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By Wynter Holden

I know what you're thinking. A dieting column about going to a Chinese buffet? I must be crazy, especially after my abysmal failure at Chino Bandido a few weeks back. But that's exactly why I chose the dreaded Chinese buffet.

To serious dieters, the buffet restaurant is like committing seppuku with a pair of chopsticks -- because you'll inevitably blow your diet to hell the second you walk in and see fried doughnuts, sesame chicken and honey walnut shrimp piled in never ending steam trays.

Hong Kong Gourmet Buffet in Ahwatukee is one of the local "Grand Dames" of Chinese buffets. It's a bit pricier than standard buffets, but definitely worth the few extra bucks for the addition of low-cal seafood items like crab legs, chilled shrimp and sea bass (you have to ask for it the last one, but it's always available at dinnertime).

See, my view is this: As a dieter, you should never choose to go to a Chinese buffet. BUT, at some point, your friends or co-workers will invite you along and somehow you'll have to survive without pigging out on hybridized Chino-American fried foodstuffs.

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By Wynter Holden

Yes, you read the title right. If you haven't already heard of Chino Bandido -- or seen their mustachioed, sombrero-wearing panda mascot -- you might be a bit shocked, even offended. In this age of political correctness it's a miracle that such a place exists.

That being said, Chino Bandido is one of the coolest little hole-in-the wall eateries I've ever visited.

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By Wynter Holden

Eating Asian food while on a diet can be a tricky proposition for an American diner. You'd think that Thai, Chinese and Japanese eats would automatically equal diet-friendly. I mean, proportionally (pun intended), how many overweight people live in these countries vs. the U.S.? Asian obesity rates have historically been very low. Well, until we introduced the "Big Mac" culture.

And therein lays the challenge. To appeal to American tastes, Asian restaurants have introduced fattening entrees that barely resemble their foreign counterparts. Orange chicken. Fried dumplings. Pad Thai smothered in peanut sauce. Yeah, can I have a side of thunder thighs with that? Thanks.

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I admit it. I'm in love. It's what I like to call a "culinary crush"; when you find a new local restaurant that you become completely obsessed with. Every time you're hungry and don't have plans, you turn to your crush, where you always know you'll enjoy the experience.

My new crush is a small Hawaiian grill next to Chipotle and a sub place in a Southwest Phoenix strip mall. Called Rumbi Island Grill, the place hovers somewhere between traditional fast food joint and swankier order-at-the-counter restaurants like Sauce. Yes, Rumbi is a national chain (tsk, tsk), but if I avoided dining at strip malls or chains, in a month or two I'd be SOL with new restaurant choices over here in the West Valley.

Normally, I indulge in the pork platter with mac salad and rice. But if we're going to have a long-term relationship, I figure Rumbi needs to be supportive of my dieting endeavors. And sadly, my research indicates that a large scoop of macaroni salad like the one at Rumbi's can pack a whopping 600+ calories and 40 grams of fat! Ouch.

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By Wynter Holden

In my notebook of odd dieting theories, I have one that's completely ridiculous. Not that the idea is bad, mind you. Just that executing this particular plan requires that I look like a complete fool in front of dozens of strangers. I knew I was going to test it sometime.

I didn't know that it was going to happen at my friend Mr. B's 29th birthday party, in front of his entire family. But I just couldn't help it. If there's one place in town that that requires some serious dieting creativity, it's the new Darcy McGee's Irish pub in the Tempe Marketplace. I mean, just one Guinness has about 200 calories. Add shepherd's pie and bread pudding to that and your diet goes up in flames...with whiskey sauce as the accelerant.

To their credit, Darcy's does have a handful of decent looking salads, even if they are loaded with fat-heavy bacon and cheese. But let's be real. If you go to an Irish pub, you're going to want real British Isles grub. Beer-braised beef boxty. Bangers and mash. So I looked over the menu and ordered exactly what I wanted: Chicken pie.

The menu described it as "diced chicken breast, broccoli and aged cheddar simmered in a bechamel sauce and topped with a savoury buttermilk biscuit." Oh, my! My stomach was already rumbling in approval when the pot pie bowl was placed in front of me.

That's when I pulled out my secret dieting weapon...

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By Wynter Holden

I've never had the experience of simultaneously finding it incredibly easy and agonizingly difficult to stick to my diet. That is, until now. I hadn't been to the little cafe that opened up just south of MacAlpine's on 7th Street, so I scheduled an interview there last week.

For sure, La Piccola Cucina is totally cute. It's tucked in a converted house with wood floors and tin ceilings; although it's hard to spot behind the large hedges and patio umbrellas shading the stone patio. They've got a decent selection of paninis, which sounded great, but my eyes went straight to the glass cabinet stocked with charcuterie-style meats, salads and veggies.

