Chicago-style deep dish pizza doesn’t fit particularly well into the healthy eating category but if your new year’s resolution includes weight-loss and eating better, don’t count out Giordano’s.
For a limited time (now through February 4, 2019) the iconic pizza chain, famous for pies heavy with the ooiest-gooiest cheese on the planet, is offering a Lighter Fare Menu with three items low in fat and calories, but high in taste and quality ingredients!
The Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salad comes in at only 493 calories and aims to please! The portion is huge and filling. Tender chunks of chopped grilled chicken, crisp lettuce, baby heirloom tomatoes, scallions and celery are tossed with a house-made lemon vinaigrette and tangy buffalo ranch. A sprinkling of bleu cheese adds the perfect pungent punch and gives your taste buds an authentic buffalo chicken experience, without the deep-fried guilt! Beware: this salad packs a spicy kick and is so satisfying!
The other salad option on the menu is the 464 calories Mediterranean Kale Salad. What this salad lacks in calories, it makes up for with big, bold flavors. Kale, romaine, pesto marinated tomatoes and cucumbers tossed in house-made kalamata olive and lemon vinaigrette and topped with parmesan almonds. Talk about an explosion of flavors and textures. The veggies are fresh and crisp, the vinaigrette is tangy with a uniquely deep flavor palette, and the almonds on top are a tasty addition. This salad is the perfect vegetarian option.
And if it’s pizza you’re craving, well you can have that without the guilt too! Giordano’s Lighter Fare Menu boasts the Skinny Chicken Arrabiata Flatbread and this baby satisfies on all angles. A crisp and flaky flatbread crust is topped with a slightly spicy arrabbiata sauce, grilled chicken breast, shaved asiago and Giordano’s famous (ooey-gooey) mozzarella cheese. This flatbread is a “two-for” because after it’s baked and the cheese gets perfectly melty it’s then topped with an arugula salad with baby heirloom tomatoes and lemon vinaigrette. So essentially you will be enjoying pizza and salad at once! I loved this flatbread, it was a great balance of spicy and tangy, savory and a little sweet from the juicy tomatoes. It’s tasty, generously portioned and only 721 calories!
So next time your fam is craving pizza but you’re watching your waistline, head over to Giordano’s and stuff yourself with the tasty lighter fare options! Heck, be a glutton! You can order all 3 and still be well under 2000 calories (only 1678 to be exact). So go on and splurge!
P.S. I know I just raved about all these healthy options, but it’s ok to indulge every once in a while and Giordano’s Oversized Skillet Cookie is worth the splurge…plus you can share. I’m totally being a bad influence but this is THE BEST skillet cookie I’ve had.
There are two Giordano’s locations in the Valley. Visit giordanos.com to find the location closest to you.
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Disclaimer: My family enjoyed a meal at Giordano’s free of charge to help facilitate this post. As usual all opinions are entirely my own.
