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Watch the salad

You know, of course, that cobb and Caesar salads can be fat traps. But mixed green salads can also do damage. One with goat cheese, pears, and candied walnuts, for instance, can set you back 500 calories.

Solution: Do as Victoria Beckham used to do when she dined at hotspot Angelini Osteria in Los Angeles: custom-create. "She would suggest her own salad and order it with dressing on the side," says Ori Menashe, the restaurant's former chef and the current chef-owner of Bestia in Los Angeles. He and other chefs say you don't have to be an A-lister to make special orders—especially if you're just trying to have a healthier meal out.