Local restaurant... no nutritional information.... Please help!

a_manda
a_manda Posts: 36 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Going to a local restaurant for lunch today.... they don't have nutritional information..... thinking of getting:

The Crank (a wrap)- Chicken Cheesesteak with bacon, grilled onions, portabellas, provolone & creamy No.9 sauce (without the bacon, sauce on the side) and a small garden salad. But I have no idea how to count the calories for this.... anybody have any suggestions?

Here is a link to their menu. I know there are other options that might be healthier/ a better choice but this is what I want. I just want to know how to best count it so I can plan the rest of my day around this.

Thank you in advance for any help.
«1

Replies

  • JustMe2691
    JustMe2691 Posts: 111 Member
    It would be almost impossible for anyone to estimate the calories on the description. It depends on the size of the wrap, the amount of fillings, sauces, etc. What you might be able to do is find an equivalent wrap at a restaurant that has nutritional information and use that as a guide.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    It's situations like this that you have to use the SWAG method of calculation. (Scientific Wild *kitten* Guess)

    Wrap 100
    Chicken 150
    Provolone 150
    Sauce? 100
    Onions and Mushrooms next to nothing
    Butter or oil on the grill 50

    Enjoy it, log 550 and try and not make it an everyday occurrence ;)
  • kjm3579
    kjm3579 Posts: 3,974 Member
    You can also just do a quick add calories and put in something like 1000 calories for the entire lunch and be done with it -- I always try to estimate high instead of low just in case
  • benzieboxx
    benzieboxx Posts: 253 Member
    I would just use your best judgement. Things covered in gravy or cream sauces would be higher calorie. Thick sandwhiches, burgers or any sort of fried thing would obviously be calorie bombs. If they have anything light, like a grilled chicken sandwich, choose that and maybe get it without the cheese or mayo. Wraps can be very deceiving because they can be just as high, sometimes even higher, in calories.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    257_Lag wrote: »
    It's situations like this that you have to use the SWAG method of calculation. (Scientific Wild *kitten* Guess)

    Wrap 100
    Chicken 150
    Provolone 150
    Sauce? 100
    Onions and Mushrooms next to nothing
    Butter or oil on the grill 50

    Enjoy it, log 550 and try and not make it an everyday occurrence ;)

    I would estimate much higher. Wraps can be a few hundred calories just by themselves. The bacon can be 50-100 per piece. If it's a chicken "cheesesteak" it might be coveted in oil when it's put on the grill-top. Sauces are notoriously high.

    Sandwiches at restaurants are often shockingly high calorie. Log at least 1000 calories and call it a maintenance day.
  • a_manda
    a_manda Posts: 36 Member
    Thank you guys. This isn't an every day thing for me but the further along on this journey I go the better I will (hopefully) get at navigating situations like this. This is the first time since starting my journey that I've gone somewhere and not stuck to a pretty simple grilled chicken salad.

    I just want to be able to go out with my friends and be able to have some sort of plan and not feeling like I can only order salads and veggies. I want to be able to fit things like this into my calorie allowance so that on the few occasions it happens I can log and keep moving with my day.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    a_manda wrote: »
    Thank you guys. This isn't an every day thing for me but the further along on this journey I go the better I will (hopefully) get at navigating situations like this. This is the first time since starting my journey that I've gone somewhere and not stuck to a pretty simple grilled chicken salad.

    I just want to be able to go out with my friends and be able to have some sort of plan and not feeling like I can only order salads and veggies. I want to be able to fit things like this into my calorie allowance so that on the few occasions it happens I can log and keep moving with my day.

    I used to do the same, salads or "healthy" options. Now I get what I want and either enjoy it bc it's a rare treat or just eat half.
  • kristydi
    kristydi Posts: 781 Member
    257_Lag wrote: »
    It's situations like this that you have to use the SWAG method of calculation. (Scientific Wild *kitten* Guess)

    Wrap 100
    Chicken 150
    Provolone 150
    Sauce? 100
    Onions and Mushrooms next to nothing
    Butter or oil on the grill 50

    Enjoy it, log 550 and try and not make it an everyday occurrence ;)

    I think this is pretty good, but the little taco tortillas are 100cal. I'd say at least 250-300 for the wrap.
  • a_manda
    a_manda Posts: 36 Member
    slaite1 wrote: »
    257_Lag wrote: »
    It's situations like this that you have to use the SWAG method of calculation. (Scientific Wild *kitten* Guess)

    Wrap 100
    Chicken 150
    Provolone 150
    Sauce? 100
    Onions and Mushrooms next to nothing
    Butter or oil on the grill 50

    Enjoy it, log 550 and try and not make it an everyday occurrence ;)

    I would estimate much higher. Wraps can be a few hundred calories just by themselves. The bacon can be 50-100 per piece. If it's a chicken "cheesesteak" it might be coveted in oil when it's put on the grill-top. Sauces are notoriously high.

