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500 Calorie & Under Delights at Noodles & Co.

June 05, 2012

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Noodles & Company

the restaurant that serves made-to-order noodles, salads and sandwiches, can make getting ready for swimsuit season a bit tastier with its 25-plus healthy options for dishes under 500 calories. With a nutrition and allergen guide available on site and online, gluten-free* and vegan menu** choices, Noodles & Co. makes it easy to watch calories and check nutritional information. These freshly prepared low-cal offerings include salads, soups, noodles & sandwiches.

Noodles & Co. currently has three restaurants in Austin: at the Northcross Shopping Center, 2525 W. Anderson Lane, on The Drag at 2402 Guadalupe and at the Arboretum, 9761 Great Hills Trail. The globally inspired menu features three distinct cuisines: Asian, Mediterranean and American, giving guests the option to try new flavors with every visit.

“Calorie counting is far from fun, so we took the guesswork out of it with our handy guide filled with a wide array of salads, noodles and soups – something for everyone,” said Executive Chef Tessa Stamper. “Low cal need not be boring or low on flavor when you can have Pad Thai, Chinese Chop Salad and Pesto Cavatappi among others.” 

Regularly acknowledged for its commitment to providing healthy dining options, Noodles & Co. was recently named among the top 10 fast casual restaurant in the U.S. by Parents Magazine. The menu is designed so that guests can add or swap more than 14 veggies and lean protein-rich foods, like chicken, organic tofu, and shrimp to any of the dishes. Noodles & Co. also serves local beers & wines.

noodles and company salads

Noodles & Co invited my mom and me over on behalf of Leslie of Newton O’Neil Communications to sample their 500 calorie & under dishes. Noodles & Co is right across the street from the University of Texas so I frequent this location and have been very pleased with the food. We started off with 3 salads: backyard barbecue chicken salad, chili-lime ginger salad with seared chicken, and spinach & fresh fruit salad.  

Summer Salads

noodles and company backyard barbecue chicken salad

Backyard Barbecue Chicken Salad. 

Pulled chicken breast with fresh-cut corn, roma tomatoes and red cabbage over mixed greens with smoky cole-slaw dressing.

noodles and company Chili-Lime Ginger Salad with Seared Chicken

Chili-Lime & Ginger Salad with Seared Chicken. 

Spring greens in sweet chili-lime ginger dressing with hand-cut mint, peanuts, crunchy wonton strips, rice noodles and seared chicken. 
Noodles.

noodles and company truffle mac

Truffle Mac

I special ordered the Truffle Mac for my mom. She was like, “How old are you? 5? Why are you eating kid food?” Oh mom, you have no idea. This is no ordinary mac & cheese. This is mac & cheese for adults. This is my go to noodles when I’m having day after class. Al dente buttered noodles with creamy sauce, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, truffle mushrooms, and toasted breadcrumbs. Believe it or not, I wrote all of that without looking at the menu. 

noodles and company bangkok curry

Bangkok Curry. 

Sweet coconut curry, broccoli, carrots, red pepper, onion, mushrooms, a light portion of rice noodles, served on cabbage with black sesame seeds. First time having this one, will definitely be ordring this in the future. 

noodles and company Japanese Pan Noodles

Japanese Pan Noodles. 

Caramelized udon noodles in a sweet soy sauce, broccoli, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, Asian sprouts, black sesame and cilantro.

noodles and company Pesto Cavatappi

Pesto Cavatappi. 

Curly pasta, basil pesto, garlic, mushrooms, tomato, wine, cream, parmesan and Italian parsley.

noodles and company Penne Rosa

Penne Rosa. 

Spicy tomato cream sauce, penne pasta, mushrooms, tomato, spinach and wine, parmesan or feta.

We had more than enough leftovers for the week, of which I ate, before my mom snuck them off to my dog, Basil.

For information on the Austin restaurants, VIP events, sign up for Noodlegrams at noodles.com.

WRITTEN BY:

Jane Ko is the Austin blogger behind A Taste of Koko, Austin's top food and travel blog featuring the hottest restaurants and weekend getaways. Jane has been a speaker at South by Southwest (SXSW), Texas Conference for Women, BlogHer, and more on entrepreneurship and social media. She lives in Austin Texas with her dog and cat.

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