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by Mindy Hermann, R.D.(NAPSA)—Most of us love eat-

ing out. According to a 2006 sur-vey by the Food Marketing Insti-tute and Prevention magazine,most people believe that the foodthey eat at home is healthier thanfoods eaten out. What can you doto make your restaurant mealshealthier? Hope Warshaw, R.D.,author of “Eat Out, Eat Right!”

and “What to EatWhen You’re EatingOut,” suggests ask-ing these questions:

1. Do you havean a la carte menuinstead of the buf-fet? All-you-can-eat

buffets, meal deals, supersizingand other specials are surefiretraps to overeat.

2. How is the dish pre-pared? Look for foods preparedby baking, broiling, braising,grilling or other ways that don’tadd extra fat.

3. Can I order an appetizer-size or half-size entrée?Restaurant entrée portions tendto be much larger than portionsyou serve at home. If the restau-rant will not serve a smaller por-tion, set aside half to bring home.

4. Can I split a dish withsomeone at my table? Manyrestaurants will divide menuitems in the kitchen. And remem-ber to always share desserts.

5. Could you give me alarger portion of vegetablesand a smaller portion of themain dish? The kitchen may bewilling to make the swap withoutan extra charge.

6. What can I substitute?Does the restaurant offer a veg-etable side dish, baked potato, veg-

etable or fruit salad instead ofFrench fries, potato chips or potatosalad? Can a sandwich be preparedon whole wheat bread instead of acroissant or oversized wrap?

7. Could you leave off the____ (sour cream, cheesesauce, dressing, mayonnaise,etc.)? Find out whether lower-fatcondiments like balsamic vinegar,salsa and lower-fat dressing areavailable.

8. Can you make this dishwith sliced chicken breast?Many classic chicken dishes inChinese restaurants are preparedwith breaded, fried chickenchunks. A restaurant may be will-ing to substitute chicken breastfor a small extra charge.

9. Which dishes do you rec-ommend for vegetarians? Askabout all ingredients; some meat-less dishes may be prepared withanimal products like chicken broth.

10. Do you have nutritioninformation on any of yourdishes? Nutrition information isavailable in most fast food andsome casual dining restaurants.

Ask MindyQ: If I have to eat out a lot,

what can I do to make sure mydiet is healthy?

A: Start off the day with anutrient-rich breakfast like WholeGrain Total® with skim or low-fatmilk and fruit. Include vegetablesand/or fruits at lunch and dinner.Keep cut-up fruits and vegetablesin the office refrigerator for ahealthy snack.

Mindy Hermann, M.B.A., R.D., isa nutrition writer for women’s,health and fitness magazines. Sheis the co-author of “Change One”and the American Medical Associ-ation’s “Family Health Cookbook.”

Mindy Hermann

Note to Editors: This is Series VI—18 of 26.�

Ten Questions To Ask In A Restaurant

(NAPSA)—The best familyvacations, many say, blend value,ease and just enough adventure tokeep boredom at bay.

Traditional trips such as camp-ing and theme parks may notappeal to every family. And threerestaurant meals a day can take abig bite out of any vacation bud-get. RVs are an affordable alterna-tive, and their equally convenientcounterpart—houseboating—islikewise enjoying a new wave ofpopularity.

According to one of America’slargest houseboat vacation compa-nies, navigating a houseboat iseven easier than driving yourminivan around town. There couldbe several reasons:

• No experience or special li-censes are necessary.

• No traffic gridlock. House-boats are simple to operate andfirst-time renters are brought upto speed with the thorough orien-tation given upon arrival at thedock. Think of a houseboat as areally big RV but with instantaccess to refreshing waterways.

• Houseboaters never have tostress about reserving a room orwaiting in line at a ticket booth orfast-food counter. Picture this:You’re aboard your houseboat,heading into your own cove,wilderness before you, blue skyabove and smooth afternoon wateraft. You glide right up to the sand,tie up, turn off the engine and askyour “crew” what they want to donow. Fish. Swim. Nap. Water-ski.Play ball. Fire up the grill. Picnicon the shore. Take photos. Relax

with a good book or daydream.• Planning a houseboat vaca-

tion is fun and easy. First, pick aplace—do you want to fly or driveto your destination? Is water-ski-ing a priority, fishing or being ableto explore interesting inlets andhike through a woody wilderness?Seven Crown destinations includeCalifornia’s Lake Shasta and theCalifornia Delta, Arizona’s LakeMohave and Nevada’s Lake Mead,where these activities are justsome of those possible on a house-boat vacation.

