Outback the healthy way!!

I loooove Outback. 

Back in the 90's, Drew had a tradition where he'd go to Outback every Thursday night with friends (including my step-brother Dan that we hang out with all the time, that's how I met Drew).

They even had their picture taken and posted in the back area.

Once I was a Senior in high school, I'd sometimes drive out with my sister and we'd join them.  They were nice like that.

Obviously when I started dating Drew (post high school by a few months) I went every Thursday.  Loved it!

We continued on with that tradition for YEARS.  We were even good enough friends with one of the waitresses that we once let her babysit Aubrey.  Seriously. 

ANYWAY.  Outback has a special spot in my heart because of the memories.. and the good food.

This past Saturday we had a fantastic sitter and so we went to Outback with my step-bro. and another couple.  It was sooooo much fun getting out with no kids.  Hour wait?  No biggie.  Not inhaling food?  Fabulous!  Great conversation?  B-E-A-utiful!

What also made the night great is that I researched the food ahead of time so there was no impulse decisions and the pressure to make a 'smart' choice was gone.  Outback's online nutrition calculator is super user friendly now, much better than what it was a year ago when they had nothing and their advice was to order items sans butter. 

I looked up a few different selections of what I used to order... it was definitely one of those, "no wonder I was fat" moments.  Yikes!  I bet on occasion that I ate three days worth of points in just one meal.  Nice.

First up, Appetizer. 

Previously I would have gone with the cheese fries at 8 points per serving.  However, they say there is enough for 6 people there.. they're THAT good that I'd say it's like 4 servings.  Which means we're REALLY talking about high points! 

In researching the choices, I finally decided that my best bet was surprisingly the Bloomin' Onion.  The portion size is 1/6th which is totally doable (it really is a lot!) and the point value is 6.. it helps that the onion has a lot of fiber and I'm sure if you skimp on the sauce, that helps too.  I ate slowly and in control and less than a serving size so I'm counting it at 3-4 points. For a fun night out, I was very happy with that.


For my meal, I probably would have previously ordered the No Rules Pasta with Chicken and Scallops.  Yum.  And a big fat ouch at 33 points.   I generally make it a 'rule' to take half of my meal home so at least I had that going for me.. but it still made for a 17 point meal.  And another 17 points for lunch the next day. 

In going through the menu options, I was very surprised at what I decided to order.  It was the Roasted Filet Tenderloin With Port Wine Sauce.  

At first glance, the meal looks painful at 21 points.  But with the interactive menu, I was able to see that it was actually the garlic mashed potatoes that was the 'problem' (hard to call them a problem because damn, those are SO GOOD!!).

By simply swapping out the potatoes for a second serving of seasonal veggies with NO BUTTER (don't forget to tell them!!) it lowered the meal down to 10 points.  TOTALLY doable for a meal out.  

Everything was tender and fantastic.. I didn't feel like I was missing out at all by not ordering my usual.  I do believe it was even better than my husband's steak (his meal was cough:thirtypoints:cough).  I did finish my plate because it was less food but I was quite full by the end.  Did I mention how delicious it was?



I'm really glad I took the time to do a little research.  And I do believe the icing on the cake was waking up the next morning and seeing that the scale was actually down a little.