This is the text version of Hungry Girl. 
<br>To see the accompanying visuals, go to: 
<br>
<br>https://www.hungry-girl.com/fridaypreview.php?newsletterid=1057
<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
<br>
<br>Hungry Girl Today: 03.16.07
<br>
<br>GIRLS BITE OUT
<br>
<br>We tried the new Weight Management Salads at The Cheesecake Factory. 
<br>Here's the scoop...   
<br>
<br>
<br>Overall Observations:
<br>
<br>1. Um, who decided to call these things "Weight Management" salads?  What 
<br>a lame idea that was.  Sorry, Cheesecake -- talk about a buzz kill.
<br>
<br>2. These salads are all under 590 calories each. This seems very high to us, 
<br>especially after getting the salads and seeing that there isn't much to them at 
<br>all.  And we're not exactly thrilled with the high fat counts, either.
<br>
<br>3. We talked with a manager there and found out that the dressings are all 
<br>made ON SITE and that the salads are all portioned out precisely (specific 
<br>amount of nuts, exactly 4 oz. chicken, etc.).  This is good to know.  The 
<br>dressings all have under 11 calories per tablespoon, are sweetened with 
<br>Splenda and made with VERY little oil, and taste GREAT!  We still recommend 
<br>ordering the dressing on the side and dipping, because they typically DROWN 
<br>their salads in the stuff! (They DO include the dressing in each salad's 
<br>nutritionals, but we still find it to be a bit much.)
<br>
<br>4.  While we appreciate the idea of these salads, there are sooo many 
<br>unnecessary ingredients -- like candied pecans, rice and sugary pears.  With 
<br>just a tiny bit of effort they could have swapped these ingredients with 
<br>healthier ones and given us larger portions.  In fact, you may be better off 
<br>just special-ordering some of their regular salads -- skipping the fatty stuff -- 
<br>and requesting the Weight Management dressings on the side.
<br>
<br>5.  All three dressings are great -- the Spicy Vinaigrette (more sweet than 
<br>spicy), the Sesame-Soy Dressing (with a spicy kick and  chopped cilantro), 
<br>and the Mustard Vinaigrette (tangy and dijon-y).  Two yums up for all!
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>WEIGHT MANAGEMENT ASIAN CHICKEN SALAD
<br>(574 calories, 39g fat, 68g carbs, 20g sugars, 39g protein = 14 Points)
<br>
<br>What's in it: Grilled chicken, romaine, snow peas, carrots, bean sprouts, 
<br>green onions, crispy noodles, almonds and sesame seeds tossed in a low-cal 
<br>sesame-soy dressing.
<br>
<br>What we think of it: While this salad has lots of lettuce and a decent portion 
<br>of tasty chicken, it definitely could use more snow peas and carrots.  It also 
<br>contains a HUGE amount of cilantro (mysteriously absent from the menu 
<br>description), so if you don't like that stuff you may have issues with this 
<br>salad. The "crispy noodles" (made from baked wontons!) are fun and 
<br>delicious  -- and a really good idea.
<br>
<br>Overall score: 7.5.  We'd think about ordering this again.  But we're not 
<br>dying to.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>WEIGHT MANAGEMENT SPICY CHICKEN SALAD
<br>(490 calories, 14g fat, 61g carbs, 7g sugars, 33g protein = 10 Points)
<br>
<br>What’s in it: Grilled chicken, roasted poblano peppers, red and yellow 
<br>peppers, fresh corn, black beans, onions, rice and cilantro served with mixed 
<br>greens and low-cal spicy vinaigrette.
<br>
<br>What we think of it: This so-called “salad” is basically just a medium-sized 
<br>breast of fairly bland chicken over a small portion of rice with a side of 
<br>lettuce.  Aside from the dressing, this meal's pretty dry. All in all it's pretty 
<br>embarrassing, not at all spicy and doesn't hold our interest.  FYI -- this one 
<br>also has TONS of cilantro. 
<br>
<br>Overall score: 5. Thumbs down, Cheesecake!
