If you're like us, you eat out more than ever -- and, as nice as it is to not have to cook, those meals out can actually feel like work. How do you navigate the minefields of huge portions, hidden fats, and sky-high sodium levels?



Olive Garden's Venetian Apricot Chicken has 448 calories and 11 grams of fat.



You shouldn't have to resign yourself to paying for restaurant meals with a future cardiac risk. You just need to know where to go to find healthy, fresh food. To that end, we went out into the world of sit-down restaurants, looking to separate the (whole) wheat from the chaff.



Backed by an advisory panel of experts in healthy dining, we sifted through 43 chains with more than 75 locations across the country and, frankly, were astonished by how many restaurants made no nutritional information available. Health.com: Meet Health's experts



But judge we did those brave (and progressive) enough to share their numbers. What you hold in your hands are the 10 that stood at the top of the heap.



Uno's Chicago Grill



If you haven't been to your local Uno's recently, you're in for a great surprise. Sure, its famous deep-dish (read high-fat) pizzas still hold court, but nutrition has become the word of the day with a completely transfat-free menu and plenty of grilled entrees (including antibiotic-free chicken). Adding to the healthy variety: whole-grain pasta and brown rice, organic coffee and tea, and flatbread pizzas that have half the calories of deep-dish ones. Plus, you can add a salad to your pizza for half-price because, according to the menu, "We want you to get some greens in your diet." Now that's a blue-ribbon commitment to health. Another reason Uno's is at the top of our list: You know what you're eating. In the lobbies of most of the restaurant's locations, there are Nutrition Information Centers that detail ingredients, fat and sodium contents, and calories and fiber of every item, in addition to gluten-free options.  Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at Health magazine's restaurant choices »



• Danger zone: Deep-dish pizzas can pile on the fat.



• We love: The Penne Bolognese -- just 16 grams of fat (well within the daily recommended max of 65 grams of fat for a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet).



Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes



Can a buffet-style restaurant -- that symbol of American overindulgence --possibly be one of the healthiest restaurants in the country? It can in this case, because this salad-soup-and-bakery eatery (Southern California locations are named Souplantation, everywhere else they're called Sweet Tomatoes) uses produce so fresh that it's guaranteed to have been "in the ground" 24 hours before it's in a refrigerated truck on its way to the restaurant. At the salad bar you'll find seasonal vegetables like squash and bell peppers, freshly tossed and prepared salads, and a great range of nonfat dressings. San Marino Spinach With Pumpkin Seeds and Cranberries, anyone? This is paradise for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone who's looking for a low-sodium, low-fat, high-nutrient meal outside the home.



• Danger zone: Plate overload -- after all, it's all-you-can-eat.



• We love: The Tomato Spinach Whole Wheat pasta, a delicious combo of whole grains and veggies.



Mimi's Cafe



This cozy café-style restaurant transforms normally less-than-healthy foods into better -- and still tasty -- options: a half-pound cheeseburger wrapped in lettuce (that's right, no bun); the cutely named Naked French Market Onion Soup, served without cheese. Another thing to love is the way that Mimi's clearly steers you toward its healthy options. Its "Lifestyle Menu" points you to low-carb picks like the fish of the day served with fresh steamed veggies. Also, Mimi
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