Hidden calories and other enemies

Options
AlexB6216
AlexB6216 Posts: 10 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Question - do you check nutrition facts before heading out to a restaurant or placing a food order?

I just ordered a grilled chicken Caesar salad from D'Angelos and it contains 770 calories, 30 grams of carbs, 2040mg of sodium, and 55 grams of total fat. I'm feeling very disappointed in myself for not checking the nutrition facts online before ordering. My other mistake was not asking for the salad dressing to be on the side :(

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    Options
    Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. It depends on the situation. If I'm going somewhere unfamiliar, I'll usually try to check. If it's somewhere I've been a lot, I have a good idea of what I can eat there. The ones that are more frustrating are the mom & pop places that do not have nutrition info available anywhere. I just make the best choice I can at those places and don't sweat it too much.

    And I ALWAYS ask for my dressing on the side. They drown my salad if I don't.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Options
    I virtually always check information before I go out and have a plan for what to order.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Options
    Do not sweat it. Log it and move on. :)
    Salads can have a crap-ton of calories, especially if they come with salad dressing and croutons and cheese.
    After a while you have a repertoire of salads and other foods that you can work from.
  • AlexB6216
    AlexB6216 Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    RodaRose wrote: »
    Do not sweat it. Log it and move on. :)
    Salads can have a crap-ton of calories, especially if they come with salad dressing and croutons and cheese.
    After a while you have a repertoire of salads and other foods that you can work from.

    I did remove all the croutons and the cheese :smile: and you are right, it's logged :smiley:
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
    Options
    Yes.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    Options
    Most restaurants I go to do not have nutritional information...but I'm well aware that a salad with a ton of dressing is going to be a calorie bomb which is why I rarely order one...I could have a lot of things for the same calories that I'd enjoy much more for the calorie hit.

    Restaurant food in general tends to be calorie rich unless you;re ordering off a special menu...I ultimately determined for myself that eating out is just something that is an occasional activity, not a regular occurrence.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
    Options
    Kind of. But I'm at a point where I understand food well enough to know that a ceasar salad at a restaurant will have at least 750 calories, possibly more. Which is why I just order a cheeseburger.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
    Options
    Caesar salad = calorie bomb. Sure you could order without the dressing, cheese and croutons, but then it's not a Caesar salad any more.

    I try to order smart - whole proteins (chicken breast, salmon, steak, etc.), avoid anything creamy and fried foods, get cheese and dressing on the side.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Options
    arditarose wrote: »
    Kind of. But I'm at a point where I understand food well enough to know that a ceasar salad at a restaurant will have at least 750 calories, possibly more. Which is why I just order a cheeseburger.

    Agreed, salad is my normal food so I wouldn't order it out.

    Log it and move on, try not to sweat the small stuff.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Options
    I rarely go to restaurants where nutritional info is posted. Not a lot of chains around me other than fast food. I do check when I can though.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
    Options
    I never actually check calories because if I'm going to go out I really don't want to go to a chain. But sometimes I'll look at the menu online before hand and kind of see what I want and pre-log it so I can work my day around that meal.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Options
    If it's a restaurant with calorie information I check it in advance. I almost never go to those kinds of restaurants in the evening, though, so have to make an educated guess. (If I buy lunch there are lots of good chain options and those all have calorie information.)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Options
    I do on the rare occasion that we're going to a chain restaurant.

    It's what actually stopped me from going to Texas Roadhouse the other day... 180 calories for a side of veggies. Yikes.
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
    Options
    you're lucky.our restaurants don't have to say how many calories are in their foods so i have to guess every time.if i had the option i'd look up the calories before going, but i would only go if there was something that looked interesting enough to eat. i'm not going to a restaurant to waste any calories on a simple salad. i can make one at home .

Categories