With the plate lunch/dinner, you get to choose one meat and two side dishes from the counter and they'll heat 'em up for you. I don't reheat food and I don't own a microwave (because I'm one of those pseudo-hippie nuts that secretly fear the radiation...shh, don't tell), so it was a little weird. But unless you're really anti-leftovers, it shouldn't faze you.

I sighed with relief when I looked over the choices.

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By Wynter Holden

The rule in my house is that the person with the crappiest day gets to make the decision about what to do that evening. My roommate "A" finalized a bad breakup last Thursday, so dinner was definitely her call. My fingers were crossed for something healthy, and luckily, Miss A wanted to pound down some sushi.

So we piled in my little green Beetle and headed to Ichiban Sushi & Teppanyaki at 99th and McDowell in Tolleson. We didn't sit at one of the Teppanyaki cooktop tables, so I was limited to the regular menu. Unfortunately, the entree choices were pretty much meat drowned in teriyaki sauce or meat deep-fried in oil. Great! Either choice would bust my allowable fat intake for the day; maybe the whole week, if I had a combo.

Since I don't count grocery-store-bought California rolls as "real" sushi, I was technically a sushi virgin. Rice, vinegar and fish sounds super-healthy and low in calories, but you actually have to be careful with what roll you choose. Miss A recommended the tempura roll, but as far as I'm concerned, "tempura" must translate to "unhealthy and fattening" in Japanese.

So I tested one of my new dieting mantras: When in doubt, get an appetizer or two rather than a huge entree. Eating edamame first is always a helpful weight-management trick. At about 125 calories a serving, they're low in saturated fat, high in fiber and have more than twice your daily protein requirement. I ordered up some heart-healthy edamame, a small 4-pc steamed shrimp dumpling appetizer and one item from the sushi menu. I wasn't sure if I'd really bust my sushi cherry by ordering ebi (technically sashimi, not sushi) but I figured I'd give it a shot.

The shrimp shumai (dumplings) were a little briny, but salvageable drowned in soy sauce, and my first stab at sushi was decent. Altogether, it was a pretty decent meal. And it cheered up my poor friend Miss A. Sushi, and Japanese food in general, is a great choice for those trying to stick to a healthy diet regimen -- especially if you stick with boiled or steamed appetizers and sushi. Just steer clear of tempura anything, watch your salt intake (that soy sauce is a killer) and go light on the teriyaki.

by Wynter Holden

After last week's adventure into grannyville, I thought I'd venture into trendier territory this week. So when I suggested a mid-week trek to the upscale, chic Bombay Spice Indian bistro at 16th St. & Glendale in Phoenix, my roommates squealed and said, "hell, yeah!" Since my return to Phoenix, I've been craving some decent chicken curry, and I'd heard this place was awesome. Apparently, my roomies heard the same thing. Plus, one's a vegetarian, and I'm a slightly anemic carnivore, so finding someplace all of us can eat out comfortably together can be a challenge.

Since Michele Laudig's glowing review, few things have changed. The menu's still heathful fare with no butter, cream or heavy oil. What has changed is that the bistro's chefs have calculated calorie counts for nearly every entree and written them down in a three-ring binder which the manager let me take a peek at. A 55-calorie appetizer? 100-calorie entrees? Score!

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By Wynter Holden

Sure, it's easy as fat-free pie to stick to your diet if you're at home weighing meat or eating entrees out of a box. Some dieters just give up altogether on eating out, but I say...screw that! So I'm looking for creative ways to help you stick to your diet while out on the town. In our culture, restaurants are about socializing, and I for one am not ready to become a reclusive old maid sitting at home with a cardboard dinner that makes an Army MRE look appealing.

How ironic then that I walked into The Tea Shoppe for brunch earlier this week. There I was, a rebellious tattooed thirtysomething in tight denim shorts and a low cut babydoll top, amongst lacy doilies, porcelain teacups and a dozen blue-haired women old enough to be my grandma. I thought about backing up slowly and walking out before the hostess saw me, but I'd skipped breakfast and my stomach was threatening to eat itself at this point.

The Tea Shoppe, 7005 N 58th Ave. in Glendale, is a quaint little eatery slash kitschy tea house; the kind of place Red Hat Society biddies drink Earl Grey and brag about their grandchildren. I sat alone at a tiny farmhouse table for two covered with a thick, faux lace tablecloth. Armed with camera and notebook, I was ready to test my first 'creative dieting' theory: It's hard to pig out when you're forced to be dainty.

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