Jimmy, I enjoyed the latest video, as usual.

While it is hard to eat low carb at Olive Garden, it can be done. They have some grilled entres (steak, salmon, etc) that come with veggies or potatoes. They will substitute veggies for potatoes and probably even for pasta. Just avoid the breadsticks and their "sugar free" dessert.

I thought I was doing good to get an omlet at IHOP, but then I saw the note about the pancake batter. They do have a couple of low carb dishes, as well as low fat, low calorie. The low carb breakfasts include eggs & meat (lots of it), just order fried eggs. Maybe one day I'll ask them to hold the pancake batter.

McDonald's is bad. Their ranch dressing has a whopping 9 g of carb per packet and the caesar dressing 4 g per packet. Wendy's caesar has 1g. Mickey D's will do in a pinch if you use your own dressing. You can also order eggs & sausage al la carte for breakfast.

When you eat out, stick to salad (with full fat ranch, caesar, blue cheese or oil & vinegar), protein, & non-starchy veggies and you should be fine. Most places will give you what you want.

For Olive Garden, I think it depends on where you live.

THANKS for watching my latest YouTube video, Dan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4cEysg2S6E

I agree, Valerie. I don't have those options at my local Olive Garden. Wanna know what's bad...Christine just got a really nice get well card for her surgery and they included a Gift Certificate to--YOU GUESSED IT!--Olive Garden! EEEK!

Christina, it's true! IHOP puts pancake batter in their eggs to make them fluffier. Nevermind people don't want those EXTRA CARBS in their eggs, they just don't care. That's why I don't go there anymore. No respect for me means no money for them!

(sigh!) Yes, but for those of us who quit reading the menu a long time ago because (we thought) we knew what we wanted to order, this really messes us up.

I agree Christina! And the only reason they CHANGED at all was because enough of us complained to them about it. The mention on their menu now is nothing more than a CYA.

Ok, you mentioned Captain D's - but you didn't say what to order. You see, they've gotten rid of the ALL BUTTER scampi and replaced it with some HIDEOUS white scampi sauce. It's AWFUL and tastes sort of artificial. I don't like it at all. I suppose I could go back to their dry fish. Any suggestions on what to eat there now? BTW - I'm maxsmom77 that left a comment on the blog. I noticed that you responded to me!

Jimmy, I looked up the Spartanburg Olive Garden's menu and they do have salmon and steak as options. Here are some possibilities:

Pork Filettino
Grilled pork tenderloin marinated in extra-virgin olive oil and rosemary.

Chianti Braised Short Ribs
Tender boneless beef short ribs slow cooked in a chianti wine sauce.

Tuscan T-Bone
Grilled 18 oz choice T-bone brushed with Italian herbs.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
Oven-baked delicate white fish crusted with parmesan cheese. (they don't say if there are bread crumbs or flour in the crust)

Herb-Grilled Salmon
Salmon filet brushed with Italian herbs and extra-virgin olive oil. Served with seasoned broccoli.

I have not found a restaurant that would not cooperate with me when ordering special. Even El Pollo Loco (Fast Food) I usually stick to a salad and then just start taking out the croutons, and yucky vegitables ext. I order my dressing on the side just because I cannot stand a soggy salad. El Pollo Loco has a great ceasar Pollo salad that I get without the tortilla strips. Might be a California only chain though.

Jimmy, I did some research on their web site. They *say* that I can now get some of those yummies that Linda mentioned!

I haven't been in that place for over a year and it was difficult to turn it into anything like LC last time. I gotta check this out!

Maybe your GC came just in time!

I actually eat at Olive Garden all the time, my favorite is the mixed grill. It comes out with skewers of steak chicken and vegetables, it's great! I have never had difficulty coming up with options. I didn't realize their menu varied from location to location, I thought the purpose of franchising was so that it was the same at each location.

We're going on our date night this Friday, so we shall see.

Hey guys, you missed one!
On the appertizer menu there's a hot artichoke dip - cheese, mayo,artichoke and spinach....sooo good, and they're happy to swap out the bloatsticks..I mean breadsticks(hehe) for celery. Between that dip and the salad (hold the crutons, of course, with ceasar dressing) my steak and broccoli always wind up in the to-go box.

As far as fast food I love Jack in the box Their salads' extras are in sealed packages- so it's easy to decarb them, plus their sirloin cheeseburger with mushrooms is really good.

Well Jimmy, how'd date night go? Did you find something low carb, or give in to the temptations of the breadsticks and pasta? I really think Olive Garden got a bad rap on your blog. I eat there frequently, and sometimes have an easier time finding something there, than other places who supposively cater to low carb.

I gave in...the breadsticks did me in! But I did order a pretty low-carb meal that included a grilled chicken breast, asparagus, and mixed vegetables. It came with an apricot sauce, but I asked them to leave it off. So, except for the breadsticks I ate, it was pretty low-carb. But it sure ain't easy eating that way at Olive Garden, Si!

Jimmy - you never answered my question. What can I eat now that they've changed the menu at Captain D's. I HATE the new scampi sauce. It's some sort of artificial creamy "fake" buttery scampi now, rather than butter and garlic. And their website nutritional area is SO confusing.

For example - it says the Tilapia has 52gms. But it says the nutritional information does not include sauces, sides and beverages. So then it must only include the main dish item but when does Tilapia have 52gms of carbs?? See what I mean?

I guess I am lucky, because I always call in my order to go, so I am not tempted by them bringing the bread to the table. I like a lot of their menu items, mostly because they do different things with vegetables. Most of the restaurants around here act like the only vegetables on earth are salad stuff, peppers, mushrooms, onions and broccoli. Olive Garden usually has different stuff like the asparagus, and squash, green beans, etc... I am not sure I would fare so well if I was actually sitting down in the restaurant to eat Sounds like you did okay though.

Sorry Yvonne, thought I answered that already. According the PR representative I spoke with at Captain D's, they now let you pick your choice of grilled fish or other meat alongside some healthy mixed vegetable sides and salads. You can leave the sauces off if you don't want them. Have you run into trouble ordering this way at the restaurant?

As for the breadsticks, Simon, I had more carbs in that one sitting than I had in a while--FOUR BREADSTICKS!!! But the rest of my meal was perfectly low-carb...and right back on it again after that indulgence. As long as it doesn't become the norm, it should be okay.

Way to go brother! I am coming to realize that it is very difficult to be good 100% of the time, and the key is making sure you get right back to LC after an endulgence.