what to eat at Olive Garden???

banslug

banslug

Cathlete
I'm panicking just a bit, and thought maybe somebody could help me.

BF and I, along with several other couples are going to see Late Night Catechism at our State Theater. We're going to dinner with one couple beforehand, and the 3 of them (BF, and the other couple) all want Olive Garden. I'm on a clean eating roll and don't want to be derailed. I'm checking out their website's nutritional info and it seems like there's NOTHING clean to eat. Am I stuck eating just their salad (with no dressing)? Or does anybody have any other suggestions??

HELP! :eek:

Gayle
 
Gayle,
My mom and brother love to go to The Olive Garden when I visit. I'm not a fan and def. don't want to have a cheat meal there. I don't even really like pasta. What I end up doing is ordering off the menu a bit. In the past, I've ordered a plain grilled chicken breast (no butter, no oil) with steamed veggies (no butter, no oil). I've also ordered the chicken breast (same as above) and a salad with dressing on the side. That seems to work.

Good luck :)
 
do you eat fish?

They have a really great tilapia you can get with just some broccoli. Have that with the salad. You might be able to skip the dressing and just get some olive oil and lemon. The fish is tasty. Have them hold the rice.
 
According to my copy of Eat This, Not That, you should have the Linguine Alla Marinara, the Shrimp Primavera or the Chicken Giardino. :D

Sparrow
 
RapidBreath said:
They have a really great tilapia you can get with just some broccoli. Have that with the salad. You might be able to skip the dressing and just get some olive oil and lemon. The fish is tasty. Have them hold the rice.
Click to expand...

I second that emotion about the tilapia. That's a great fish: light, white, low in fat and very tasty without being uber-fishy. I've found our local Olive Garden to be very accommodating about preparation requests.

A-Jock
 
Thanks, everybody! I eat tilapia at home all the time and love the taste, so I may go with that. I'll have the salad no dressing, maybe a small serving of minestrone, and the tilapia with steamed veggies. Some small mixture of those choices.

I really appreciate your input, everybody! I tried, 3 times, to have them change their mind about restaurants, but they are just stuck on going there. But I'll sit back and just watch them smack their lips at all the butter and oil and FAT in their dishes while I can eat mine, knowing I'm doing 'right' by myself!

I'll toast you all with a glass of water with lemon!

Gayle
 
Gayle my dear -- good luck! Every time we go to Olive Garden (and my kids love it) I get nothing. Absolutely nothing. I end up looking at the menu, knowing the salads are iceburg (hate iceburg), there's serious seasoning (not a fan of garlic), and oodles of noodles (ok, let's just say I'm not a pasta fan either.) Actually, I bring my own food and they've never given me a hard time. It's either serve 4 people and tolerate the crazy lady who brings her own food, or serve none. Good luck.
 
ACK! As if Olive Garden wasn't bad enough......the other couple was running late, so we had to make a different decision on a place to eat. PLENTY of pizza places in my town, where I could get a healthy salad and TRUST the food that's in/on it. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......they had to pick PIZZA HUT!!! UGH! That, to me, is 10 times WORSE than the Olive Garden.

HOWEVER, I sucked it up and while the 3 of them enjoyed a LARGE meat lover's with extra cheese and soda, I enjoyed a yummy salad (with actual Romaine lettuce, lol) with sunflower seeds, some cheese, peppers, onions and red wine vinegar. YUMMY and I felt SUPER PROUD, while the other 3 fought over who got the last slice of yucky, greasy pizza. lol

Gayle
 
banslug said:
ACK! As if Olive Garden wasn't bad enough......the other couple was running late, so we had to make a different decision on a place to eat. PLENTY of pizza places in my town, where I could get a healthy salad and TRUST the food that's in/on it. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......they had to pick PIZZA HUT!!! UGH! That, to me, is 10 times WORSE than the Olive Garden.

HOWEVER, I sucked it up and while the 3 of them enjoyed a LARGE meat lover's with extra cheese and soda, I enjoyed a yummy salad (with actual Romaine lettuce, lol) with sunflower seeds, some cheese, peppers, onions and red wine vinegar. YUMMY and I felt SUPER PROUD, while the other 3 fought over who got the last slice of yucky, greasy pizza. lol

Gayle
Click to expand...

Poor Gayle! I hate it when people have to go to a chain! I guess I'm coming at it from a different place, though, because it's not about whether it's clean eating or a healthy meal to me; instead, it's about the the food, and, since we rarely dine out these days, it had better be good and interesting. I hate wasting calories and money on something mediocre at best.

And I would never bring my own food into a restaurant, even a crappy place like Olive Garden. I'd eat a salad or get soup or a small pasta dish and just chalk it up as a small sacrifice for good conversation and togetherness with friends. One meal isn't worth all that anxiety.
 
I would imagine hell is place where they have lots of Pizza Hut, Burger King, TGI Fridays, and Olive Gardens restaurants....with American Idol type garbage being pumped through the speakers....and dorky waitstaff who wear silly buttons and think they're cool. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top