<br>
<br> 
<br>
<br>WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PEAR AND ENDIVE SALAD
<br>(500 calories, 23g fat, 50g carbs, 18g sugars, 28g protein = 11 Points)
<br>
<br>What’s in it: Grilled chicken, endive, radicchio, arugula, butter lettuce, 
<br>roasted pear, bleu cheese, candied pecans and tomato tossed with low-cal 
<br>vinaigrette.
<br>
<br>What we think of it: This salad is pretty skimpy on everything except the 
<br>lettuce, and it's not that satisfying. Part of the problem here is the decision to 
<br>use candied pecans and roasted sugary pears. With additions like that, even 
<br>in small doses, the calories add up FAST.  Using fresh fruit and regular nuts 
<br>could have solved that problem easily.  While this salad tastes pretty good, 
<br>we're not quite on board with the ingredients and the portion size.
<br>
<br>Overall score: 6.5.  Eh!
<br>
<br> 
<br>
<br>WEIGHT MANAGEMENT CALIFORNIA SALAD
<br>(560 calories, 28g fat, 43g carbs, 15g sugars, 38g protein = 13 Points)
<br>
<br>What’s in it: Grilled chicken, romaine, bacon, bleu cheese, tomato, fresh 
<br>beets, asparagus and hard-cooked eggs tossed in a low-cal mustard 
<br>vinaigrette.
<br>
<br>What we think of it:  We like this salad the best.  It's HUGE and colorful with 
<br>a nice amount of chopped chicken, bacon, bleu cheese, tomato, beets, 
<br>asparagus, and eggs.  It's also basically a Cobb salad, so it left us wondering 
<br>why they don't just call it a Cobb salad.  Any way you slice it, though, it's 
<br>large and delicious and contains many fun ingredients.  Yay!
<br>
<br>Overall score: 8.5.  We like you despite your unappealing name, Weight 
<br>Management California Salad.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>WEIGHT MANAGEMENT SEAFOOD SALAD
<br>(w/ tuna: 520 calories, 22g fat, 39g carbs, 9g sugars, 43g protein = 11 – 12 
<br>Points)
<br>(w/ salmon: 566 calories, 35g fat, 39g carbs, 8g sugars, 51g protein = 13 – 
<br>14 Points)
<br>
<br>What’s in it: Fresh chilled salmon or fresh rare albacore tuna with mixed 
<br>greens, green beans, red and yellow peppers, tomato, radishes, hard-cooked 
<br>egg, kalamata olives and capers tossed in a low-cal vinaigrette.
<br>
<br>What we think of it: We ordered the tuna version of this salad; the tuna (6 
<br>pieces) is seared & pepper-encrusted.  Nice!  The peppers 
<br>
<br>come marinated in some sort of oil or dressing which likely adds some 
<br>unnecessary fat to the salad.  While we aren't huge fans of fancy greens (it's 
<br>hard to beat romaine!), the radishes, capers and olives add a nice touch. All 
<br>in all, this is a pretty ok salad.
<br>
<br>Overall score: 7.5.  We love seared tuna.  Therefore, we enjoy this salad.
<br>
<br>--
<br>Chew on This:
<br>March 16th is National Artichoke Heart Day. One large artichoke contains 
<br>around 80 calories, virtually no fat, 600 milligrams of potassium and nearly 9 
<br>grams of fiber! Plus it's a good source of vitamin C, folate and magnesium. 
<br>Hooray!
<br>
<br>Share these insanely helpful reviews with humans you REALLY like (and 
<br>maybe even some you don't like all that much).  Click "send to a friend" 
<br>NOW!
<br>www.hungry-girl.com/send/sendfriend.php?nid=1057idate=03-16-07
<br>
<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
<br>Subscribe: 
<br>https://www.hungry-girl.com/subscribe/subscribe.php 
<br>
<br>Privacy Policy: 
<br>https://www.hungry-girl.com/privacy/privacy.php 
<br>
<br>Terms & Conditions: 
<br>https://www.hungry-girl.com/privacy/terms.php 
<br>
<br>Unsubscribe: 
<br>https://www.hungry-girl.com/subscribe.php