    Sandwiches at restaurants are often shockingly high calorie. Log at least 1000 calories and call it a maintenance day.

    I estimated about 500 calories for half the wrap. So thats what Im going to shoot for and add a garden salad. I don't like bacon and will get the sauce on the side and most likely not use it.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    slaite1 wrote: »
    I would estimate much higher. Wraps can be a few hundred calories just by themselves. The bacon can be 50-100 per piece. If it's a chicken "cheesesteak" it might be coveted in oil when it's put on the grill-top. Sauces are notoriously high.

    I would have to agree, most flour tortillas are around 200-225cals by themselves.. at least the ones big enough to make a 'wrap'. We tend to buy the "flat out" brand which is lower in cals but you don't find those in most restaurants. They generally use a standard flour tortilla.

    Does the restaurant have a take-out option? Order one, take it home, deconstruct and weigh it. Add about 10% to each weight for fluctuation and you'll know about what to guess on your next order.

    Eating out has been the hardest for me, so I tend to not do it as much as in the past. Any time I'm anticipating eating out I'll severely drop calories on my other two meals of the day to compensate, and even then it can easily push me over a daily goal.

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    wow that sounds soooo good...I would make it at least a once a month thing tho...nom nom.
  • mistikal13
    mistikal13 Posts: 1,457 Member
    Sounds like you have a good plan. Enjoy!
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    a_manda wrote: »
    slaite1 wrote: »
    257_Lag wrote: »
    It's situations like this that you have to use the SWAG method of calculation. (Scientific Wild *kitten* Guess)

    Wrap 100
    Chicken 150
    Provolone 150
    Sauce? 100
    Onions and Mushrooms next to nothing
    Butter or oil on the grill 50

    Enjoy it, log 550 and try and not make it an everyday occurrence ;)

    I would estimate much higher. Wraps can be a few hundred calories just by themselves. The bacon can be 50-100 per piece. If it's a chicken "cheesesteak" it might be coveted in oil when it's put on the grill-top. Sauces are notoriously high.

    Sandwiches at restaurants are often shockingly high calorie. Log at least 1000 calories and call it a maintenance day.

    I estimated about 500 calories for half the wrap. So thats what Im going to shoot for and add a garden salad. I don't like bacon and will get the sauce on the side and most likely not use it.

    Good plan, enjoy!
  • kittybenn
    kittybenn Posts: 444 Member
    Funny you should post this b/c I just tried to calculate calories in a menu item for a place I was going today, a really healthy, Cali-style restaurant. I tried to enter ingredient in the recipe builder, which worked pretty well, but the dish, a rice bowl with chicken, veggies and an aioli sauce came out to about 900 calories. Kinda shocking. For you, the cheese and the sauce will be the stuff to minimize, if at all possible. Good thought getting it on the side.
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  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited June 2015
    a_manda wrote: »
    The Crank (a wrap)- Chicken Cheesesteak with bacon, grilled onions, portabellas, provolone & creamy No.9 sauce (without the bacon, sauce on the side) and a small garden salad. But I have no idea how to count the calories for this.... anybody have any suggestions?

    800+
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,303 Member
    BFDeal wrote: »
    How rare of a treat? I point it out in a lot of the "how do I go out to eat at places without info" threads that the real answer is "just don't go out to eat as much." People will swear that I'm wrong but then you'll see successful people either say they a) order very plain aka boring or b) say they don't eat out often.
    I do eat out, including fast food. And have been (so far) successful. Given restaurant portion sizes and cooking practices how can this be?

    Of course the answer has to be either "order plain and boring", or "eat less of the food", or "put yourself in this kind of situation less often"!

    I am firmly on the "plain and boring" side of things and have no qualms about asking for my stuff cooked exactly with the modifications that I want--and not going back if they're not accommodating. I've also started tipping a little bit more when the staff pay attention.

    Has logging cut down on the places I go to? Yes, it has.

    In my books this is not that big of a price to pay for being a number of lbs lighter...
  • rachelbouc
    rachelbouc Posts: 65 Member
    The tortillas are at least 300. Something when i order a wrap i eat half normal than it the filling in the other half. More often half gets to be lunch the next day.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    BFDeal wrote: »
    slaite1 wrote: »
    a_manda wrote: »
    Thank you guys. This isn't an every day thing for me but the further along on this journey I go the better I will (hopefully) get at navigating situations like this. This is the first time since starting my journey that I've gone somewhere and not stuck to a pretty simple grilled chicken salad.

    I just want to be able to go out with my friends and be able to have some sort of plan and not feeling like I can only order salads and veggies. I want to be able to fit things like this into my calorie allowance so that on the few occasions it happens I can log and keep moving with my day.

