence in a restaurant. One thing that&amp;#039;s worked is to suggest sharing things to minimize the damage \u2014 &amp;#039;Why don&amp;#039;t you share the fries?&amp;#039; or &amp;#039;Let&amp;#039;s split that milkshake.&amp;#039;&amp;quot; Arm them with info. &amp;quot;People don&amp;#039;t give teens enough credit for caring about healthy food,&amp;quot; says Sage Farrar, who teaches kids about nutrition as a HealthCorps coordinator at Miami Coral Park Senior High School in Miami. &amp;quot;They crave information and they can be trusted to do the right thing. Compare food labels together, talk about the fat and calories in fast food (say, compare grilled chicken with extra crispy and ask why they think there&amp;#039;s such a big difference). Tell them that eating healthy will help fill them up and give them energy. You&amp;#039;ll make a lot more progress that way than if you try to mandate what they should or shouldn&amp;#039;t eat.&amp;quot; Says Fletcher: &amp;quot;Think about things that might motivate them: Tell them that they&amp;#039;ll also get stronger faster, look better, do better in school and in sports, and have more energy. They listen much more than you think.&amp;quot; And that&amp;#039;s a fact you should work to your advantage \u2014 for their health&amp;#039;s sake. 3 Health Busters to Avoid Table Talk. Since bread baskets and fistfuls of chips can ruin even the most nutritious meal, tell your server once you&amp;#039;re seated, &amp;quot;No bread [or chips] for us tonight, thanks.&amp;quot; Sneaky Salads. Encourage your kid to dip veggies into mild salsa or vinaigrette dressing instead of the ubiquitous ranch dressing that turns up at many eateries; 2 tablespoons pack 146 calories and 16 grams of fat. Sweet Defeat? Order fresh fruit with ice cream or whipped cream and share it for dessert. Restaurants&amp;#039; baked mega-sweets do mega-damage, even if split: A Chili&amp;#039;s Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie has 1,590 calories and 76 grams of fat; a P.F. Chang&amp;#039;s Great Wall of Chocolate has 1,440 calories and 61 grams of fat. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/tips/a18068/eating-out-guide/>