Italian restaurants are the most popular type of ethnic restaurant in the United States. After all, who doesn't love a good, rich tomato sauce? However, finding healthy foods to order on an Italian restaurant menu can sometimes be a challenge. Don't despair and think that you have to bypass your favorite restaurant to eat a healthy diet. There are several healthy menu items that are commonly found on Italian menus...if you know where to look.

Six healthy foods to order at an Italian restaurant

1. Soups. Soups like minestrone or pasta fagioli are a healthy way to start your meal. Not only are these dishes loaded with healthy vegetables like kale and beans, but they help fill your stomach so that you're not tempted to overindulge in less healthy foods like garlic bread or dessert.

2. Piccata-style entrees. Chicken or veal piccata-style entrees on an Italian restaurant are prepared by sauteeing the meat in a little olive oil and topping it with a lemon, caper, butter sauce. This is a lot better for you than the more common fried veal or chicken parmesan dishes.

3. Go grilled. Grilled entrees may not be the first thing you think of when you think of Italian food, but many Italian menus have grilled options, especially in the summer. Look for grilled shrimp, steaks and chicken entrees. Some restaurants also serve grilled vegetables as a side or an entrees, drizzled with a little olive--another healthy option.

4. Opt for seafood. Seafood is leaner than most beef and pork entrees. Look for sauteed squid, shrimp, scallops or octopus on Italian menus.

5. Choose a red sauce. A creamy alfredo sauce many by yummy, but it can add nearly 1,000+ calories to your dinner total. Choose a tomato-based marinara sauce instead and go easy on the added parmesan cheese for a healthier, yet still tasty, dinner.

6. Finish with fruit. If you're the type of person who feels deprived if you can't have dessert, go ahead and order dessert. Just make sure it's a healthy choice, such as a bowl of cut-up fruit or fruit sorbet. Sherbet is not as healthy, since it contains milk and cream.

Eating healthy foods at an Italian restaurant (such as Ynot Italian) doesn't have to be an impossible task. Look for complex, tasty, vegetable-laden soups; go easy on the cheese; opt for red rather than white sauces and choose entrees that are sauteed in olive oil or grilled rather than fried. Ordering healthy is really easy once you get the hang of it.