Olive Garden new lowcarb menu

[meltinaway]

Guess What??????!!!!!!! My neighbor is a district manager for The Olive Garden here in Ohio and he told me tonight that in May 2004 they are going to be releasing a new "low Carb Fare."

According to him, the menu will include the following LOW CARB items, all will be offered with or made with a low carb pasta, they will also have a version without pasta. Carb counts range from 5 - 18 and include 1 cup of soup, 1 breadstick and entree for the total carbs advertised:

Lasagna
Chicken or Veal Parmasean
Pasta Alfredo
Ravioli
Steak w/cream sauce and side of fettucini alfredo
2 different soups (I cannot remember what he called them)
Garlic Breadsticks

Several other items, I cannot remember them all but these stuck out in my mind. Probably because they are my favorites.:lol: Olive Garden, here I come!

[simplydawn]

Neat! But why couldnt they have done this a couple of weeks ago when we went there to eat? LOL!!! Thanks for letting us know!

[missaec]

OH COOL!!! I live right down the street from an Olive Garden and I LOVE IT. When I started a few weeks ago I was like, "Damnit, why don't they have anything low carb?!"

Yayy!

[Dena241]

I will patiently wait in the Olive Garden parking lot until May....LOL! This is great news for me, thanks for the post!

[DWRolfe]

That's a good news!

[filmlass23]

Yay! This is probably my fave chain (next to Outback). VG to know I will be able to go back there soon... :)

[fern2340]

GREAT! I love Olive Garden!!!

[centikel]

Gee, just as I got good at eating low carb in Italian restuarants - I love marinara. But it will be good to be sure that there hasn't been sugar added to the sauces and stuff. In the meantime, I endulge in marinara on steamed vegies, typically a mix of eg. broccoli, zucchini, asparagus. Or chicken piccata, another fave of mine. This will be interesting to see, esp the lasagne. Maybe there will be spinach or something replacing the pasta?

[BonoLover]

I cannot walk into an Olive Garden and not have their Tiramisu :(

[Lissette]

WOW! that is terrific news! it is about time! :yay:
Now if taco bell could start using the lc wraps for their menus!! :agree:

[cathafer46]

i emailed olive garden about this asking what types of things would be on their new low carb menu and this i what they said

Dear Cathy:

Thank you for contacting us again.

Please know we are unaware of any plans to offer a specific low carb menu at
this time. However, we appreciate your interest and have documented your desire
for this type of menu.


maybe they are going to test it in ohio first? hmph :p

[Kruser3397]

That's wonderful news!

[centikel]

The tiramisu! Oy, that's right, cannot go into Olive Garden. Must.....exert....control. Nooooooo, I'm weakening and I'm not even there!

That's an important point to remember about restaurants expanding into lowcarb - the desserts- they lure us in with low carb part-menus and then there's dessert staring us in the face. I know that I have started breaking down and getting dessert at Legal Seafoods since I really miss having something sweet after dinner. At least they offer a single bon-bon for a dollar. And they have a sugar free choc mousse, but it usually upsets my tummy since of course I *have* to eat the whole thing. Really, I wonder how I get myself off to work each day. Must be the money aspect.

[Pnut1]

I too live in Ohio area and am very excited to hear about this as we love to go there but regret it afterwards... THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP!

[dreamnfae]

I eat at Olive Garden all the time! I usually have the salmon piccatta, I just ask them NOT to put the sauce on it, as there is corn starch in it. They also have a dish that has both chicken and italian sausage skewered and both come with veggies, my hubby usually has that, even though it comes with potatoes, he just doesnt eat them.

Anywhere we go out to eat, I always ask what is in the sauces, if there is any thickeners, sweeteners, etc, and if there is, I just ask them for the item without that part. I haven't had any problems yet!

[RobinAH]

Hi, I thought I'd let you know what I do when I go to Olive Garden. I love their salad and you get all you want, so that's a plus. When it comes to ordering a meal, I go for the a la carte: I get an order of meatballs with tomato sauce and steamed vegetables. I have them put cheese on the whole thing when it comes out and it's awesome. Cheap, too. An order of three meatballs is only about $2.50. I can go with my friends and enjoy my low-carb lifestyle.

[cathafer46]

i wonder how many carbs are in their meatballs

[RobinAH]

I looked on Olive Garden's website but they are very stingy about their nutrition information. No data on meatballs but I still feel as though I am being "good" when I go to Olive Garden. :)

[TarHeel]

I'm having a little trouble suspending my disbelief here. Bread sticks and and soup and a pasta entree that's low carb? Sounds fishy to me.....

Kay

[dreamnfae]

I emailed my local Olive Garden requesting nutritional information, and this is the response that I recieved:




Dear Terrie:

Thank you for visiting olivegarden.com.

We appreciate your desire for carbohydrate information about our
menu items.

As you are aware, the majority of our entrees include pasta and
would not meet the definition of a low-carbohydrate meal plan.
However, some of our menu items can be adjusted to accommodate a
low carbohydrate life-style. Depending on your meal plan, you
may enjoy our Pork Filettino - a grilled pork tenderloin
marinated in extra-virgin olive oil and rosemary, the Mixed Grill -
skewers of grilled chicken and Italian sausage, or the Tuscan T-Bone
- an 18-ounce T-bone brushed with Italian herbs. Upon request
our server would be delighted to substitute the potatoes and
pasta for vegetables, and serve the sauce and dressing on the side.

Currently, we do not provide a nutritional analysis on our
entire menu and we are unable to provide the exact carbohydrate
information on these menu items. The good news is that we are
working on providing nutritional information to help guests such as
yourself make informative choices. We hope to have this
information available within the coming year. We are sorry we are unable
to help you further at this time.

