Post 'em here. All those disappointing meals you thought were healthy but are really high calorie

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Replies

  • ccruz985
    ccruz985 Posts: 646 Member
    Dates and ground beef.
  • Polo265
    Polo265 Posts: 287 Member
    Hubby and I are both trying to lose weight. Just today, Hubby made a chicken recipe called, "Cornell Chicken". It's an awesomely delicious recipe and one we've made in the past. The marinade was 2 cups of vinegar, a cup of oil and a tbl of salt. I don't know what make us think it was harmless, after all, it was chicken. Anyway, one serving (4 oz) was 600+ calories. We won't be eating that anytime soon.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Polo265 wrote: »
    Hubby and I are both trying to lose weight. Just today, Hubby made a chicken recipe called, "Cornell Chicken". It's an awesomely delicious recipe and one we've made in the past. The marinade was 2 cups of vinegar, a cup of oil and a tbl of salt. I don't know what make us think it was harmless, after all, it was chicken. Anyway, one serving (4 oz) was 600+ calories. We won't be eating that anytime soon.

    Yeah I don't even bother with marinade anymore. Too much oil!
  • ZAnders84
    ZAnders84 Posts: 9 Member
    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.

    My GF and I do this with desserts! Satisfies that sweet tooth without eating the whole dish!
  • Shawna2788
    Shawna2788 Posts: 33 Member
    Everything :(
  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
    savithny wrote: »
    madwells1 wrote: »
    Hummus.

    Highly recommend subbing baba ganoush for hummus

    Be careful. Some places make their baba "Creamy" with MAYONNAISE.

    Point is, it always comes in lower call (by a lot) than hummus
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    Tortilla chips. 7 chips per serving. 7. chips.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Tortilla chips. 7 chips per serving. 7. chips.

    Make sure you weigh them. You can usually have more than 7 in 1 oz.
  • Anon2018
    Anon2018 Posts: 139 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Polo265 wrote: »
    Hubby and I are both trying to lose weight. Just today, Hubby made a chicken recipe called, "Cornell Chicken". It's an awesomely delicious recipe and one we've made in the past. The marinade was 2 cups of vinegar, a cup of oil and a tbl of salt. I don't know what make us think it was harmless, after all, it was chicken. Anyway, one serving (4 oz) was 600+ calories. We won't be eating that anytime soon.

    Yeah I don't even bother with marinade anymore. Too much oil!

    I find marinades so hard to count becuase you do actually end up throwing out a lot of it!
  • aubyshortcake
    aubyshortcake Posts: 796 Member
    Polo265 wrote: »
    Hubby and I are both trying to lose weight. Just today, Hubby made a chicken recipe called, "Cornell Chicken". It's an awesomely delicious recipe and one we've made in the past. The marinade was 2 cups of vinegar, a cup of oil and a tbl of salt. I don't know what make us think it was harmless, after all, it was chicken. Anyway, one serving (4 oz) was 600+ calories. We won't be eating that anytime soon.

    Cornell chicken is FANTASTIC.
  • stephanne13
    stephanne13 Posts: 212 Member
    half and half in my coffee is my downfall-I love coffee with cream.... I did switch to low fat half and half
    (nope- not ready for the fat free version- ewwwww)

    Make room for your half & half.
    I did the FF version for quite a while, and it tends to curdle or separate in the coffee.
  • stephanne13
    stephanne13 Posts: 212 Member
    The nutritional stats for sushi are pretty disappointing.
  • amandacalories
    amandacalories Posts: 107 Member
    Wine. I mean I knew it wasn't low calorie but I didn't realize that my favorite wine was like 600 calories a bottle. My friend and I would get together weekly and could easily drink a bottle each. A few years ago on New Year's Eve we drank an astounding five bottles of champagne over the course of the day in addition to a whole pizza. I cringe thinking about how many calories I drank that day.

    Definitely had to cut wayyyyy down on the drinking.
  • katsheare
    katsheare Posts: 1,025 Member
    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.

    This was largely how I navigated my French holiday this summer. I generally split a main with our son anyway (neither of us being huge eaters) and a dessert 3 ways means about 2 bites each. Even works with cheese.

    And while I know it's not restaurant's responsibility to offer low-calorie dishes on their menu, it does drive me mad to walk in somewhere, say 'whelp' and walk right back out again because nothing they offer is calorie efficient. We make amazing food at home, so I know it can be done. Fat is where the flavour's at (as an old housemate of mine would say) but the sad fact is that if you're on restrictive calories, eating out poses a challenge. I know the MFP blog goes over this in detail (and it may have been covered in this thread as well), but how wonderful would it be if those of us who have decided to take our health into our own hands voted enough with our wallets to change the trends of too-large portions, of too much unnecessary stuff added to everything to trends like more vegetables than starch on the plate, or dressing and sauces always on the side.

    Hey, a girl can dream.
  • Noel_57 wrote: »
    I just found out my green tea and lemon detox cleanse smoothie has 7 calories.
    I am sooo afraid to step on the scale. :anguished:
    ruwj5s2elq9i.jpg

    7 calories. Just 7
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    The nutritional stats for sushi are pretty disappointing.

