Favorite Chain Restaurant Meal - Under 500

jfauci

I second the Cheesecake Factory Skinnylicious menu. Everything is great and below 550 calories. Also, Applebees has a yummy salmon dinner for 550 calories.

krouse83

Great ideas. I love making my own food, but whenever I need to eat out its usually at Chipolte or Panera where there are mutiple meals and combinations under 500 cals.

MzTanya77

Dragonfire Chicken at TGI Friday's-434 calories for the whole meal. Comes w/ grilled chicken breast in Kung Pao sauce, coconut rice and steamed broccoli

cajmanthei

Chick-fila chocolate chip cookie - 300 calories. Sometimes I just gotta have one.

indunna

don't really hit the chains so can't help ..

why not go to some local restaurants while on vacation that have fresh foods and better option? I mean you can go to an applebee's anywhere....

Good point. Two reasons
1) I am traveling with young kids so fancy places are often off the table for price/ behavior reasons
2) I am a beginner who often struggles with good food choices - so it is comforting to know a few standbys I can use wherever I am

I will be in Miami so a nice Cuban Ropa Vieja with a side of plantains and a mojito will happen but that can't be every meal or I'll never reach my goals.

fjrandol

My go-to meal is the Panera You-Pick-Two:
Garden Vegetable Soup w/ Pesto, Half Smoked Turkey Breast on Country Bread, Apple. Ends up at 400kcal, 6g fat, 20g protein, and 14g of fiber. Definitely helps keep me full when I'm out and about! :-)

ToryCarr

Outback is always good too! I always get the 6oz. Outback Special Sirloin and you could get steamed seasonal veggies, steamed broccoli or grilled asparagus.

Have fun on vacation!

karlajotj

Anything on the Applebee's under 500 calories menu that I've tried tastes really good and is filling. Subway 6" flatbread egg white with veggies and any fat free dressing. Jimmy John's turkey Tom unwich is good. It's everything you get on the turkey Tom without the bread, they have 2-3 leaf lettuce in place of the bread. I usually ask them to either go easy on the mayo or no mayo as they put a lot on and it taste great with out.

hoyalawya2003

Barberitos or Moe's Southwest Grill: salad with black beans, salsa, chicken and jalepenos. Yum. And as earlier posters have said, Chick fil a has lots of great options. I also like Wendy's plain baked potato and a small chili.

Francl27

I had the lunch size portion of Olive Garden's Linguine alla Marinara (310 calories) that was big enough for leftovers. Plus, I added one of their awesome breadsticks (140 cals) for a total of 450. Pretty good!

No way! I was there yesterday, I had salad (no croutons and dressing on the side... I'd be surprised if I actually had more than 1/4 a tsp of it), 2 breadsticks (which are 150 calories I believe), the linguine with grilled chicken and that was enough to keep me full until dinner. There's no way the linguine alone would have filled me up enough, let alone be enough for leftovers. You must eat like a bird! It was good though. And 450 calories for the pasta, salad and chicken.

Anyway, I love the Cheesecake Factory skinnylicious menu, I've had a few things there, and the Applebee's light menu. Red Robin has some grilled chicken burgers that are not too bad calorie-wise. Chili's used to be better, they got rid of a couple items from their light menu though so I'm not too impressed with what's left (and really... no such thing as a 6oz steak with only 210 calories).

Brio tuscan grill has the pesto pasta which is pretty good for 550 calories too. I know Ruby Tuesday has options as well. Romano's has some options too but I just went with the 700ish calories lasagna last time. On the Border is great because you can totally customize your meal with the 'take two' option (and you can switch rice and/or beans for grilled veggies).

Joe's Crab Shack is lame though, only one meal really if you don't want to have to break things and it was still 700ish calories. I think Red Lobster has options too... Couldn't find anything at Charlie Brown (website isn't working properly) except the salad bar.

I haven't had fast food in a while but the fresco tacos from Taco Bell are pretty good! And the sweet chili mcwraps from McDonald's (360 calories for grilled).

ksy1969

Chipotle - steak burrito bowl; no rice; black beans; fajita veggies; steak; green tomatillo salsa; romaine lettuce. 350 Calories.

Add either brown rice (additional 160 calories) or guacamole (additional 150 calories) for extra carbs or fat, respectively, and you're at either 510 or 500 cals.

as long as I get the rice, this one always fills me up. Of course it is always better with some Chips and salsa, but that doesn't fit into the parameters of what the OP asked :laugh:

Cheeky_and_Geeky

Chili's has a "lighter" meal dinners
http://www.chilis.com/EN/Pages/menuitem.aspx?CatId=C918423

Applebees has an under 550 calorie menu
http://www.applebees.com/menu/under-550-calories

IHOP Simple & Fit Menu
http://www.ihop.com/menus/main-menu/simple-and-fit

I suggest googling restaraunts. A lot of them have a light menu.

neanderthin

Probably sushi.

nccarolb

Qdoba has a meal builder online and you can get lots of things 500 or under as long as you don't eat the tortilla or add cheese.

At McDonald's, I get the fish sandwich and ice cream cone--360+150=510.

Arby's mid roast beef is under 500 and enough to fill me up and they have a side salad, too.

Mimi's Cafe has calories on their menu.

Panera has lots of options. Take a look at their website and use the meal builder. And, don't forget their "hidden menu."

I've had one of Applebee's low cal meals and I enjoyed it.

With Subway, although they have a number of lower calorie items, be careful of the sodium.

I'm thoroughly enjoying reading the responses in this thread!

jessepants

Chipotle Burrito Bowl

Just skip the obvious offenders - sour cream, etc. I up the ante to 650 cals for this and get 50+ grams of protein, lots of fiber and a meal and a half

nccarolb

Chili's has a "lighter" meal dinners
http://www.chilis.com/EN/Pages/menuitem.aspx?CatId=C918423

Applebees has an under 550 calorie menu
http://www.applebees.com/menu/under-550-calories

IHOP Simple & Fit Menu
http://www.ihop.com/menus/main-menu/simple-and-fit

I suggest googling restaraunts. A lot of them have a light menu.

There is a 2013 version of this book, too.

Cheeky_and_Geeky

Chili's has a "lighter" meal dinners
http://www.chilis.com/EN/Pages/menuitem.aspx?CatId=C918423

Applebees has an under 550 calorie menu
http://www.applebees.com/menu/under-550-calories

IHOP Simple & Fit Menu
http://www.ihop.com/menus/main-menu/simple-and-fit

I suggest googling restaraunts. A lot of them have a light menu.

There is a 2013 version of this book, too.

OMG if I ate out more than once a week I would totally buy it! If I was still in college, that's a must!

homegirl614

Bumping for later. You guys gave some really good options. I don't eat out often, but when I do, I like to try and stay healthy. I will definitely try some of these...

hale03071

I concur....definitely the Chicken Spinoccoli at Unos.

Sandytoes71

Great thread!