    I used to do the same, salads or "healthy" options. Now I get what I want and either enjoy it bc it's a rare treat or just eat half.

    How rare of a treat? I point it out in a lot of the "how do I go out to eat at places without info" threads that the real answer is "just don't go out to eat as much." People will swear that I'm wrong but then you'll see successful people either say they a) order very plain aka boring or b) say they don't eat out often.

    If in eating out often then I stick to plain food, request no oil, etc so that the margin of error is smaller. In general I find it easier to make my own food when I'm losing since I have more control. But I've lost eating out fairly often.

    If it's a special treat and I'm actively losing I try to get something I will enjoy but eat a smaller portion and maybe do as the OP did and get sauce, etc on the side. That way I enjoy a treat but don't waste 100's of calories on something I don't really want.

    It I'm maintaining and it's an occasional treat (1x a month or so I guess) than I get whatever I want and eat it all if I so desire. But, again, it's a treat. Even a big blow out is not the end of the world if it's a rarity.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,744 Member
    slaite1 wrote: »
    BFDeal wrote: »
    slaite1 wrote: »
    a_manda wrote: »
    Thank you guys. This isn't an every day thing for me but the further along on this journey I go the better I will (hopefully) get at navigating situations like this. This is the first time since starting my journey that I've gone somewhere and not stuck to a pretty simple grilled chicken salad.

    I just want to be able to go out with my friends and be able to have some sort of plan and not feeling like I can only order salads and veggies. I want to be able to fit things like this into my calorie allowance so that on the few occasions it happens I can log and keep moving with my day.

    I used to do the same, salads or "healthy" options. Now I get what I want and either enjoy it bc it's a rare treat or just eat half.

    How rare of a treat? I point it out in a lot of the "how do I go out to eat at places without info" threads that the real answer is "just don't go out to eat as much." People will swear that I'm wrong but then you'll see successful people either say they a) order very plain aka boring or b) say they don't eat out often.

    If in eating out often then I stick to plain food, request no oil, etc so that the margin of error is smaller. In general I find it easier to make my own food when I'm losing since I have more control. But I've lost eating out fairly often.

    If it's a special treat and I'm actively losing I try to get something I will enjoy but eat a smaller portion and maybe do as the OP did and get sauce, etc on the side. That way I enjoy a treat but don't waste 100's of calories on something I don't really want.

    It I'm maintaining and it's an occasional treat (1x a month or so I guess) than I get whatever I want and eat it all if I so desire. But, again, it's a treat. Even a big blow out is not the end of the world if it's a rarity.

    Agreed. It's all about balance and the big picture overall.
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    You can estimate but it may not be accurate. Don't obsess about it, have a nice time at lunch and do your best to log what you think you ate and move on.
  • agal129
    agal129 Posts: 215 Member
    257_Lag wrote: »
    It's situations like this that you have to use the SWAG method of calculation. (Scientific Wild *kitten* Guess)
    That's funny!
  • pepperpat64
    pepperpat64 Posts: 423 Member
    It may be too late now, but for future reference, ask the server who supplies their foods. It may very well be a big distributor like U.S. Foods, which is in the database. Failing that, find a chain that has a similar item and use their nutrition counts. I used to agonize over figuring out non-chain restaurant meals to the point where I just didn't enjoy eating out anymore, and that sucked. I finally decided not to worry about it so much, because as long as I was careful with my other meals that day and the rest of the week, being off-target for one meal wasn't that big of an issue.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    257_Lag wrote: »
    It's situations like this that you have to use the SWAG method of calculation. (Scientific Wild *kitten* Guess)

    Wrap 100
    Chicken 150
    Provolone 150
    Sauce? 100
    Onions and Mushrooms next to nothing
    Butter or oil on the grill 50

    Enjoy it, log 550 and try and not make it an everyday occurrence ;)

    Actually, log it at 1100 calories because restaurants have a way of pumping extra calories in their food. Whenever I eat out, no matter how few calories it should have, I assume it's 1200 and I'm probably underestimating.
  • punkrockgoth
    punkrockgoth Posts: 534 Member
    Sometimes I find a similar item in the database and log that, sometimes I will estimate portion sizes for everything and log it like that. For anything in a restauraunt (except for like plain garden salad), I automatically add a tbsp of canola oil. Then I do my best to guess. For example, last night I went out for crepes and bubble tea. I logged the bubble tea as a pina colada smoothie and added cooked tapioca bubbles. I guessed the serving size of each ingredient and added a bit more to my estimation. Except for dressings. I doubled that estimation. My supper was 1600 calories according to my log. I'd rather be wrong by overestimating and seeing red on my diary than underestimating and finding a way to make the numbers fit. Whether your log is accurate or not, calories in/calories out still applies and it still brings awareness to how much energy you're consuming.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    257_Lag wrote: »
    It's situations like this that you have to use the SWAG method of calculation. (Scientific Wild *kitten* Guess)

    Wrap 100
    Chicken 150
    Provolone 150
    Sauce? 100
    Onions and Mushrooms next to nothing
    Butter or oil on the grill 50

    Enjoy it, log 550 and try and not make it an everyday occurrence ;)

    Wrap is definitely not 100. More like 200-300.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    a_manda wrote: »
    The Crank (a wrap)- Chicken Cheesesteak with bacon, grilled onions, portabellas, provolone & creamy No.9 sauce (without the bacon, sauce on the side) and a small garden salad. But I have no idea how to count the calories for this.... anybody have any suggestions?

