When you are looking for an Italian restaurant with a big menu, Olive Garden may be worth considering. The restaurant chain has locations throughout the nation, and you can get freshly prepared salads, soups, appetizers, pastas, entrees and desserts. With some care, you can order a nutritious meal that may provide health benefits.
Lower Cholesterol
Many Olive Garden menu options contain olive oil, which is an excellent source of monounsaturated fatty acids. Monounsaturated fats can lower your total and harmful LDL cholesterol levels. Some Olive Garden foods, such as pasta e fagioli and minestrone soup, salad and entrees with vegetables, provide dietary fiber, which lowers your cholesterol levels. Saturated fat raises your cholesterol, so avoid foods such as Alfredo dipping sauce with 22 g saturated fat, fettucine Alfredo with 47 g saturated fat in a lunch portion, and steak gorgonzola Alfredo with 41 g saturated fat.
Balanced Nutrition
A health benefit of Olive Garden is that you can order a balanced meal. An eating pattern with a variety of foods from different food groups is likely to provide the nutrients you need for good health. You can get vegetables from a salad, soup, tomato sauce or side dish and lean proteins, grains and cheeses from an appetizer or main course and healthy oils from sauces. Order carefully to be sure that you do not end up with high-fat meats, creamy sauces and sugary desserts.
Portion Control
A potential benefit of Olive Garden restaurants is that the menu choices can help you control your weight while you eat out. Start your meal with a serving of garden salad without dressing for 120 calories per serving or minestrone soup with 100 calories per serving. Order a lunch-sized portion if you can, since it is smaller than the dinner portion, and pack up half of your meal to take home before you start eating. That way, you get delicious, portion-controlled meals that can keep you from feeling deprived on a weight-loss diet. Be careful to order lower-calorie meals, and avoid the unlimited breadsticks or salad with dressing.
Special Diets
Another health benefit of Olive Garden restaurants is that you can order meals that meet your needs if you are on a special diet. Stuffed mushrooms with parmesan and romano cheeses, mussels with white wine sauce and chicken, salmon or steak with vegetables are some options for a low-carbohydrate diet with no more than 20 g net carbohydrates. Gluten-free choices include garden-fresh or caesar salad without croutons, gluten-free penne pasta with marinara sauce, herb-grilled salmon and mixed grill with steak or chicken.
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