    It's the rice. Stick with Sashimi and the counts are much easier to manage. Specialty rolls are almost horrible because of the size and sauces (which are inevitably sugar or mayonnaise based).

  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    katsheare 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.

    This was largely how I navigated my French holiday this summer. I generally split a main with our son anyway (neither of us being huge eaters) and a dessert 3 ways means about 2 bites each. Even works with cheese.

    And while I know it's not restaurant's responsibility to offer low-calorie dishes on their menu, it does drive me mad to walk in somewhere, say 'whelp' and walk right back out again because nothing they offer is calorie efficient. We make amazing food at home, so I know it can be done. Fat is where the flavour's at (as an old housemate of mine would say) but the sad fact is that if you're on restrictive calories, eating out poses a challenge. I know the MFP blog goes over this in detail (and it may have been covered in this thread as well), but how wonderful would it be if those of us who have decided to take our health into our own hands voted enough with our wallets to change the trends of too-large portions, of too much unnecessary stuff added to everything to trends like more vegetables than starch on the plate, or dressing and sauces always on the side.

    Hey, a girl can dream.

    Yes!.. Steak is usually the *only* thing that isn't smothered with added fat at just about any restaurant.
    On the bright side, I get another 2-3 meals out of any meal I order at a restaurant, so I don't mind the gigantic portions... but it would be nice if a cup of broccoli, for instance, wasn't hundreds of calories. (I can't blame them though - most people don't watch their calorie intake and prefer everything doused in butter or cream sauce).
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    The nutritional stats for sushi are pretty disappointing.

    Sushi is usually pretty low in calories. You can get a small platter for only ~300 calories (even the rolls with rice). Some of the rolls you get here do have a pile of mayonnaise-based sauce or cream cheese or are topped with fried shrimp- those aren't exactly going to be low cal.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    I didn't even know that people used oil in marinades before reading this thread. All the marinades I know of are either soy sauce based or vinegar based without oil. Regional thing, maybe?
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    DX2JX2 wrote: »
    The nutritional stats for sushi are pretty disappointing.

    It's the rice. Stick with Sashimi and the counts are much easier to manage. Specialty rolls are almost horrible because of the size and sauces (which are inevitably sugar or mayonnaise based).

    Sashimi is awesome, and I generally get ebi, maguro and amoebi sushi, which are very manageable calorie-wise (and provide a bit of protein) even with the rice. Combine that with the teeny-tiny ginger salad, the teeny-tiny clear soup, a teeny-tiny squid salad, and teeny-tiny cups of hot jasmine tea, and it is a very satisfying, low calorie dinner (if obnoxiously expensive).

    My husband gets the fried shrimp heads with the amoebi...I can't stand the little bug-eyed decapitated critters looking at me.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    ritzvin wrote: »
    katsheare 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.

    This was largely how I navigated my French holiday this summer. I generally split a main with our son anyway (neither of us being huge eaters) and a dessert 3 ways means about 2 bites each. Even works with cheese.

    And while I know it's not restaurant's responsibility to offer low-calorie dishes on their menu, it does drive me mad to walk in somewhere, say 'whelp' and walk right back out again because nothing they offer is calorie efficient. We make amazing food at home, so I know it can be done. Fat is where the flavour's at (as an old housemate of mine would say) but the sad fact is that if you're on restrictive calories, eating out poses a challenge. I know the MFP blog goes over this in detail (and it may have been covered in this thread as well), but how wonderful would it be if those of us who have decided to take our health into our own hands voted enough with our wallets to change the trends of too-large portions, of too much unnecessary stuff added to everything to trends like more vegetables than starch on the plate, or dressing and sauces always on the side.

    Hey, a girl can dream.

    Yes!.. Steak is usually the *only* thing that isn't smothered with added fat at just about any restaurant.
    On the bright side, I get another 2-3 meals out of any meal I order at a restaurant, so I don't mind the gigantic portions... but it would be nice if a cup of broccoli, for instance, wasn't hundreds of calories. (I can't blame them though - most people don't watch their calorie intake and prefer everything doused in butter or cream sauce).

    FYI - many restaurants (steakhouses especially) will douse their steaks in butter before serving. It's delicious but not quite calorie friendly.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    ritzvin wrote: »
    I didn't even know that people used oil in marinades before reading this thread. All the marinades I know of are either soy sauce based or vinegar based without oil. Regional thing, maybe?

    All the recipes I found online for marinades called for oil, and I found a bunch of articles about how oil is necessary to really let the flavors through. I stick to seasoning now...
    DX2JX2 wrote: »
    ritzvin wrote: »
    katsheare 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.

    This was largely how I navigated my French holiday this summer. I generally split a main with our son anyway (neither of us being huge eaters) and a dessert 3 ways means about 2 bites each. Even works with cheese.