Pick a houseboat model—theSeven Crown fleet includes mod-els that sleep from six to 13 (allwith full kitchen) with amenitiessuch as penthouse sleeping areas,spiral staircases, wet bars, sun-decks and barbecues in a varietyof configurations.

• Large houseboat companiesrun full-service marinas; they rent

ski, patio and fishing boats and per-sonal watercraft, sell supplies andfuel and offer lodging, restaurants,RV parks, moorage and more.

• Packing is easy. Into the suit-case go swimsuits and shorts, flip-flops, T-shirts, sun hat, maybe adeck of cards or board games andtoiletries. You can even bring awater-worthy dog along. Mosthouseboat operators are petfriendly; Seven Crown doesn’teven charge extra.

How long can you get away?The most popular houseboat vaca-tions run three to seven days andmost houseboaters return fromtheir voyage wondering where thetime went.

• First-time houseboaters canfind many helpful tips on the Webat www.sevencrown.com/tips.

For more guidance, informationor reservations, call Seven CrownResorts toll-free at (800) 752-9669.

Great Family Vacations: Just Add Water

(NAPSA)—For a generation,DVDs and videotapes have been aconvenient go-to for busy parents,a kind of “electronic baby-sitter”that entertains, amuses and eveneducates youngsters for a deter-mined interval.

Providing parents of young chil-dren with precious minutes tomake dinner, return phone calls orgive the kids downtime, tapedentertainment allows their littleones to enjoy visual and auralinformation. Even parents whodon’t allow their toddlers to watchbroadcast or cable television haveused video from trusted sourcesfor much-needed breaks in the day.

Many entertainment compa-nies have tried their hands ateducating while they entertain,even though they don’t have edu-cation or pedagogical experts onstaff. Conversely, education com-panies have tried to make theirlesson-oriented videos more enter-taining. A few have been success-ful at “edutainment”—video-basedentertainment that is meant toeducate. Movement-based andbook-based videos that tell a storyfall into this category.

Another attribute DVDs pro-vide is repetition. Kids love, andlearn from, repetition. Many par-ents wish for a new DVD or a newstorybook as a change of pace, butthe little ones always want thetried and true.

Music And Movement Now there are two new offer-

ings that are meant to entertainwhile they help kids learn andgrow as they sing and play. Avail-able from Gymboree Play & Music,a trusted name in developmentallybased play for nearly 30 years, thetwo DVDs provide a similar expe-rience parents and children wouldhave if they attended a GymboreePlay & Music class.

The songs and coincidingmovements and activities aredevelopmentally appropriate andsafe—so much so that kids can dothem at home without parentalsupervision, giving Mom and Dada little time off. And, just like the

classes, each DVD provides sug-gestions for parents for ways toplay with their kids after the tapeis finished.

Music is an important compo-nent of every Gymboree class, asit facilitates interaction and stim-ulates growth. Both DVDs includeoriginal songs, and some are sungto familiar tunes that were writ-ten to be sung—and played—along with for years to come. Themusic is engaging to parents andkids alike, and sung by hostsinger-songwriter Suzi Shelton.Parents will enjoy singing along(perhaps in the background) asthe little ones watch over andover.

Entitled “The Very Brave Ele-phant and His Friends” and “Let’sGet Moving! Trains, Cars &Planes,” each follows a story line.

One introduces kids to new ani-mals and lets them use their imag-ination to become those animals;the other lets viewers playact dif-ferent modes of transportation.

Kids learn and grow by watch-ing other kids and modeling theiractions. Geared to kids ages 2 to5, these DVDs provide plenty forkids to imitate and tell the storieswith over and over again. They’reavailable exclusively at GymboreePlay & Music, Gymboree retailstores and at Gymboree.com. Tofind a location near you, visitgymboreeclasses.com.

Entertainment And Education: DVDs Help Kids Learn And Grow As They Play

A new series of DVDs helpsentertain, amuse and educateyoung children through musicand movement.

Harpo Productions is the name of the production company ownedby the popular entertainer, Oprah Winfrey. Harpo is Oprah spelledbackwards.

The city of Pasadena, California derives its name from an AmericanIndian word meaning “valley between the hills.”

If you think changing clocks for daylight savings time is a nui-sance, consider the shadow clock which told ancient Egyptians thenumber of hours before or after noon. That clock had to be turnedaround each day at noon.