Italian Resturant - What do you eat ?

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  • palmerar
    palmerar Posts: 489 Member
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    I worked at an Italian restaurant for 3 years, I would assume that 400 cals for chicken parm is very low, or that is for 1/3 of the portion. I would take a look at the grill items, if applciable. The place I worked had amazing petite filets, pork chops, salmon etc. However pratically EVERYTHING on the menu included a huge serving of herbed butter, which was delicious but totally inflated the calories. Look for "light" indicators or go for something grilled and ask for no added butter or oils, veggies just steamed. Or enjoy your dinner and EAT SLOWLY, drink your wine have good conversation. Portion control, Italian restaurants can have 3 or 4 actual servings of pasta for their 1 plate.
  • _crafty_
    _crafty_ Posts: 1,682 Member
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    Apps, bread, pasta, and dessert.

    What's for dessert?

    tiramisu

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSAQd3IL5ySvocxFn-nqybfDmiF0QHX-pkpBn54jB21b9hJd1-0Iw
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
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    Last time we went to an Italian place I just avoided the bread and butter. I had salad, a pasta dish, and an expresso for dessert and it ended up being a pretty reasonable calorie count.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
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    Saltimbocca, mussels arrabbiata, breads, linguine with clams, and a cannoli.

    And then dream about the next time I will be able to go.
  • eggsmilkbread
    eggsmilkbread Posts: 184 Member
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    Chicken alfredo and the whole tiramisu cake. :love: And hey why not add some salad and breadsticks in, I mean I AM having a salad, I deserve a little treat!

    Oh wait you were talking about what YOU should have. My bad. :blushing:
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
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    salad and wine and a couple of bites of an entree (which is boxed to go because im too full on wine and salad)
  • MorgueBabe
    MorgueBabe Posts: 1,188 Member
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    Apps, bread, pasta, and dessert.

    This. You only live once.

    Yup.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
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    Probably not as good for you, but it can't hurt to do it once in a while, is to watch what you eat all day and save up the calories for dinner. I have a band gig tonight. I know I'll eat something not so good for dinner (I'm thinking of a nice bacon cheese burger and fries) and I'll have a few beers. I have 1900 calories to play with. I'll still go over, but not as bad as if I'd been eating all day like usual.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    Bread baskets, arancini, charcuterie platter, a few pasta dishes, a veal chop, panna cotta, gelato, cannolis and tartufo

    He lies. Acg can barely finish two pieces of bread, let alone all of that food.
  • caroldot
    caroldot Posts: 388 Member
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    OMG ya'll are making me hungry and craving Italian food!

    the pasta....the bread....the wine.....the desserts......dreaming.....:love:
  • Chas_Rankin
    Chas_Rankin Posts: 22
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    Going on a date to an Italian resturant.. What do i eat? Chicken Parm 400 cal...egg plant 425 cal...
    what would you eat?
    I'm thinking pig out and then go to the gym for 2 hours..LOL

    Easy rules, hun... Enjoy the salad (easy dressing), Limit the bread (dip in olive oil instead of using butter), A cup of Minestrone is usually a good choce. For the entree, it's best to inform your server that you're interested in hearing about "healthy entrees" instead of saying you're "on a diet". If it's a good restaurant, servers go out of their way to please you and will give special instructions to the chef. Tiramisu-- sure! Share it with your sweetheart.

    If on the other hand, your date takes you to a dive, fuggetabodit! ... Call me at ### LOL ... Have fun and bon appetit!
  • herz28camaro
    herz28camaro Posts: 26 Member
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    LMAO..thank you all for your response, support and the laugh's.. Love ya's
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    edited May 2016
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    BigGuy47 wrote: »
    Chicken Picatta.

    This is usually what I get.


    ETA: Holy thread resurrection. How many Italian restaurants have you been to in the past 3 years?
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
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    Carbonara!! Skip the bread basket. Wine.

    But you should be careful of the estimates you're using for items... 400 for chicken parm? Maybe they're not including any of the pasta in that? I looked and Olive Gardens is 1060!
  • ObsidianMist
    ObsidianMist Posts: 519 Member
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    the last time I went to an italian restaurant, which was on my birthday, I tried gnocchi for the first time and it was *kitten* delicious! also had a caesar and a creme brulee. yum yum yum
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited May 2016
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    herz28camaro wrote: »
    Going on a date to an Italian resturant.. What do i eat? Chicken Parm 400 cal...egg plant 425 cal...
    what would you eat?
    I'm thinking pig out and then go to the gym for 2 hours..LOL

    Personally, I wouldn't do this, only because, well, it doesn't seem like the most healthy approach.
    But, then, we eat out a lot.

    I'd get a caesar salad with salmon. A glass of wine, and a shared dessert. :smile:
  • RobD520
    RobD520 Posts: 420 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    herz28camaro wrote: »
    Going on a date to an Italian resturant.. What do i eat? Chicken Parm 400 cal...egg plant 425 cal...
    what would you eat?
    I'm thinking pig out and then go to the gym for 2 hours..LOL

    Personally, I wouldn't do this, only because, well, it doesn't seem like the most healthy approach.
    But, then, we eat out a lot.

    I'd get a caesar salad with salmon. A glass of wine, and a shared dessert. :smile:

    I look for fresh fish options. Salmon, a small side of pasta, minestrone etc... Italian American cuisine can be calorie dense; but this is not how real Italians eat....
  • rajushank84
    rajushank84 Posts: 10 Member
    edited May 2016
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    Don't most Italian restaurants have steak? At least the "American" ones do, lol! I just eat a 6-ounce filet, skip the mashed potatoes (or touch on them lightly). 400 calories, 45g protein, and yum! Medium rare with zero-calorie A1 sauce.

    But then if I really liked Italian food my answer may be different, lol! I'm saving my carbs for the sambar saadam at the end of the day :).
  • UncaToddly
    UncaToddly Posts: 146 Member
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    Piper911 wrote: »
    But to answer your question I always say if its a once in a while thing enjoy yourself!

    This is the way I am trying to approach my "lifestyle change" (they keep telling me not to think of it as a 'diet'). I have been pretty good lately, especially now that I have been doing pretty good getting out and doing daily walks but I had to accept that what works best for me is to be as good as I can during the week when things are more structured due to work breaks and such and then just do the best I can on the weekends and not beat myself up if I fail miserably sometimes.

    We used to do the AYCE Asian buffets pretty often before I started this. Now we don't eat out as much but if I decide that the buffet is what I want for a special dinner.... I am just gonna accept that the food enjoyment I got that day was simply a speedbump, not a brick wall in regards to my overall plan.
  • eingmund
    eingmund Posts: 2 Member
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    How about you order whatever you want, and ask the waiter / waitress to bring a takeout container to the table when the entree comes. Then eat half the entree (consider ordering a garden salad as a starter), put the other half into the container, and save it for later. If you don't eat the full portion in one sitting, you won't feel so bad.

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