Though I have made a concerted effort to eat out less often (saving both money and calories), I do still eat dinner out at least once every week or ten days.  Lately, I've seen something that helps me make better choices when I eat out.

An increasing number of restaurants (particularly ones with multiple locations) are posting the calorie count of each menu item right next to the item.  While I was accustomed to using the nutritional guides on a company website, these calorie counts are really helpful when you stop in spur of the moment or you can't decide between two options or when you are deciding the add-ons. 

I like knowing how my menu decisions will affect my weight-loss goals.  Do I want to add ice cream to that pie?  Is it worth the 200 hundred calories and the 30+ minutes of jogging?  I can decide.  Will adding mayo to the sandwich really give me enough taste pleasure to make up for th fat?  I can decide.

Those calorie counts also comtains lots of surprises.  One entree I've been known to have at a local place contains over 1900 calories!  That's a day's worth.  In one entree!  In another place, the calorie difference between the salad dressing choices exceeded 200!  And blue cheese wasn't the high calorie choice!  It was roasted garlic vinaigrette.  Who would have guessed that choosing the roasted garlic vinaigrette instead of the non-fat vianigrette was the equivalent of dropping almost half a cup of Ben and Jerry's on top of your salad!

Are you seeing calorie boards where you live?  Do you like them?