Worried about my lunch date at the Olive Garden

I'm meeting a few of my friends on monday morning for lunch at the olive garden. From what I remember, they have an endless salad deal which seemed perfect for my diet! Then I got to remembering how deliccciiouus their dressing was, whatever it comes tossed in. Tasted a bit like italian, definitely a good amount of oil in it. And I have NO idea how many calories we're talking here. I mean, I'm sure it'll be fine since its on top of salad which is so healthy and low-cal... but I certainly don't want to over-do it if the dressing is out of control fattening. Does anyone know anything about that?  :) Thanks!

you can use small amounts of it if u rly like it , Or maybe u can even ask to see if they have a nutrion facts menu, Or better yet Why not bring ur own dressing? that way u know what u are having ^^

hmm..well, i've read up on a lot of resturants menus, only to discover that salad at resturant is one of the worst things for you; its usually soaked in dressing a covered in cheese. I read on a website..i can give you the html address later when i remember where i put it, that the average salad at any big-chained resturant(olive garden,swiss chalet,applebees,etc..) has around 1300 calories, but different salads range anywhere from 700-1700. What i suggest? Ask for dressing on the side, and then instead of just pouring it onto your salad, dip your fork into the dressing,then get some salad on your fork,and then eat it, and just continue to dip your fork into the dressing everytime you take a bite. I did a little experiment and found i used about 1/4 the amont of dressing i used before, saving me tons of calories. Also, ask if they have any low-fat low-cal salad dressing options?but remember, its just one day, so dont sweat it if you over eat one day.

If you say dressing on the side, they will still dress the salad, but will bring you extra dressing on the side. It has happened to me before. you have to clearly say no dressing on the salad but bring dressing on the side.   Dip your fork in the dressing, then eat a bit of salad that way you keep your calories pretty low.  (the dressing is itallian, but it has a ton of oil in it.)

also one breadstick is 200 calories, so if you reach for one, remember how many cals it has in it.

I had a very good lunch order of shrimp and pasta made with a light red sauce...  yum and yum...  they have a couple of "healthy" choices marked on their menu...  order salad with dressing on the side...

look up all of the calories, etc. today...  and plan for tomorrow, today...  enjoy ! 

I usually get the soup, salad, and bread sticks combo.

I ask for lite italian dressing, and get minestrone with mostly broth.  Because it's vegetable based, it contains less calories than cream based soups.

And of course depending.. I'll have a breadstick or two... =)

I tally about 500-700 calories.  Which is amazing consider what I use to order... heh.

I had a friend who used to work at the olive garden. The salad dressing has more fat in it than an order of alfredo dipping sauce.

that being said, you should still go and eat what you want and have a good time with your friends. Just work out extra hard that evening, and don't make a habit out of eating there all the time.

I went there yesterday for my birthday and have the shrimp primivera.  It was about 700 calories and worth every one! 

 

I just have about 200 calorie breakfast and then salad for supper and a piece of fruit and a rice cake later. 

 

I was still under in calories!

I usually ask for dressing on the side and mention that I want the salad DRY of any other liquids (in case they think that a half cup of olive oil is not the dressing its just seasoning :)

Anyway my rule of thumb is that nothing can have more fat per table spoon than oil so I count every table spoon of dressing like 1 tablespoon of oil (about 90 cal).

I would also ask for any cheese and croutons on the side so I know I can have the salad with about 2 tbspn of dressing = 180 (I dont count green veggies as calories in my diet) and a bread stick about 250 cals (and whats the point of olive garden if you cant have a bread stick :). The minestrone about 200.

I would count that as about 630 cals for a meal with salad, bread stick and soup...now Im hungry :) 

I always ask for the dressing on the side. That also means you get a whole salad bowl for yourself :) Sweet! Get a minestrone soup, nix the breadstick ( its not really worth 140 cals) and you should be good to go.

I'm so sad now. All of this sounds SO GOOD and my boyfriend had promised to take me tonight, but he's sick (of course... stupid boyfriend,hahaha!!!jk!) so we're eating chicken noodle soup. Maybe I'll make a grilled cheese sandwich to go with mine...

http://www.dietfacts.com/list.asp?type=brand& amp;brand=Olive+Garden

 the calorie ammounts are fairly accurate, but i hope you can find what you need to know!