HEALTHY EATING

Chances are when you ask the initial question about dining out it's probably, "What do you feel like eating tonight?" And according to the National Restaurant Association the answer is commonly one of the big three — Asian, Mexican or Italian.

There is a terrific trend nationwide to create more authentic internationally inspired dishes, and happily they're often much lighter and healthier than the Americanized versions. One delicious case in point: Asian lettuce or cabbage leaf wraps instead of deep-fried egg rolls.

Here's a tasty travel guide to navigating three of the most popular world cuisines.

ASIAN

Whether it's the many different styles of Chinese cooking or a taste of Vietnamese or Thai cuisine, Asian menus offer a wonderful assortment of dishes with big tastes without big calories. Avoid deep-fried foods.

• Start off with soup such as hot and sour or miso soup to help curb your appetite;

• Enjoy the green tea! It's calming, fragrant, and research links it to appetite control;

• Use chopsticks! It'll slow you down. If you've yet to master the skill, it's high time you did;

• Ask that your dish be stir-fried using less oil. Each dish is usually made to order;

• Get steamed. Instead of fried pot stickers order steamed dumplings. Order steamed vegetables. If stir-fried, ask for "just a little oil please";

• Forego fried rice. Choose steamed brown rice;

• Limit how much sauce you use, since sauces are usually high in sodium;

• Read your fortune cookie for dessert. Confucius say: "It will add only 30 calories to your meal."

MEXICAN

No longer just a refried bean and cheese fest of Tex Mex, Mexican restaurants are offering more grilled entrees, an assortment of high-fiber beans and plenty of fresh salsas. — Start off with gazpacho or black bean soup (watch the sour cream garnish);

• Watch out for mindless tortilla chip munching! Count out a few chips to enjoy with the salsa, which has little or no fat;

• Go for big flavors from salsa, picante sauce, pico de gallo and salsa verde. All are made with little or no fat;

• Ask that cheese and sour cream be left off or served on the side and add a touch for flavor;

• Choose pinto beans or black beans instead of refried beans (1 cup contains 500 calories!);

• Top everything with a healthy helping of shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes, and pour on the salsa (red or green).

• Tortilla tip: Corn tortillas contain 40 less calories than flour tortillas. Also, fajitas with grilled beef, chicken or shrimp are a good choice because you can control how much cheese or sour cream you put on each tortilla. And fish tacos with cabbage slaw are a terrific. Choose grilled fish where available.

ITALIAN

The Mediterranean diet hit the nutrition headlines because it's so heart-healthy. But, please note that doesn't mean all the pasta you can eat!

• Start off with minestrone soup, an Italian vegetable soup classic;

• Avoid pastas stuffed with cheese. Enjoy flavors of freshly grated Parmesan sprinkled on top;

• Be sauce-savvy. Alfredo sauce is made with butter, heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. Marinara and pomodoro tomatobased sauces are much lower in calories;

• Avoid an oil spill. Yes, olive oil is hearthealthy. But it's still all fat, and so adds significant calories. Beware the dish of olive oil for dipping your bread;

• Pass on eggplant Parmigiana — battered, fried and topped with cheese.

• Balsamic vinegar is terrific! This aged vinegar adds molto gusto (a whole lotta flavor) to salads. Italians love flavor, by the way. Take advantage of that culinary culture and seek out dishes with rosemary, basil, red peppers, artichokes, capers and lemon.