Dinner at Olive Garden

Good job. I'll bet you didn't even feel "deprived"

Did you guys know Olive Garden has a low-fat dressing for their salad too? You can get the low-fat version and ask for it on the side. Much healthier than the drenched salad they normally bring. The breadsticks & alfredo sauce are my weaknesses there, so I just try to stay away!! :oP

If you don't mind, I would like to toot my own horn for a bit.

We went to Olive Garden last night and I made healthier dinner choices. Normally, I would have had the salad, a breadstick or two and fettucine alfredo with grilled chicken. This time, I did have salad, two servings actually. No breadstick. I ordered angel hair pasta with marinara sauce. When my pasta arrived, they had put meat sauce on it. I was iffy on sending it back, but I did end up send it back for the marinara. Because of the extra salad, I only ate half of my pasta. I ate healthier throughout the day, choosing a light lunch and some fruit. In the end, I did go over my calories by about 30 calories, but I know I did much better than I normally would have done. For that, I'm still happy.

OMG... you passed up on the BREADSTICKS?!?!?!? Now had this been me, my dinner would have been 3 servings of salad and at least 3 breadsticks, one with each serving of salad! I could skip the pasta altogether to be honest, but the breadsticks in their buttery garlic goodness... Wow, I commend you!

Great job! I am not sure I could do that. Bread is my weakness in a big way. I am doomed when I go to either Olive Garden, or worse, Red Lobster and their cheddar bay biscuits. OK, I will stop there, that in itself made my mouth water-haha. Anyhow, that is awesome that you were able to make those healthier decisions. Thanks for posting! :happy:

Fettucine Alfredo was 1400 calories. My whoe day's worth of calories. I love it, but it wasn't worth it to me. I checked their menu online and was shocked at some of the calorie count and sodium for their dishes. I tried to make the best choice and I think I did pretty good.

Hiswife....Thanks for the tidbit...I did not know they had low-cal dressing for their salads. I'll have to do that next time.

great job with the choices!! ive grown accustomed to no salad dressing for two years now thankfully .. i went to olive garden last month and made the pasta with marinara sauce choice too ..salad with no dressing and had two breadsticks ..ate half the pasta . i was stuffed when i walked out of there ..

They don't tell you about the low fat option, but their salad with the 'regular' dressing was featured on some "most unhealthy 'free food' options" list I read a while back. Its really horrible in calories and fat, so good job getting the word out. I feel like a lot of people are duped into thinking they've made a decent choice when they load up on salad there.....

Thanks! I totally agree. I used to think, "Oh...it's salad...I can eat as much as I want!" No wonder I got to where I was! I was loading up on salad along with the fettucini! Yikes!

I also get the Zuppa Toscana. I get it with salad and ONE breadstick. I like to dip the breadstick in the soup! Yum... I'm actually going there tomorrow with friends.

I love the mushroom stuffed shells! Not a fan of the breadsticks

Hi, I'm a waitress at Olive Garden and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read this if you're counting calories! I promise I know what I'm talking about!

The salad with the normal dressing is nearly 290 calories, and something like 20 grams of fat! One serving is one plate of salad. I know it's really deceiving (it's salad -- it has to be good for me, right?!) so ALWAYS opt for the low fat dressing, with no crutons! Add the cheese if you'd like, because, hey, cheese is yummy!! The lowfat tastes pretty much the exact same as the regular. I don't eat the salad with dressing anymore, I either squeeze lemons onto it, squeeze the juice from the pepperocinis, or just use some balsamic (which we do have!!) it's a much better choice!

The venetian apricot chicken is fantaaastic! It has 290 calories and I think 5 grams of fat! It's filling and really good! Also, cheese ravioli with tomato sauce (on the side) with no baked cheese isn't too bad either, it's ~480 and some calories, with probably about 15/20 grams of fat!

I like to order the gluten free options! The gluten free mixed grill is soo perfect to share! And the salad automatically comes with no croutons, and low fat dressing!

I know people don't go to Olive Garden to eat healthy, but every breadstick is 150 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 400 mg of sodium. OUCH!

I ate at work tonight and had the new lunch sized grilled lemon herb chicken, no sauce, no potatoes, sub asparagus. I squeezed lemons on top. It was suuper good! And really not too bad. There was feta on top, though... but... it was delicious and so worth it!

Just so you guys, know!!

...oh yeah... the sodium at this place is CRAZY. Make sure you keep an eye on those sodium levels.