Unhealthy restaurant menu words to avoid

Many restaurants and food chains now offer up easy-to-find nutrition information on their menus or company websites, making it simpler to make healthy choices. But some restaurants don't offer nutrition information. And, according to a recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the average meal at an independent or small chain restaurant is 1,300 calories.

So how can you avoid eating a whole day's worth of calories at one meal? One of the easiest ways is to steer clear of items described using words that indicate ingredients or cooking techniques that are high in calories, saturated fat or added sodium or sugar. Here are some of the most common words to avoid on restaurant menus.

• A la mode: In the U.S., this means topped with ice cream.

• Aioli: A fancy word for a flavored mayonnaise.

• Au gratin: Cooked with butter and/or cream and topped with cheese and/or breadcrumbs.

• Battered: Coated in batter and then typically deep-fried.

• Bechamel: The base of most white sauces, made by stirring milk into a butter-flour roux.

• Beurre blanc: "White butter"; this is a sauce made of a wine, vinegar and shallot reduction and butter.

• Bearnaise: Another butter-based sauce, thickened with egg yolks and flavored with white wine and tarragon.

• Bisque: A thick, rich soup usually made with cream.

• Breaded: Like "battered," "breaded" means the food is coated in breadcrumbs and fried.

• Confit: When used to describe a meat dish, it means the meat was salted and cooked in its own fat.

• Crispy: A nice-sounding way to describe something fried in oil.

• Crunchy: Like "crispy," this usually means fried, unless it's describing raw vegetables.

• Deep-fried: The food is cooked in hot fat (shortening, lard or oil) and submerged deeply enough to completely cover the item.

• En croute: Wrapped in pastry dough and baked.

• Fritters: A synonym for "battered" and "deep-fried."

• Golden: This usually means fried.

• Hollandaise: A sauce made of butter, egg yolks and lemon juice.

• Pan-fried: This sounds like a healthier choice, but depending on what your food is pan-fried in, it could easily be loaded with calories.

• Refried: Typically used to describe beans, in which case the beans (red or pinto) are mashed, then fried (usually in melted lard).

• Remoulade: A sauce made of mayonnaise and mustard, capers, gherkins, herbs and anchovies.

• Sauteed: This means it's been cooked quickly in a little bit of oil or fat over direct heat.

• Scalloped: Mostly used to describe potatoes. Scalloped potatoes are thinly sliced potatoes cooked in cream and butter and topped with cheese.

• Smothered: Usually this means covered in a heavy sauce or cheese.

• Tempura: A Japanese version of batter-dipped and deep-fried.

• White sauce: A synonym for "cream sauce."

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