Post 'em here. All those disappointing meals you thought were healthy but are really high calorie
tmoneyag99
Posts: 480 Member
Salad from the cafeteria next door. 700 kCals. 
That's not depressing.
1 cup, Spinach - Raw
0.25 cup sliced, Bell Pepper, Red
3 ounce, Cucumber
1 ounces, Shredded
1 oz(s), Cheese, feta
0.25 cup, Chopped Fresh Tomatoes
0.06 cup, Sliced Almonds
0.25 cup(s), Chickpeas
1 egg, Hard Boiled - Large
.25 cup Chopped grilled chicken.
0.25 cup(s), Balsamic Vinaigrette
That's not depressing.1 cup, Spinach - Raw
0.25 cup sliced, Bell Pepper, Red
3 ounce, Cucumber
1 ounces, Shredded
1 oz(s), Cheese, feta
0.25 cup, Chopped Fresh Tomatoes
0.06 cup, Sliced Almonds
0.25 cup(s), Chickpeas
1 egg, Hard Boiled - Large
.25 cup Chopped grilled chicken.
0.25 cup(s), Balsamic Vinaigrette
8
Replies
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Granola cereal. Especially when the serving size in cups is out of whack with the serving size in grams.40
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Tacklewasher wrote: »Granola cereal. Especially when the serving size in cups is out of whack with the serving size in grams.
Granola is one of the absolute worst. Always a disappointment to see how much a serving is versus how much I THINK a serving should be.26 -
tmoneyag99 wrote: »Salad from the cafeteria next door. 700 kCals. That's not depressing.
1 cup, Spinach - Raw
0.25 cup sliced, Bell Pepper, Red
3 ounce, Cucumber
1 ounces, Shredded
1 oz(s), Cheese, feta
0.25 cup, Chopped Fresh Tomatoes
0.06 cup, Sliced Almonds
0.25 cup(s), Chickpeas
1 egg, Hard Boiled - Large
.25 cup Chopped grilled chicken.
0.25 cup(s), Balsamic Vinaigrette
my problem with posts like this is that "healthy" is such a vague term - how do you define healthy? I can have high calorie "healthy" food and low-calorie "healthy" food24 -
Keep in mind that the nutritional quality of a particular food has nothing to do with caloric density. There are a lot of very nutritionally awesome foods that are high calorie....one has nothing to do with the other...
With salads, it's typically the dressing that gives you the calories....1/4 cup of dressing is a lot of dressing.37 -
deannalfisher wrote: »tmoneyag99 wrote: »Salad from the cafeteria next door. 700 kCals. That's not depressing.
1 cup, Spinach - Raw
0.25 cup sliced, Bell Pepper, Red
3 ounce, Cucumber
1 ounces, Shredded
1 oz(s), Cheese, feta
0.25 cup, Chopped Fresh Tomatoes
0.06 cup, Sliced Almonds
0.25 cup(s), Chickpeas
1 egg, Hard Boiled - Large
.25 cup Chopped grilled chicken.
0.25 cup(s), Balsamic Vinaigrette
my problem with posts like this is that "healthy" is such a vague term - how do you define healthy? I can have high calorie "healthy" food and low-calorie "healthy" food
Yeah, I consider avocado and almonds to be healthy foods (in that they're nutrient-rich), but they're also calorie-dense. The two qualities can overlap quite easily.14 -
Applebee's Fiesta Lime Chicken. It was essentially rice and grilled chicken. I knew it was restaurant food, and the chicken had cheese on it but surely it couldn't be that bad. 1140 calories.43
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Having a high amount of calories doesn't mean something isn't healthy11
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BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »Applebee's Fiesta Lime Chicken. It was essentially rice and grilled chicken. I knew it was restaurant food, and the chicken had cheese on it but surely it couldn't be that bad. 1140 calories.
It's the darn tortilla chips. Those get bad FAST.11 -
OKAY OKAY
The thread is "what food blew your mind in terms of calories, when you were expecting something significantly lower?"
Gosh, got the thread police out in full force today. I think this is a great idea!
I'm always irritated at cheese. Doesn't matter what kind of cheese.... I want THE BAG and a serving is LOOKING at the bag.119 -
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janejellyroll wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »tmoneyag99 wrote: »Salad from the cafeteria next door. 700 kCals. That's not depressing.
