Sweet Temptations

Today, at the end of a lunch with colleagues at a nearby Italian restaurant, I was handed a special dessert and coffee menu. Being a sweets lover, I thought long and hard before passing up these sweet temptations and ordered a cup of black coffee instead.

I have a friend who always starts her meals with dessert as she claims it is her favorite part of the meal. Putting it last always means she rarely has room (or calories) left to indulge. This has always seemed strange to me, but today it finally made sense.

We all know that except for fruit, most desserts are generally more calorie-dense (calorie density refers to the number of calories per volume) and higher in fat. But how bad is it, really? Well, consider this: a four-ounce serving of tiramisu or cheesecake will add about 400 calories and 23 grams of fat to your meal. When you also consider that most restaurant servings are more than four ounces....well, you get the idea.

How did dessert become such an integral part of our meals? The word dessert comes from the French desservir, "to clear the table." In some cultures, though, the last course of the meals is dessert only if it consists of fruit. That's not true for us in the U.S., where any sweet treat may be considered dessert material.

Next time you are dining out and tempted to add some final calories to your meal, consider some of these options:

• Lower fat and calories by selecting a sorbet or gelato instead of ice cream.

• Consider a bowl of fresh berries.

• Split a sweet treat with a friend or the entire table.