Olive Garden hates me.

[chunk!]

If this is in the wrong place, please feel free to move it. There are so many different forums to choose from here....

Anyway, you all know it's SCARY MONTH when it comes to eating healthy. I survived Thanksgiving but this year for the December holidays, we are having three holiday parties at work [not to mention a party my aunt is throwing, but I'm not going to have any trouble with food selection at her party so I won't add it to my question]...

Basically, party #3 is on December 20: This is the one I am most worried about. My boss is buying us lunch today, and it seems like the general consensus is for Olive Garden. I obviously didn't vote because I didn't want my food preferences as they are right now during induction [and are otherwise picky, anyway] to have any sort of impact on other people's enjoyment of the food. HOWEVER - (1) I have never liked Italian food, and (2) PASTA. How anti-Atkins can you possibly GET, right? This is my dilemma... I think we can order individual meals - I'm not sure - but I'm not familiar with their menu at all and need some help. Is there ANYTHING at Olive Garden [aside from salads] that someone on induction can eat? We will be getting it take-out style so it's not like I will really have the opportunity to browse the menu, but I am also in that stage of Atkins where I haven't quite yet learned how to develop good choice-making skills because I haven't had to yet (still on induction, not to OWL yet). So for you Olive Garden Lovers - helllp. Any ideas?

I know it seems obvious to most of you: request an Atkins-friendly meal, right? Well, I'm kind of Atkins-cognito. I REALLY find diet stuff a personal topic IRL and I don't want to tell anybody I'm doing Atkins [or trying to lose weight in general] - it's just nobody's business. And I don't care what people THINK, but the people in my office would probably not be too supportive of anything like that and I just kind of want to be left alone about it. Okay, there's my excuse. Help me continue to be Atkins-cognito. People are going to seriously start thinking I have an eating disorder because I don't gorge on whatever everyone else eats LOL

www.olivegarden.com < - they list menus there, if you can take a look and let me know what you think. this whole thing sounds like a bad idea but so many people just loooove Italian food and I don't want to make a stink about it... that's really selfish, you know?

[Hoping]

Grilled Chicken Spiedini (don't eat the potatoes), Grilled chicken ceasar salad, or Mussels di Napoli (an appetizer).
There are probably going to be hidden sugars or whatever in the food, you never know with pre-made food, but those were some of the more atkins friendly dishes I could find.

Just a side note, you obviously do care what people think or say. I think you should take this opportunity not to announce that you're doing atkins necessarily, but just say that you're trying to eat more healthy. You don't have to go into detail, but it also gets people off your back and they won't go prying into your business. If they lecture you, ignore them. You're doing this for you, not them.
Good luck

[jimmie 48]

olive garden has wonderful chicken dishes and steaks. the chicken is usually served over pasta but you can tell them to hold the pasta and ask for a veggie substitute.

set those breadsticks away from you so as not to be tempted to dig into those.

[pamelainaustin]

I would think any of the grilled entrees without sauce like steak Toscano would work, no potatoes, just ask for other vegetable. The also serve a large salad with oil/vinegar dressing that would probably be acceptable.

However, be warned in advance that the breadsticks are lethal--just the SMELL of them is divine so have them put FAR.FAR,FAR away from you and DO NOT INHALE. It is not my favorite place, we like Macaroni Grill much better. However, there is no way I could resist the focaccia bread with the olive oil and pesto dip at Macaroni Grill so we won't be going there for a long time.

Good luck!!

[Laurenfra]

I used to eat at olive garden a lot. They have always been very kind. They learned no bread on my table and had no problems with vegis instead of past or potato

[chunk!]

thank you everybody!

Originally Posted by Hoping

Just a side note, you obviously do care what people think or say. I think you should take this opportunity not to announce that you're doing atkins necessarily, but just say that you're trying to eat more healthy. You don't have to go into detail, but it also gets people off your back and they won't go prying into your business. If they lecture you, ignore them. You're doing this for you, not them.
Good luck

thank you as well. to be honest, it's not so much that i care what my coworkers think, but i care what their reaction will be. i brought in some donettes last week and one of them said "i'm not going to have any until you do" and i told her i wasn't going to eat any because i'm trying to make better food choices and so she abstained from donut gorging too... but spent the rest of the day eyeballing me as if she was trying to use the jedi force to coerce me into eating a donut. um, it didn't work (lol) but it make the day very uncomfortable for me. food situations at work in general make me uncomfortable. maybe this is MY problem, not theirs, but it just makes work awkward and i don't like it at all.

as far as this olive garden thing goes, i really hope we can order individual foods though.... i don't work with a whole lot of salad-friendly people.

and you're right, i'm doing it for ME. thank you.

[dreamof145]

I've eaten there a few times and usually order one of the chicken dishes. If I know I am going somewhere ahead of time, I'll call and tell them I am on a restricted way of eating and ask if they can accomodate me. They've always been very helpful and if they know ahead of time that I'm coming they already have my meal planned. I've done this at several places and had great service.

[Brook]

Originally Posted by chunk!

as far as this olive garden thing goes, i really hope we can order individual foods though.... i don't work with a whole lot of salad-friendly people.

and you're right, i'm doing it for ME. thank you.

Even if they go ahead and do a big group-order, you cough up the $$ and order your own food. It is what it is and you're going to have to step up in situations like this and do what's best for you, the rest of the world be damned if necessary.

I promise you, it'll get easier as time passes, but don't allow anyone or any situation to sabotage you and get in your way of obtaining what you want for yourself!!!

You'll do famously. I have faith!

~Brook

[Hoping]

That is awkward...I totally get you now. It's just plain annoying.
Anyway, hope you have a good lunch

[Elffriend]

Their menu is online:
http://www.olivegarden.com/menus/

You can ask them to substitute a veggie for whatever pasta or potato comes with your entree. I've done that many times. Most times I get broccoli sauteed with a little olive oil and garlic.