Need Suggestions for an Italian Restaurant

[Disneyaholic]

HELP!! DH and I have a business dinner tonight. I had selected a seafood restaurant because I knew I could make some good choices there. (Looked at the menu online and already knew what I was going to order and how many WW points it was!)

TRYING to be a nice person, DH printed out the menu and dropped it off to his co-worker who will also be attending, along with his wife. We knew the wife was vegetarian, so we thought she might also like to see the menu to make her choices.

Well....it ends up that she is not just a vegetarian, but a vegan, and wants to go to an Italian restaurant. (Not sure what she has in mind there, since eggs are used in pasta, but that is her choice.) I tried to find a menu for this particular restaurant on line, but couldn't. I will try calling them later today to see if they might be able to fax me the menu.

Anyhow, I looked up Italian foods in my WW points guide, and they all seem to be SO point heavy!! The dinner I was so looking forward to, I am now dreading.

As I see it, my choices are to either say I want to find yet another restaurant that will satisfy us both (and risk being perceived as somewhat of a snob, because the restaurant SHE chose is not satisfactory to me), or going to this wonderful restaurant and probably just eating a salad.

Anyone got any ideas? (Either on how to handle the predicament or what to order at the Italian restaurant.)

Thanks!

Dottie

 

[becka]

The few times we have gone to Olive Garden when I was on WW I would order the Eggplant Parmigana and try to fill up on salad. It is still not really low in points but you don't have to eat it all. I never in a million years would have imagined that I would order eggplant but it really is quite good.

 

[KathyTX]

Again using Olive Garden as an example (dinner portions):

Minestrone soup - only 2 points per (6 oz.) serving.

Linguini alla Marinara : 10 points

Chicken Giardino - chicken tossed with bow-tie pasta, a light sauce and veggies : 11 points

Shrimp Primavera : 16 points

Plain Breadstick : 3 points

I would avoid any dishes with beef or sausage or cheese, stick with "marinara" or "primavera" dishes, salad with dressing on the side, start with minestrone soup, pass on the bread, and you should be fine.

Enjoy your dinner, and don't fret too much about a single meal.

 

[disneychrista]

As a vegetarian (no meat, fish, poultry etc) I would have choosen an italian restaurant too.

I can't help you with the WW thing but remember it is all about balance. Eat light through out the day, leaving you extra points for dinner. Also going over your points for one day will not be the end of the world. Do an extra 15 mins of exercise or eat a little less the next few days.

 

[becka]

I just remembered that I had an Olive Garden nutritional information thing with my WW stuff and the eggplant parm is 14 points for the dinner portion but only 7 points for the lunch portion. Maybe you can get the restraunt to just give you the smaller portion and then try to fill up on soup/salad?

 

[kamgen]

At Olive Garden, the lunch portion of the Cappalini Pomodoro is only 8pts....it is very good...
Or order angel hair pasta and marinara sauce.....it is usually a pretty safe bet...I did that this past weekend and stayed away from the bread. It was good and it didn't set me back to much. The pasta is usually about 4pts a cup and the sauce is not too bad.....
Good luck!
Kamy

 

[Disneyaholic]

Thanks, everyone for all the suggestions. I'm sure I'll figure out something.

This restaurant is "traditional" Italian, and I have the feeling that it is going to be a bit heavier than Olive Garden fare. I will have them fax me a menu later today and hopefully they will have something that isn't too bad. I have been trying to really limit my points this week to save up for Easter dinner on Sunday.

Guess I'm just pouting a bit because I had my heart set on steamed lobster at the seafood restaurant! (only 3 points!!) Oh well -- off to Curves. A little workout will make me feel better!




Thanks again!!!

 

[Disneyaholic]

Just a little update...

The restaurant that they had originally chosen has closed, so we went to a different Italian restaurant. (I didn't know about the change until about 1/2 hour before it was time to leave; I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get through to the other place on the phone to get their menu!) The place we went was NOT the traditional Italian restaurant, and, in fact, had quite a few seafood entrees! I had grilled swordfish with wilted spinach and it was delicious.

Thanks again for all your suggestions!!

 

[TigH]

I'm SOOOOO glad things worked out for you! That is a nice happy ending! Now you can really enjoy Easter!

 

[zakatak]

How about a Thai restaraunt? We went to one the other night and they had PLENTY of vegan choices, as well as meat, fish and poultry.

Also, VERY YUMMY!!!

Karen

 

[zakatak]

ooops, I should read ALL the posts before I respond, lol...

Oh well, next time... try Thai!

Karen

 

[zakatak]

ooops, I should read ALL the posts before I respond, lol...

Oh well, next time... try Thai!

Karen

Glad you found something to eat... our friends are on Atkins and I am a wannabevegan... so going out is tough. I am sick of steakhouses (nothing but salad for me).