Michael
Olive Garden Guest Relations



~Dream

[Dena241]

Dream-I got the EXACT same response from them when I emailed to ask about a new low carb menu. They flat out denied that there is any low carb menu on the way. I guess time will tell.....

[lotsawater]

I had the chicken and sausage on skewer meal last night (and lunch right now) I just had them skip the potatoes and add more veggies. It was really good and filling, plus (BIG PLUS) you get your endless supply of salad (I made sure they didn't add any of their croutons to the salad also). This is the first time I've been to Olive Garden since I started this WOE last November. They really do have some Atkins friendly dishes and plan on going back again. Can't wait to see if they get some low carb pasta dishes. That would be just amazing!

[melriecker]

I cannot walk into an Olive Garden and not have their Tiramisu :(
Hey, I have a good recipie for a Tiramisu Parfait that I got from the Splenda newsletter. It has 8 carbs per serving but is a great splurge. Rich and delicious!!! E-mail me for the recipie.

--Melissa

p.s. when the OG gets LC, I will make the 1-2 hr drive more often! :) SE Kansas is void of Olive Garden.

[BonoLover]

Melissa,
I can't PM you (it said you can't accept them), and there is no email contact for you, but I went to the Splenda website and they have the recipe there. Thanks for the tip! :)

For anyone else who is interested, here is the recipe - although the big question is, where do you find a SF angel food cake?? Maybe pound cake would be an ok substitute, but Entenmann's still has 9 carbs per serving...



Tiramisu Parfait



http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifPreparation Time: 30 min.
Chill Time: 3 hours or overnight
Makes 8 servings

http://www.splenda.com/images/splenda/recipes/hdingredients.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gif1 Sugar-Free Angel Food Cake
3 1/2 tsp. Decaffeinated Instant Coffee
1 1/2 cups Hot Water
1/2 cup Mascarpone Cheese
8 oz. Fat-Free Cream Cheese
2 Tbsp. Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granular
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 tsp. Cocoa Powder

http://www.splenda.com/images/splenda/recipes/hddirections.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gif
Cut sugar-free angel food cake into one-inch cubes. Set aside.
Dissolve instant coffee in hot water. Chill in refrigerator.
Combine mascarpone cheese and cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Beat until smooth. Add 2 Tbsp. chilled coffee, brown sugar, SPLENDA® Granular, and vanilla. Mix well and set aside.
Pour remaining chilled coffee into a 9x13 inch pan.
Assemble Tiramisu. Quickly dip half of the angel food pieces into the coffee. Remove immediately and place in a medium glass serving bowl. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture on top of the angel food cake pieces. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. cocoa powder. Repeat process with remaining angel food cake, cheese mixture and cocoa.
Cover and chill for three hours or overnight before serving.


http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifNutrition Information per serving
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifServing Size
1/8th tiramisu
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifTotal Calories
120
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifCalories from Fat
60
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifTotal Fat
7 g
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifSaturated Fat
4 g
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifCholesterol
20 mg
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifSodium
170 mg
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifTotal Carbohydrate
8 g
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifDietary Fiber
0 g
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifSugars
3 g
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifProtein
5 g
http://www.splenda.com/images/s.gifhttp://www.splenda.com/images/s.gif

[Vanity3]

Now if taco bell could start using the lc wraps for their menus!! :agree:

Now, that would be just too much like right for Taco Hell to join the marketig world of LC ! Besides the tacos would go up in price to about $5!

[amazonann7]

I would totally consider paying varying amounts of money if Taco Bell would go with a trustworthy low carb plan like subway. I'm a college student for Pete's sake! It really does suck when they all go to TB or Taco Cabana and I have to abstain! Still, it's good for my will power after I leave knowing I didn't have to have any.

[Cali_Girl]

It's not Olive Garden...but our little local Italian restaurant has started offering a low carb menu. They make Chicken Alfredo with LC pasta...and they offer a LC pizza made on an LC tortilla.

They offer a few other things..but I can't remember what. They're a little pricey, but I try to order from them sometimes because I want to encourage their efforts to provide LC options!!

I hooooope Olive Garden can figure out a LC menu cause I LOVE eating there!

[LilaCotton]

I would totally consider paying varying amounts of money if Taco Bell would go with a trustworthy low carb plan like subway. I'm a college student for Pete's sake! It really does suck when they all go to TB or Taco Cabana and I have to abstain! Still, it's good for my will power after I leave knowing I didn't have to have any.

Why can't you eat at Taco Bell? I do once in a while. My daughters, who are in later stages of OWL than I am sometimes order the 7-layer burrito without the rice, then eat the filling from it and throw the shell in the trash. I usually have a couple of soft taco supremes, but don't eat the shells.

----------------------

I don't frequent Olive Garden, but from the looks of what they currently offer that's LC friendly, I might just start! Maybe we'll do Olive Garden on our trip next week. That would be a nice change, I think.

[IwillLose]

So, it is May. Did anyone go to Olive Garden and see if they have the low carb menu yet? The web site still mentions nothing about a low carb menu.

[Angel66668]

see earlier in the post, there is no low carb menu at OG

[Sterlina]

I used to work at an Olive Garden and we still eat there sometimes.. I asked my old manager a while back (before I even saw this thread) about a low carb menu... and FYI I always get the chicken castelina, no pasta sub veggies, with a garden salad no croutons, SOOOO GOOOD.. and he told me that it was definitely not in the plans and it would kinda defeat the purpose of having a low carb menu...

Instead of getting all your hopes up, I guess we'll just have to continue to do what we do and work around it...

So many restaurants are willing to hold the bread, pasta and rice and substitute it for something else, and Im just grateful for that.. :)