We Were EnLIGHTened at BJ’s Restaurant

We were invited to our local BJs Restaurant to sample their new menu in exchange for our post.

Confession.

I have never eaten at BJ’s Restaurant, so when we were told they had a new EnLIGHTened menu we decided it was time. Although I am a huge fan of many of the classics found on their menu it was nice to have a lighter way to enjoy all the flavors I love. With the new EnLIGHTened menu you can leave feeling good that your intake was all under 795 calories. Now that’s something to brag about…

We started our meal with a couple drinks of the EnLIGHTened cocktail menu. James enjoyed the Mojito Lite and I had the Guilt-Free Cosmo. I have to admit, neither of us could tell the difference, but in all honesty I’m not a huge drinker so the Cosmo was a tad strong for me. James, however, loved the Mojito Lite and since it was “Lite” he decided he could afford two.  I had no idea they had sugar-free triple sec, one of the ingredients in both of our drinks.

For our appetizer we chose off the snacks and small bites menu, their NEW Honey Sriracha Brussels Sprouts.  They were lightly fried and tossed in their Big Poppa Smokers’ Desert Gold seasoning with sweet sriracha crema. I’m a huge fan of fried brussel sprouts and these did not disappoint. There were quite a few though so we weren’t able to finish them off because we wanted to save room for our entrées.

The new EnLIGHTened entrées on the menu included:

Fire-Roasted Barbacoa Chicken: A barbacoa-spiced, marinated chicken breast served over brown rice and black beans, then topped with feta cheese, cilantro, crema and fire-roasted tomato salsa.

North Beach Mahi-Mahi and Shrimp: Oven-roasted mahi-mahi seasoned with Big Poppa Smokers’ Desert Gold Rub, sautéed with shrimp, red onions, tomatoes, Kalamata olives and spicy garlic, served over couscous with fresh herbs.

Roasted Chicken and Spinach Quinoa Bowl: Herb-roasted chicken breast seasoned with Big Poppa Smokers’ Desert Gold Rub, sautéed red onions, mushrooms, spinach and seasoned tomatoes served over quinoa.

Roasted Salmon Quinoa Bowl: Roasted Atlantic salmon with sautéed red onions, mushrooms, fresh asparagus and fire-roasted red bell peppers served over quinoa and drizzled with soy ginger sauce.

I choose the North Beach Mahi-Mahi and Shrimp and James stuck with a favorite from the menu, Seared Ahi Salad featuring seasoned, seared rare ahi tuna, baby field greens, Napa cabbage, romaine and red bell peppers tossed with rice wine vinaigrette. With tomatoes, avocado, pickled cucumber, cilantro, wasabi, crisp wonton strips and green onions.  Both were amazing. The meal was just the right amount, maybe a bit more than we were able to finish. I was pleasantly surprised at the flavors we found in our meals for choosing off the EnLIGHTened menu. It was truly enlightening!

Special shout out to the staff and our server at BJ’s Restaurant in Kissimmee, Florida at The Loop. You did a fantastic job!

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