Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Paleo Food At Olive Garden?

I woke up today with my usual pressure through out my head but it phased out pretty quickly. After my supplements and a hand-full of almonds and red grapes I was set to go meet up with my girlfriend. Her grandparents were in from Colombia on vacation, so, it was time to celebrate! Having never eaten at Olive Garden, it seemed like a good place for everyone to catch up on things and get some grub.

With that being said, today was my first time eating out since going paleo, and I have to say things went better than I thought. A quick shuffle through the menu and, at first, things seemed stacked against me. Here I was, in an Italian/Wheat filled environment, scurrying to find something I could eat. I was going to just default on some shrimp cooked in some olive oil when something caught my eye. At the bottom of the normal menu there was a note that said they had a gluten-free menu available upon request.

Even though I did not plan to eat some gluten-free noodles I knew this menu had a better chance of having some paleo entrees. Sure enough they had about 6-7 things that I could have chosen between and I settled for the Mixed Grill (also available as the All-Chicken Mixed Grill which had a little bit less calories). Being someone who is trying to gain some weight myself, I did not mind getting the steak/chicken combo and sat back to await the meal.

Around twenty minutes later (not bad!) my 112 grams of protein came out from the kitchen. The plate was monstrous, much larger than everyone elses at the table. The metal skewers were removed from the meat and vegetables and it was time for me to see exactly what it was packing. There was the steak and chicken, of course, but also some nice grilled green and red bell peppers that were very crisp and delicious. There was some grilled white onion pieces as well as some squash and very fresh zucchini. Being that I ordered it from the gluten-free menu, this version did not come with the roasted potatoes (just noting this, as I wouldn't eat them anyways!).

Moral of the story is to not be embarrassed to ask for the options available, you might be surprised what you find!

The meal was awesome and I had a great time. Good times with the family and the girlfriend, without breaking paleo. Life is swell.

2 comments:

  1. thanx.. i "have" to meet my ex today there and i was just going to order coffee. The mixed grill sounds good.

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