By Hannah Abdulla RD

Yes, you can eat Olive Garden while meeting your health goals. Yes, you can eat pasta while meeting your health goals. It is no lie that calories add up fast when eating out, but with mindful decisions and keeping the TMN program in mind, you can eat at your favorite restaurants without derailing your progress. 

Option one

There are many soups to choose from, but two of our favorites are the Chicken and Gnocchi soup and the Stellini soup. The Chicken and Gnocchi soup, salad with Italian, and one breadstick will yield 520 calories and 18 grams of protein. The Stellini soup, salad with Italian, and one breadstick will yield 490 calories and 16 grams of protein.

Option two

Order a kid’s meal and put your MyPlate knowledge to good use. The Kids Alfredo Sauce dish with fettuccini allows you to add a grilled chicken breast to the dish. You can also pick your own side- opt for the broccoli to fully incorporate the MyPlate method. This will yield you 385 calories and 37 grams of protein.

Option 3

Skip the side salad with breadsticks and check out the Shrimp Scampi. We called to verify and Olive Garden will let you add extra veggies to their pastas. Order the Shrimp Scampi and for a small upcharge you can ask the waiter to double up on the veggies. The dinner-sized portion with extra veggies will yield approximately 550 calories and 29 grams of protein.

Option 4

Not feeling the pasta? Check out the Herb-Grilled Salmon or the Grilled Chicken Margherita. These options are both high protein and each include a vegetable. They are also low in carbohydrates, if that is something you are needing to be mindful of. The Herb-Grilled Salmon has 460 calories and 45 grams of protein. The Grilled Chicken Margherita has 540 calories and 65 grams of protein.

Option 5

According to the Olive Garden website, guests can ask for a lunch menu outside of their posted lunch hours! We urge you to check out the lunch menu for more reasonable portion options such as their Lasagna Classico at 500 calories and 29 grams of protein and the Cheese Ravioli at 440 calories and 25 grams of protein. Keeping the MyPlate method in mind, consider adding a side of broccoli to either of these meals.

Pro Tip

While dining at Olive Garden you can expect to receive complimentary breadsticks and a garden salad with their famous Italian dressing. Perhaps you want to incorporate these into your meal or maybe you don’t, but knowing a few nutritional facts can help you make that decision. One breadstick yields 140 calories and 4 grams of protein. The garden salad without dressing yields 70 calories and 2 grams of protein. The garden salad tossed in Italian dressing yields 150 calories and 3 grams of protein. 

Check out this guide for a full nutritional breakdown of items at Olive Garden olive_garden_nutrition.pdf (olivegarden.com)