I LOVE Panera Bread!

The trick is to look at the nutritional information before you go, decide what you will get and stick to it when you get there.  I got the You Pick Two with the Classic Cafe Salad, Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich and Apple for a total of 455 calories!  I love it!

Samantha

2.4 pounds down!

I like Panera Bread, too.  But their bagels and desserts SUCK.  Ugh, and their coffee isn't much to brag about.

Original Post by cellulitedelight:

But their bagels and desserts SUCK.   

Really?  What did you have? (Might have been the location too...)

As I recall (I haven't had either in a while), their french toast bagel is wonderful, and their pecan caramel brownie is roll-your-eyes-back-in-your-head delicious.

I love the classic salad with added grilled chicken with the balsamic dressing... that's all I need... it's filling and I just take a bite of bread at the end of the meal! Mmmmm... I always ask for Panera gift cards for presents! I had a $50.00 gift card there and I went a lot!!! And it was so worth it! I always keep the nutritional information in my purse to my favorite eating places (subway, Panera)...

I can't allow myself to go there any more, as I have zero self-control.  I'll go in with the best intentions, but then I'll find out it's Chicken Wild Rice soup day.  I could eat a gallon of that soup everyday, I love it so much!  Mmmm... Or I'll get the Portabella Mozzarella Panini, because what's better than fatty bread smothered in melty cheese and mushrooms?  And THEN I'll pass by the bakery section and they'll have pumpkin muffies... And I'm addicted to those things!  

Luckily we don't have Panera bread inside the city of Houston (that I know of, and no one should tell me where there is one, either!), but whenever I go home and visit my parents, that's the first place I go!

I just want to warn everyone to look extra hard at their website. Under all their nutrition info, they only list HALF PORTIONS of all of their meals/sandwiches/salads. If you want the portion they actually serve you, you have to scroll down in the little pop up nutrition box.

oooo god i am addicted to panera..i luv the broccoli cheddar soup...dont know how many calories that is but im sure its not too good for me lol

Panera (AKA St. Louis Bread Company) is good stuff,  we have one that opened less than a mile from my house and I havent been to Subway ever since! You can get healthy low-cal meals there if you do a little homework, same as any other place. The Turkey Chickpea Chili is a good item too  with 180 cals per serving.  The Broccoli Cheddar Soup is 230 a serving, which is also manageable and it is quite tasty!

Original Post by feanor:

I just want to warn everyone to look extra hard at their website. Under all their nutrition info, they only list HALF PORTIONS of all of their meals/sandwiches/salads. If you want the portion they actually serve you, you have to scroll down in the little pop up nutrition box.

 That's why I get the You Pick Two because it is a half portion of a sandwich and a half portion of salad.

Samantha

I love Panera too!!! I always get the broccoli cheese soup, and the sierra turkey sandwich on tomato basil bread instead of the focaccia (by the way, the tomato basil bread is pretty good cal/fat-wise, I buy loaves of it to make sandwiches at home).  And an apple instead of the baguette. 

I could seriously eat a whole baguette with real butter on it, dipped in that soup.  Ugh its dee-lish.

I used to go there a lot, but now only as a treat.

"(by the way, the tomato basil bread is pretty good cal/fat-wise, I buy loaves of it to make sandwiches at home). "

Thats great advice on the Tomato basil bread! I just looked and If you measure it out by weight, its only about 10 or 15 calories a slice more than Wonder's  "Light White" bread, (which really doesnt taste very good IMHO).  I am a real sandwich lover, and it pains me to make a sandwich with what I consider to be inferior bread. I am definitely going to get a loaf of that tomato basil bread tomorrow! Thank You for sharing that.

I like the FUJI APPLE CHICKEN SALAD...yummy! I get it without the gorgonzola cheese to cut calories, and because gorgonzola is yucky!

The pick two is so wonderful! I always get an apple for my side and put it in my bag for a snack later!

NOTHING beats the Medterrean Veggie Sandwich. I swear its the best thing ever.

I always get the You Pick Two greek salad and french onion soup, naked.  However, last time I went the girl at the counter told me they didn't carry apples anymore!  Is this just my store or has anyone else heard about this?

getting to be a bad time of year for apples -- particularly the little ones they like to hand out as the sides.  BTW, a portion of whole grain baguette is only 120 calories (presuming it is only the 2 oz that's it's supposed to be). 

I do a pick two with black bean (or chicken noodle) soup and grilled salmon salad -- no dressing (just because I don't like dressings).  I usually get the WG baguette and break it up into my soup.

My only complaint is the amount of sodium in everything....

Bleh.  I don't like bagels as sweets, which is another reason to dislike their bagels.  I've had their plain bagels and they're just. yuck.  Too big, too dry, gross cream cheese.  I'm going to have to stick with Tim Hortons when it comes to Bagels.

The food is good but the portions are large, calorie dense and fat-laden. Read their nutritionl information! Scary! I agree with cellulitredelight; their coffee sucks unless you are really into hazelnut!