Healthier Choices When Eating Out (continued)

Eating out, what fun!   Last week we talked about how you can enjoy eating out with family and friends but making healthier choices when you do eat out.  As discussed, Consumer Reports has two excellent articles on how one can eat out and make choices that provide less total fat, fewer calories and less sodium.  You can read more about healthier menu options at Dining Out:  Where America Eats and How to Eat Healthier at Restaurant Chains.   This week we will look at menu options that are over the top in calories and fat and healthier choices at two popular restaurants.   A relative was recently eating out at Olive Garden with some friends.  Her friend ordered, The Tour of Italy, a dinner classic recipe.  This relative calls the Tour of Italy, “heart attack on a plate”.  Why?  Maybe because it has 1520 calories just for this entre and 860 of those are calories from fat.  So even before one orders and eats the bread sticks, the salad and a dessert, they are over on calories and eating a main dish that is 57% fat calories.  So what are some menu items to think twice about and some healthier options? 

Olive Garden has many dishes quite high in calories but they also offer a Lighter Fare menu with choices much lower in calories and fat.   Panera Bread is a favorite restaurant as they have many healthier options to choose from.  Great sandwiches, healthy salads and broth bowls.  But they also have some high caloric options.  I like the You Pick 2, a half sandwich and salad option.  They even have a You Pick 2 guide online to help you choose a pair of half sandwich and half salad that is 600 calories or less at: You Pick Two.      Skip the mayo on the sandwich and skip a lot of fat calories.

High Caloric Items at Olive Garden (also check out The 25 Most Caloric Items at Olive Garden) 

Menu Item	Total Calories	Fat Grams	Fat calories/% fat
Tour of Italy	1520	96	860/56%
Northern Tour of Italy	1420	82	730/51%
Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara	1590	114	1020/64%

Lighter Fare at Olive Garden

Shrimp Scampi	500	19	170/34%
Herb-Grilled Salmon	460	28	250/54%
Garlic Rosemary Chicken	540	19	170/31%
Chicken Piccata	530	26	240/45%

High Caloric Items at Panera Bread (also check out The Most Caloric Panera Bread Items)

Menu Item	Total Calories	Fat Grams	Fat calories/% fat
Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich	700	26	234/33%
Chicken, Ham and Swiss Flatbread	720	34	306/43%
Low-Fat Vegetarian Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto	740	5	45/06%
Cinnamon Roll	630	24	216/34%
Pecan Roll	740	50	450/60%

Lighter Fare at Panera Bread

Turkey breast on whole grain half sandwich	280	9	45/16%
Smoked Ham and Swiss on Whole Grain, half sandwich	370	16	144/39%
Roasted Turkey Cranberry Flatbread, 1 Flatbread	310	12	108/35%
Ancient Grain & Argula Salad with Chicken Half salad	210	7	63/30%

Before you visit restaurants, check out the nutrition information online at Olive Garden   and   Panera Bread.     You can use the You Pick Two online to check out the total calories of the half sandwich, half salad options.  Look at the total calories of the menu item and how much fat it has in it.  If you choose a higher calorie appetizer, share it with others.  If you are choosing a higher calorie menu item, split it with someone who is eating a lower calorie menu option. 

Sources:  Dining Out:  Where America Eats, How to Eat Healthier at Restaurant Chains,  Olive Garden, Panera Bread  Image Source:  You Pick Two