One great meal, in many ways.

I wanted to mention something that went well last week.

I went out to dinner with some great friends on Friday night. 6 of us went to a fantastic, Tuscan-style Italian restaurant outside of Boston. (Tomasso's Trattoria in Southborough, for you local folks).

I knew this was going to be a challenge. This is a place that serves a number of courses, and the food is supposed to be excellent. But I had a lot of things going for me:

1) This restaurant is known for extremely fresh and local produce, organic proteins, etc. That led me to believe that the food I'd be eating would be more of healthier preparation, so I wasn't going to have food weighed down with extra sauces, etc.

2) With multiple courses, it also means the portion sizes are smaller. I'd have a good opportunity to get a good variety of tastes and foods, but not have huge portions to wade through.

3) Eating more slowly is always a good thing, and Tuscan-style eating lends itself to slower eating.

4) The menu was posted online, so I could review some of the choices plan ahead. (We also got to the restaurant a bit early, and took advantage of that time, too).

5) I knew that I wanted to drink red wine, and just committed before hand that drinking red wine meant eating NO bread. (I stuck to this)

So, my dinner was fantastic. This is what I had:

Appetizer course: Grilled watermelon (about a cup or a cup and a half), about 2 tablespoons of very smooth goat cheese and mint.

Entree: I had a "pasta course" size (half the entree size) of fresh pasta - about 5 pieces of pasta with fresh sauce - very hearty - of heirloom tomatoes. No cheese. Had a side of about a cup of roasted zucchini (some olive oil on the bottom, was able to eat it without getting too much of the oil.

Dessert: A "children's order" of gelato.

Wine - probably the equivalent of 3 glasses of wine, I'm guessing.

My best guess on points: 15. I'd had 8 prior in the day, so I really only went into my extra 35 points by 3. Not bad!

All in all, these are great choices. I think I did really well, and still managed to enjoy a great dinner with friends and not worry about my diet getting in the way. Or worry about worrying about my diet get in the way.

Thanks for reading!