1 cup, Spinach - Raw
0.25 cup sliced, Bell Pepper, Red
3 ounce, Cucumber
1 ounces, Shredded
1 oz(s), Cheese, feta
0.25 cup, Chopped Fresh Tomatoes
0.06 cup, Sliced Almonds
0.25 cup(s), Chickpeas
1 egg, Hard Boiled - Large
.25 cup Chopped grilled chicken.
0.25 cup(s), Balsamic Vinaigrette
my problem with posts like this is that "healthy" is such a vague term - how do you define healthy? I can have high calorie "healthy" food and low-calorie "healthy" food
Yeah, I consider avocado and almonds to be healthy foods (in that they're nutrient-rich), but they're also calorie-dense. The two qualities can overlap quite easily.
We all know this. But the thing is we are here to lose weight. Many of us are obese. So Healthy and low cal kind of go hand in hand. I can't eat 3 avocados and be healthy. There comes a point when the cummulative number of calories in a dish/food/diet whatever outweighs it's healthfulness. That's what we are posting here. Dishes/meals where nutritional benefit is exceed by the calorie density.37 -
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tmoneyag99 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »tmoneyag99 wrote: »Salad from the cafeteria next door. 700 kCals. That's not depressing.
1 cup, Spinach - Raw
0.25 cup sliced, Bell Pepper, Red
3 ounce, Cucumber
1 ounces, Shredded
1 oz(s), Cheese, feta
0.25 cup, Chopped Fresh Tomatoes
0.06 cup, Sliced Almonds
0.25 cup(s), Chickpeas
1 egg, Hard Boiled - Large
.25 cup Chopped grilled chicken.
0.25 cup(s), Balsamic Vinaigrette
my problem with posts like this is that "healthy" is such a vague term - how do you define healthy? I can have high calorie "healthy" food and low-calorie "healthy" food
Yeah, I consider avocado and almonds to be healthy foods (in that they're nutrient-rich), but they're also calorie-dense. The two qualities can overlap quite easily.
We all know this. But the thing is we are here to lose weight. Many of us are obese. So Healthy and low cal kind of go hand in hand. I can't eat 3 avocados and be healthy. There comes a point when the cummulative number of calories in a dish/food/diet whatever outweighs it's healthfulness. That's what we are posting here. Dishes/meals where nutritional benefit is exceed by the calorie density.
I don't think anybody is suggesting that you should eat three avocados. The truth is that, for many people, reasonably sized servings of calorie-dense foods can fit into their calorie goals, help them meet their nutritional needs, and make hitting a calorie goal a lot more enjoyable.
The point made by @deannalfisher is that "healthy" can be a pretty vague term and I agree with that. I understand what you're getting at with the OP and the distinction may be clear for you, but we tend to see lots of posts here from people saying "I thought [x] was healthy, but it actually has a lot of calories" so I think it's worth discussing that something can be healthy and have a lot of calories -- these are not mutually exclusive states.21 -
BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »Applebee's Fiesta Lime Chicken. It was essentially rice and grilled chicken. I knew it was restaurant food, and the chicken had cheese on it but surely it couldn't be that bad. 1140 calories.
You need to start getting the Butcher's Reserve 12 oz sirloin and a side of steamed broccoli. Freakin' delicious, low calorie, and protein for MUH GAINZ!
My scandalous discovery was the Red Robin Bacon-Guac Cheeseburger. 1100 calories or thereabouts. I will still go to town on that bad boy, but I make sure it fits in my day. And again, bottomless broccoli.9 -
Cactus Club: 9 butter nut squash raviolis with 8 prawns and pine nuts 980 calories.
Must be the butter sauce and the squash being filled with cream or something, jebus total sadpants.
Also Chilis Quesadilla Explosion salad 1430 calories 9 -
Fun topic!
I used to make what I thought was a really healthy smoothie for a mid morning snack. When I started using MFP, I created a recipe here in MFP and found out it was over 700 calories. And I was eating it as a snack! YIKES!
I still make it sometimes but as a meal instead.29 -
I used to think I could eat as much pasta as I wanted because it's low-fat.
Uhhhh......37 -
All salads at any restaurant - don't even look at them anymore.
