Are you planning lunch on the run today? Which is better nutrition-wise, a fast-food salad or a Chinese vegetarian entree?

Most people wouldn't be sure off the top of their heads.

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With the help of a nutritionist and MyPyramid.gov, we're helping you identify the best of the best if your goal is weight maintenance and a healthy lifestyle. We've lined up a day's worth of food decisions to see which choices get you to your diet goals.

Shawn Slatunas, of Omaha, Neb., has been picking his way through produce shelves and nutrition labels as he and his girlfriend try to save money and calories by cooking more at home.

"We were both eating out frequently. Nothing that you eat out is perfectly healthy," Slatunas said.

Morning Meals

Armed with a budget and an admonishment from his girlfriend's dermatologist to avoid high-sugar foods, he heads to the grocery store a few times a week to create meals.

"I look at the difference in just the cereals that are supposedly health-smart," Slatunas said. "So many have so much sugar, or a lack of protein or fiber."

Faced with a decision between a medium whole-wheat bagel and a cup of raisin bran, which is the better pick?

For Slatunas, the raisin bran's 18.9 grams of sugar make it a bad choice, according to Calories-Count.com. The bagel has 2 grams of sugar and 5 grams of fiber -- less than the cereal's 7 grams, but it still goes a long way to the government's recommended daily fiber intake of 24 to 38 grams.

Few people eat a plain bagel, so take care what and what amount of topping you add if you choose a bagel at breakfast.

Graze Through The Day

Many nutritionists recommend five or six small meals throughout the day. That means you'll need a snack at mid-morning. Both a small apple and a cup of yogurt seem like healthy choices, but Norfolk, Neb., dietitian Linda Wetzel said she'd choose the whole fruit.

"The apple definitely gets my vote for calories, fiber and flavonoids -- such as quercetin, which add significantly to the midday nutrients," Wetzel said.

Now, for that choice between a salad or Chinese at lunch. As Slatunas learned, leaving your nutrition decisions to a restaurant chef is a quick way to pile on calories and additives you don't want. But a quick check of an online menu can you help make better choices.

Compare McDonald's 11-ounce Caesar salad with crispy chicken with P.F. Chang's Buddha's feast stir-fry of asparagus, black mushrooms, baby corn, broccoli, carrots, cornstarch, ginger, snap peas and vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce: The salad wins out on calories, with just 300 versus the stir-fry's 430. However, that's before you pour on any dressing.

In a study for October's Journal of Consumer Research, Pierre Chandon and Brian Wansink showed that consumers often underestimate the calorie counts for supposed healthy fast-food items. The authors urged diners not to rely too much on the assumption that those menu items are lower in calories.

Afternoon Snack

Wetzel helps people make this-versus-that choices as a dietitian for Hy-Vee Grocery Store. When it is time for an afternoon snack, Wetzel said, both a handful of plain almonds or a rice cake with a tablespoon of peanut butter would be good choices.

"Almonds are loaded with good fats and the primary antioxidant, vitamin E. They are also a good source of calcium and magnesium. Because of the fat, they keep you from getting hungry if it is a long time until the next meal. The rice cakes with peanut butter are good, but might not be as high in the antioxidants as the almonds," she said.

Grill It Up

When it's time to heat up the grill and prepare your family's dinner, plenty of health-conscious cooks choose fish over red meat. But would similar servings of salmon or tilapia deliver a bigger nutritional punch at the dinner table?

Salmon gets a lot headlines for its omega-3 fatty acids, which deliver heart-health benefits. But the American Heart Association recommends eating fatty fish just twice a week maximum because they do contain higher concentrations of, well, fat.

So, particularly if you chose the fried-chicken salad at lunch, cut some calories and some fat at dinner with tilapia.

"Tilapia ... is an excellent choice for a lower-fat fish and would be a healthy alternative for those who do not like the taste of the stronger fish," Wetzel said.

Add broccoli and sweet potato as side dishes, Wetzel said, and you've really cooked a powerfully nutritious and balanced meal.

Given a choice between Brussels sprouts or broccoli, Wetzel said they both deliver a panoply of good-for-you phytochemicals, but "when it comes to the most nutrients, broccoli may win out. The sweet potato is loaded with nutrition (and fiber), with an abundance of beta carotene and vitamin C."

Sweet Finish

Don't forget dessert. A health-conscious person might stand at the dairy case and agonize over frozen yogurt or yogurt with fresh fruit. They're both yogurt, right? And they'd both make a tasty end-of-meal treat.

Pick the plain yogurt and add your own berries for an extra benefit. Blueberries and strawberries pack antioxidants, and raspberries and pomegranates will deliver ellagic acid -- thought to protect the structures in skin that keep it elastic.

"The nutrient content of frozen yogurt varies just as that of yogurt does. The sugar content is usually high, unless artificial sweeteners are used, and will depend upon the amount added in manufacturing," according to Boston University.

Night Cap

When the kids are in bed and it's time to relax for a few minutes, is it OK to pour a glass of wine or scotch, or maybe drink a beer?

On its Web site, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said: "Moderate alcohol consumption may have beneficial health effects," including lower mortality rates and lower risk of coronary heart disease. That's due, in part, to the flavonoid content, and more flavonoids are found in beer and wine.

However, USDA also points out that alcohol has a lot of calories and few nutritional benefits. Food Comparisons:

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