Atkins/lo-carb help needed: Italian restaurants

[eltham]

I've a work dinner at an Italian restaurant but have just started lo-carb/pseudo Atkins (I know Atkins purists say there can never be such a thing given the Induction) but I need to know what I could order at the Italian restaurant. Any tips on eating out?

Basically you would need to stick to a salad -either meat, fish or something like goats cheese.

Don't even look at the nice warm doughy bread or pasta.

Watch the salad dressings as balsamic has carbs in.

Its quite tricky to eat out on any low carb diet as you never know what is in some dishes unless you can get a steak and green beans or something.

Tuna salad or something like that?

Ceasar salad without the croutons

its not easy with Italian food

Mozzarella and tomato salad is a lovely starter, then nice big meaty salad. Pizza Express do a really nice dish with layered aubergines, tomatoes and mozzarella which is low carb - I'm doing Atkins loosely and had that, it was gorge.

Italian restaurants often do delicious veal escalopes (check they are not breaded - they shouldn't be) in different sauces, which would be fine.

Melanzana Parmagiana, which is aubergine, cheese and tomato sauce. Yum.

A nice big salad without the crutons.

If it's a 'proper' italian as opposed to italian american then it's easy. Antipasti, then skip the pasta/risotto, have the meat course and then cheese rather than dessert.