    800+

    Yeah agree
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,032 Member
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    slaite1 wrote: »
    BFDeal wrote: »
    slaite1 wrote: »
    a_manda wrote: »
    Thank you guys. This isn't an every day thing for me but the further along on this journey I go the better I will (hopefully) get at navigating situations like this. This is the first time since starting my journey that I've gone somewhere and not stuck to a pretty simple grilled chicken salad.

    I just want to be able to go out with my friends and be able to have some sort of plan and not feeling like I can only order salads and veggies. I want to be able to fit things like this into my calorie allowance so that on the few occasions it happens I can log and keep moving with my day.

    I used to do the same, salads or "healthy" options. Now I get what I want and either enjoy it bc it's a rare treat or just eat half.

    How rare of a treat? I point it out in a lot of the "how do I go out to eat at places without info" threads that the real answer is "just don't go out to eat as much." People will swear that I'm wrong but then you'll see successful people either say they a) order very plain aka boring or b) say they don't eat out often.

    If in eating out often then I stick to plain food, request no oil, etc so that the margin of error is smaller. In general I find it easier to make my own food when I'm losing since I have more control. But I've lost eating out fairly often.

    If it's a special treat and I'm actively losing I try to get something I will enjoy but eat a smaller portion and maybe do as the OP did and get sauce, etc on the side. That way I enjoy a treat but don't waste 100's of calories on something I don't really want.

    It I'm maintaining and it's an occasional treat (1x a month or so I guess) than I get whatever I want and eat it all if I so desire. But, again, it's a treat. Even a big blow out is not the end of the world if it's a rarity.

    Agreed. It's all about balance and the big picture overall.

    Great way to put it! :)

    I was just reading an article about labeling they plan to do laws on to show nutritional data. Vending machines, 7-11 type shops where they make food there etc. I also was reading in that article that only chains that have 20 or more stores actually have to show their nutrition info currently. A bit confusing trying to figure out local but I'm with a number of you, I over estimate and try not to stress as it's not an everyday thing. :)
  • This content has been removed.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    BFDeal wrote: »
    slaite1 wrote: »
    BFDeal wrote: »
    slaite1 wrote: »
    a_manda wrote: »
    Thank you guys. This isn't an every day thing for me but the further along on this journey I go the better I will (hopefully) get at navigating situations like this. This is the first time since starting my journey that I've gone somewhere and not stuck to a pretty simple grilled chicken salad.

    I just want to be able to go out with my friends and be able to have some sort of plan and not feeling like I can only order salads and veggies. I want to be able to fit things like this into my calorie allowance so that on the few occasions it happens I can log and keep moving with my day.

    I used to do the same, salads or "healthy" options. Now I get what I want and either enjoy it bc it's a rare treat or just eat half.

    How rare of a treat? I point it out in a lot of the "how do I go out to eat at places without info" threads that the real answer is "just don't go out to eat as much." People will swear that I'm wrong but then you'll see successful people either say they a) order very plain aka boring or b) say they don't eat out often.

    If in eating out often then I stick to plain food, request no oil, etc so that the margin of error is smaller. In general I find it easier to make my own food when I'm losing since I have more control. But I've lost eating out fairly often.

    If it's a special treat and I'm actively losing I try to get something I will enjoy but eat a smaller portion and maybe do as the OP did and get sauce, etc on the side. That way I enjoy a treat but don't waste 100's of calories on something I don't really want.

    It I'm maintaining and it's an occasional treat (1x a month or so I guess) than I get whatever I want and eat it all if I so desire. But, again, it's a treat. Even a big blow out is not the end of the world if it's a rarity.

    Thanks for the reply. This is kind of inline with my theory on the subject. I just wish more people actually came out and said this instead of swearing up and down nothing has changed. "You can still eat out!!" Yeah, technically but that comes with a bunch of disclaimers. It's kind of a bummer really. What's the point of busting your butt to be so fit if you can't even have Chinese food once a week (again, I know you can get boring streamed whatever with no sauce but why bother?).

    Priorities.

    And I look at it differently. I think it's awesome that I can be very fit and STILL have Chinese food once a month or so. I'd rather have it less often-and be in shape, than all the time-and be overweight.
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