    And while I know it's not restaurant's responsibility to offer low-calorie dishes on their menu, it does drive me mad to walk in somewhere, say 'whelp' and walk right back out again because nothing they offer is calorie efficient. We make amazing food at home, so I know it can be done. Fat is where the flavour's at (as an old housemate of mine would say) but the sad fact is that if you're on restrictive calories, eating out poses a challenge. I know the MFP blog goes over this in detail (and it may have been covered in this thread as well), but how wonderful would it be if those of us who have decided to take our health into our own hands voted enough with our wallets to change the trends of too-large portions, of too much unnecessary stuff added to everything to trends like more vegetables than starch on the plate, or dressing and sauces always on the side.

    Hey, a girl can dream.

    Yes!.. Steak is usually the *only* thing that isn't smothered with added fat at just about any restaurant.
    On the bright side, I get another 2-3 meals out of any meal I order at a restaurant, so I don't mind the gigantic portions... but it would be nice if a cup of broccoli, for instance, wasn't hundreds of calories. (I can't blame them though - most people don't watch their calorie intake and prefer everything doused in butter or cream sauce).

    FYI - many restaurants (steakhouses especially) will douse their steaks in butter before serving. It's delicious but not quite calorie friendly.

    Yep, same for the chicken breast that ended 580 calories instead of 300.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    As far as I know, the people in my family have normally just used the common storebought marinades - Chiavetta's doesn't have oil in it, nor does Kikkoman Teriyaki, or soy sauce+condensed orange juice for orange chicken, or beer/wine/soda - always thin liquids. It truly never occurred to me to add oil to a marinade (and definitely not by the cupful).
  • macclone
    macclone Posts: 85 Member
    Chefs salad. Seems healthy but can easily be a 1000 calories.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,232 Member
    DX2JX2 wrote: »
    ritzvin wrote: »
    katsheare 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.

    This was largely how I navigated my French holiday this summer. I generally split a main with our son anyway (neither of us being huge eaters) and a dessert 3 ways means about 2 bites each. Even works with cheese.

    And while I know it's not restaurant's responsibility to offer low-calorie dishes on their menu, it does drive me mad to walk in somewhere, say 'whelp' and walk right back out again because nothing they offer is calorie efficient. We make amazing food at home, so I know it can be done. Fat is where the flavour's at (as an old housemate of mine would say) but the sad fact is that if you're on restrictive calories, eating out poses a challenge. I know the MFP blog goes over this in detail (and it may have been covered in this thread as well), but how wonderful would it be if those of us who have decided to take our health into our own hands voted enough with our wallets to change the trends of too-large portions, of too much unnecessary stuff added to everything to trends like more vegetables than starch on the plate, or dressing and sauces always on the side.

    Hey, a girl can dream.

    Yes!.. Steak is usually the *only* thing that isn't smothered with added fat at just about any restaurant.
    On the bright side, I get another 2-3 meals out of any meal I order at a restaurant, so I don't mind the gigantic portions... but it would be nice if a cup of broccoli, for instance, wasn't hundreds of calories. (I can't blame them though - most people don't watch their calorie intake and prefer everything doused in butter or cream sauce).

    FYI - many restaurants (steakhouses especially) will douse their steaks in butter before serving. It's delicious but not quite calorie friendly.

    I've never worked at a restaurant that didn't dunk the steak in oil before putting it on the grill. Faster than oiling the grill.
  • RaymondKnight
    RaymondKnight Posts: 42 Member
    edited September 2017
    Ok. I didn't think this was "healthy," per-se, but I didn't realize the damage it did to my diet. And that is microbrew. I measured three pints of beer and it was over 1,000 calories. Those were the last beers I had, and I've lost 35 pounds so far. Full disclosure: I switched to Tequila, but also my alcohol intake is much lower than it was prior to adopting this new lifestyle. For those interested in what the beer was, it was Imperial Java Stout by Santa Fe Brewing. Current tequila of choice is Tres Generaciones Anejo.
  • RaymondKnight
    RaymondKnight Posts: 42 Member
    DX2JX2 wrote: »
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    I just found out my green tea and lemon detox cleanse smoothie has 7 calories.
    I am sooo afraid to step on the scale. :anguished:
    ruwj5s2elq9i.jpg

    7 calories?

    Even if that's accurate, I would be worried about getting on the scale because it would mean leaving the toilet.

    LOL! I never would drink something that looked like pureed diarrhea.
  • Shellz31
    Shellz31 Posts: 214 Member

    I'm in a small Midwestern city and we have both of those. I travel a lot for work and see Jason's Deli and Schlotzskys all over the Midwest and South. Maybe they're not prevalent in rural/suburban (like Subway is) or on one or both coasts (?) but to me it seems they both have a huge presence.

    This really surprised me because I travel all over the Midwest for work and live in Chicago and have never heard of Schlotzskys. Apparently there's none in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Indianapolis, or anywhere really that i travel, at least according to Google maps. There's one in Minneapolis I might check out if it's close to my hotel.

    I Do prefer Panera over subway but subway saves me when I'm in rural areas. I'm vegetarian and in some towns, my choices for a quick bite are pizza, taco bell, or subway. Subway veggie delite becomes my best friend during those travels!
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