As Woody Allen recounted in the lines he wrote for his character in the 1977 movie "Annie Hall," "There's an old joke ... two elderly women are at a Catskills mountain resort and one of 'em says, 'Boy, the food at this place is really terrible.' The other one says, 'Yeah, I know, and such small portions.' That conversation could have been about the dreadful diet regimens so many have suffered through in an effort to lose weight. But it doesn't have to be that way. You can have it all — tasty and healthy. It's true.

When I sent out an e-mail asking dietitian friends to identify their favorite healthy foods, chocolate-covered strawberries, gelato, creamy avocados, steamed shrimp, sushi with fresh ginger and roasted sweet potatoes rose to the top of the ranks.

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Dark chocolate is not only good, it's good for you.

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Fried egg rolls are high in calories, so try Thai basil rolls instead.

Kelly Cline (ENLARGE)

Sirloin steak is good for your waist and your wallet.

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Barbecue chicken is a healthier option than battered and fried.

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While Kathleen Zelman, director of nutrition for WebMD, confirmed she liked sweet potatoes for their rich vitamin content and naturally sweet flavors, she enthusiastically provided a lengthier rationale for enjoying chocolate.

"The health benefits of chocolate come from the flavonoids, the anti-oxidants naturally occurring in the cacao bean," she said. "Dark chocolate contains a higher percentage of cocoa than white or milk chocolate and the more cocoa a chocolate product contains, the richer the health-promoting anti-oxidant content."

And while sushi is a food favorite of Jo Lichten, author of "How to Stay Healthy & Fit on the Road," because it provides health-boosting and heart-disease fighting omega-3 fatty acids, it's the slices of fresh ginger served with the raw fish that capture her heart.

"Ginger," she says, "is deemed an aphrodisiac because it stimulates the circulatory system and boosts your vitality."

Healthy foods you may already love

There's no need to develop a taste for tofu and bean sprouts if you don't really like them. Choosing foods to improve the quality of your diet should start with rewarding yourself for what you're already doing right. Do you order salads with dressing on the side? You're working to control your intake of fat and calories. Do you reach for the skim or 1 percent milk in the dairy aisle? You're cutting back on saturated fats. Anytime you add more vegetables to a meal, use less cheese, choose leaner meats, grab the whole-grain version of breads and go easy on the butter and oil, you're right in step with the list of things to do to eat a healthier diet.

• Guacamole: Because the main ingredient is avocado, guacamole is a good source of heart healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats. And the impressive list of nutrients in avocados also includes fiber, potassium, vitamin E and folic acid. Of course, where there's fat, there's calories. One ounce of avocado, which is 2 tablespoons mashed, contains about 55 calories. The mix of chopped tomato, onion, cilantro and jalapeño added to avocado makes guacamole actually slightly lower in calories and higher in fiber. Just make sure not to eat too many fried tortilla chips (6 large chips equal 130 calories). Enjoy with torn pieces of one corn tortilla instead (70 calories).

• Barbecue chicken: Here's the bottom line if you're aiming to reduce your bottom line or waistline. Batter and deep-fry a 5-ounce chicken breast and you're looking at 500 calories. But, if the same size chicken breast is dressed up in barbecue sauce instead it's only 350 calories. Want some more sauce to moisten the meat at the table? Most barbecue sauces contain only 15 calories per tablespoon.

• Peel and eat shrimp: The USDA Food Guide Pyramid recommends we add fish and shellfish to mix up our protein choices. Shrimp are exceptionally low in fat, especially if you keep them that way by enjoying them boiled (1/4 pound has 112 calories and 1 gram fat; that compares with 274 calories and 15 grams fat if fried). Peel and eat shrimp are often boiled with a spicy seasoning, so all you need is a squeeze of lemon and you're ready to dig in. And because all that peeling takes some time, it slows you down a bit. Shrimp does contain some cholesterol, but because they are so low in total fat, they're considered a healthy choice.

• Sirloin steak: Ordering a sirloin steak when dining out can help you save on your food dollar budget and your fat and calorie budget. Not as pricey as filet mignon or porterhouse, the sirloin cut is one of the leanest. A 6-ounce sirloin steak, strip steak or London broil has about 360 calories and 16 grams fat. Splurge on the same size serving of prime rib or rib-eye and you're looking at an additional 100 calories and 10 grams fat. Want some sauce with that? Two tablespoons of steak sauce have 30 calories. The same amount of béarnaise sauce is a whopping 120 calories.

• Spring rolls: No, sorry, you need to skip the deep-fried kind. But you can dig in and enjoy the Thai basil rolls popular on many restaurant menus today. Wrapped in chilled rice paper and filled with fresh veggies and maybe shrimp or chicken, they're a low- calorie, high-fiber finger food full of crunch and flavors. Low-calorie dipping sauces range from sweet and spicy to pungent fish sauces.

• Gelato: La dolce vita! Italian gelatos are commonly made with calcium-rich milk so are a bit lower in fat and calories than ice creams. But the real plus for a portion-control-conscious sweet tooth is that gelato is usually served in a dainty 1/2 cup. And that's all you need because — from mango to chocolate to you name it — they offer big flavors in small packages. Put a half-cup of fresh sliced strawberries on top and you've added a fruit serving to your dairy dessert.

• Chocolate: While you can literally be bathed in a chocolate body wrap during a spa treatment at the Hershey Hotel in Hershey, Pa., it's best to enjoy the edible version in small bites. A standard size bar of Hershey's Dark Chocolate has 531 calories. A more sensible portion, say an ounce of dark chocolate or about six Hershey's Kisses, has only 150 calories. The greater the percentage of cocoa, the higher the concentration of flavonoids. Most milk chocolate contains up to 50 percent cocoa, while some inexpensive chocolates contain as little as 7 percent cocoa, according to Zelman. So this is her suggestion: "Look for dark chocolate with at least 70 percent cocoa for the finest dark chocolate with an abundance of healthy flavonoids."

Carolyn O'Neil is a registered dietitian and co-author of "The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous!" E-mail her at healthyeating@ajc.com.