Romano's Macaroni Grill is a popular restaurant that offers Mediterranean-style dishes in a casual setting. The restaurant chain, which opened in 1988, now offers a line of products that can be enjoyed at home. Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta, one of these products, comes in a box and is available for purchase in supermarkets. It comes with linguine pasta, a creamy sauce, basil and cheese seasoning, sun-dried tomatoes and a grated Parmesan and Romano cheese blend. You add the other ingredients -- chicken, butter and milk.
Calories
The nutrition label provides information for this dish as packaged and as prepared. The prepared serving is 1 cup; the container provides five servings. A 1-cup serving of prepared Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken contains 300 calories. According to MyPyramid.gov, a person's daily caloric needs vary by sex, age and physical activity level. On average, a moderately active woman from 36 to 40 requires approximately 2,000 calories per day. One serving of this dish would provide about 15 percent of the day's calories.
Fats
Each serving of this meal has 11 g of total fat when prepared according to the package directions. The total fat is composed of 4.5 g of saturated fat, 0.5 g polyunsaturated fats, 2.5 g of monounsaturated fat and no trans fat. One hundred calories are derived from fat. It's important to limit the ingestion of saturated fats as they raise cholesterol levels. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) recommends limiting the unhealthier saturated fats to less than 20 g per day for a 2,000-calorie diet.
Carbohydrate
When prepared as directed, each serving of Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken contains 26 g of carbohydrate, 4 g of which are sugar. Carbohydrates are an important part of every meal because they are broken down during digestion to be used as the body's main source of energy. MedlinePlus states 40 to 60 percent of daily calories should come from carbohydrates. This prepared meal would provide 9 percent of the daily carbohydrate needs for a 2,000 calorie per day diet.
Sodium
One serving of the prepared Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken has 590 mg of sodium. Sodium is an essential nutrient that needs to be ingested every day via the diet, but the body needs only about a teaspoon, or 2,300 mg, per day. Ingesting too much sodium on a daily basis can increase the risk of developing high blood pressure. It is best to choose foods that contain 140 mg of sodium or less per serving.
Protein
This dish provides 26 g of protein when the chicken is included. Protein is another important food source the body needs to function efficiently. Chicken contains complete protein, meaning it provides all nine of the essential amino acids. On average, adults need 46 to 56 g of protein a day in their diet, and this meal provides roughly half of that.
References
- Romano's Macaroni Grill: Our Purpose
- Romano's Macaroni Grill: Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta
- MyPyramid.gov: MyPyramid Food Intake Pattern Calorie Levels
- U.S.Department of Health and Human Services: Dietary Guidelines
- MedlinePlus: Carbohydrates
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Protein
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