What suprised me the most recently was Buffalo Wild Wings WHOLE menu. Recently they were required to put the calorie count on everything, which made it easier know what to avoid, but I had a hard time getting out of there under 500 calories.
My BF and I made a pact that we split meals at restaurants now - so we can have what we want and still not over eat. It's really surprising just HOW much food you get in 1 meal. Sometimes now, we don't even finish one.28 -
kristen8000 wrote: »All salads at any restaurant - don't even look at them anymore.
What suprised me the most recently was Buffalo Wild Wings WHOLE menu. Recently they were required to put the calorie count on everything, which made it easier know what to avoid, but I had a hard time getting out of there under 500 calories.
My BF and I made a pact that we split meals at restaurants now - so we can have what we want and still not over eat. It's really surprising just HOW much food you get in 1 meal. Sometimes now, we don't even finish one.
Our family does something similar! No appetizers, my husband and 7yo share a meal, I share a meal with our 3yo and 2yo, and no desserts. Saves calories AND money!16 -
BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »Applebee's Fiesta Lime Chicken. It was essentially rice and grilled chicken. I knew it was restaurant food, and the chicken had cheese on it but surely it couldn't be that bad. 1140 calories.
At the same time, this dish is a great example of how to manufacture a healthy choice at a restaurant where one might not otherwise exist. Leaving the tortilla chips on the plate probably saves you 200 calories, and scraping off most of the cheese and sauce probably saves you another 200.
That 1140 meal just got knocked down about 700. And let's face it, it's Applebees so it's not like skipping those components will totally ruin what would have been an otherwise awesome dish.
Most restaurant chain grilled chicken sandwiches are shocking in their calorie counts.10 -
TGIFriday's Jack Daniels Chicken Sandwich - 1220 calories, sandwich only. No fries. No Long Island Iced Tea (or two). I never thought it was healthy, per se, but I used to have this meal a couple of times a month.
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My morning green smoothie is between 300-400 calories, that might shock some folks! I add in greek yogurt and protein powder to bump up the fat and protein to balance out the sugary carbs from the banana and berries. Keeps me full till lunch and helps me sneak in some protein and greens, so I don't mind.
I honestly just assume that almost any restaurant meal will be in the thousands, calorie-wise. I'm often pleasantly surprised when I check the website to find that a meal I thought was super high-calorie actually isn't too bad.
To throw in another Applebee's example, my fiance and I really like the tomato basil soup. You figure it'd be loaded with enough sugar and heavy cream to make it a calorie-bomb, but it's only 190 calories per bowl!11 -
Pretty much any chain restaurant's salads or grilled chicken meals, like the Applebee's entrée shown above. I loved their Oriental Chicken salad and while I'm not sure of its calorie count, I know I could have had my much-craved hamburger instead. I also used to order spinach & artichoke dip instead of another entrée thinking it would be fewer calories than anything else on the menu. Nope.4
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Or your joke crashed and burned so hard that FEMA has chosen to divert resources from hurricane relief just to deal with it.
To be honest, even now that I know it was a joke I still don't get it. Maybe it's because I steer clear of any cleanse-related thread?62 -
I utterly adore fresh black figs. I found a pint of them in a market and scarfed them down as a healthy snack. Fresh fruit, fiber, it's all good right?
558 calories later and guess who had to skip dinner.
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Or your joke crashed and burned so hard that FEMA has chosen to divert resources from hurricane relief just to deal with it.
To be honest, even now that I know it was a joke I still don't get it. Maybe it's because I steer clear of any cleanse-related thread?
Nope. I can guarantee there are plenty of us who were cracking up over it.
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kristen8000 wrote: »All salads at any restaurant - don't even look at them anymore.
What suprised me the most recently was Buffalo Wild Wings WHOLE menu. Recently they were required to put the calorie count on everything, which made it easier know what to avoid, but I had a hard time getting out of there under 500 calories.
My BF and I made a pact that we split meals at restaurants now - so we can have what we want and still not over eat. It's really surprising just HOW much food you get in 1 meal. Sometimes now, we don't even finish one.
The naked tenders from BWW aren't bad. 6 tenders for only 280 calories. You could even get them with a side of fries (330) and still come out at 610 calories. Dipping them in buffalo sauce won't add much either. The ranch will kill you though. And the beer.6 -
Sliders.
I thought them being smaller than a hamburger made them healthier. Nope.6
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