Restaurant's Weight Loss Mission?

Jess814

So, I've been moderatley healthy. Working out, eating right, & such. I posted this on my blog & was just so excited about this! In case no one knew, Applebee's really kicks butt at their whole Eating-Right thing. They actually have a under 550 Calorie Menu & they also have a Weight-Watchers menu. Noodles & Co. also has a little tab thing on their website for people watching calories, fat, sodium, etc. This is also with Wendy's. Just thought I'd let you know 'cause I don't know about you guys; but, I'm almost never home & live in my car, practically, so I always just have to run to go get something somewhere.

Wendy's:

http://www.wendys.com/food/NutritionLanding.jsp#

Noodle's:

http://www.noodles.com/home/food/foryourhealth.aspx

Applebee's :

http://www.applebees.com/Menu_Under550.aspx

Is Applebee's only in Ohio? I also just found out about Subway's whole Fresh Fit menu, I know a whole lot of you probably either don't care or already know about this; but, I found it preeeetty exciting! http://www.subwayfreshbuzz.com/menu/freshfit_choices/turkey_melt/

McDonald's may not be the healthiest thing; but, the way their Nutrition Menu is set up, is really cool. Nothing to post the link about, though & Jimmy John's is also pretty cool also.

Just thought I'd share this because I think I got WAAAAY too excited over this.

orange_avocado

Applebee's is all over, not just Ohio. I actually tend to go to a restaurant's website and look for nutrition information before I go eat there. They get bonus points if they have a special low-cal section or something like it. Even *more* props is they post the calories right on their menu! (Panera does this!)

In the DC area, I noticed that Chicken Out and Baja Fresh have a low-cal menu on their site.

Jess814

Applebee's is all over, not just Ohio. I actually tend to go to a restaurant's website and look for nutrition information before I go eat there. They get bonus points if they have a special low-cal section or something like it. Even *more* props is they post the calories right on their menu! (Panera does this!)

In the DC area, I noticed that Chicken Out and Baja Fresh have a low-cal menu on their site.

I didn't know since when I went on Applebee's website, it only showed my area. I didn't stop to think that it was just because it knew my zipcode. Silly me!

Panera does that?! Well, that just has FABULOUS written all over it!

jillybeanruns

Panera is as fast food as I get. But I love that you can build your meal on their website and take away dressings, add a side, etc... I don't eat out a lot, but I choose Panera when I do. Plus it's delicious and affordable!

havfaith

Thanks for the info

LuckyLeprechaun

I have noticed the Applebees is trying to include lower calorie choices, but what I am still unable to do is the amount of sodium they have in nearly everything! Often low fat=high sugar, and low cal=high sodium. Be careful out there!

ganesha303

Yep, Panera totally rocks!

LuckyLeprechaun

WHat are you guys ordering that has you loving Panera? I have heard so much about it, and when I went there, the food was...ok. Not bad. Not great. Just....eh. Nothing to crow about. Am I missing out on something divine? Did I just order the wrong thing? All that BREAD :noway: !

Thoughts?

ErinMarie25

I personally don't like the less than 500 cal meals at Applebees.

Red Robin also has low calorie meals. Their grilled chicken sandwich and melon wedges are around 400 cals.

fitnesspirateninja

I like the Wendy's apple pecan chicken salad (without cheese). It's pretty good for a fast food salad.

jillybeanruns

WHat are you guys ordering that has you loving Panera? I have heard so much about it, and when I went there, the food was...ok. Not bad. Not great. Just....eh. Nothing to crow about. Am I missing out on something divine? Did I just order the wrong thing? All that BREAD :noway: !

Thoughts?

Well I used to get the Bacon Turkey Bravo...but it's a bit off the charts for me now. I ABSOLUTELY love the Chopped Chicken Cobb Salad. I get it with a 1/2 portion of balsamic instead of the Greek (gets rid of 160 calories!) and with no bacon. 290 cals/13g fat/670mg sodium/34g protein. The sodium and fat are a bit on the high end - but with the protein being so high, I think it's a reasonable trade! I don't always get the baguette side, but it's delicious as well!

Yarnpiggie

Red Robin's website is also one that has a cool meal genrator thing. You can add and subtract things to get to a calorie level you want. Awesome.

One time when I first started losing weight, i had enough calories left in my day that i could order a turkey burger and such from them... AND there was room for french fries. I don't crave french fries at all, but let me tell you... when i opened the to go box and got a whiff of those fries..... awesome. :-)

ErinMarie25

Red Robin's meal builder is quite awesome!

amysj303

I can't eat at Panera and have it lowcal, seems like a waste of money when I can't eat what I really want;)
This site has some healthy choices for chains (applebee's, chili's, PF Chang's, Red Lobster and Ruby Tuesday)
http://www.drgourmet.com/health/restaurants/index.shtml
and lots of fast food:
http://www.drgourmet.com/health/fastfood/index.shtml

Love the Noodles trio with Japanes Pan noodles, shrimp and salad-yummy.
I also like Chik-fil-A and Baja Fresh.

orange_avocado

I can't eat at Panera and have it lowcal, seems like a waste of money when I can't eat what I really want;)
This site has some healthy choices for chains (applebee's, chili's, PF Chang's, Red Lobster and Ruby Tuesday)
http://www.drgourmet.com/health/restaurants/index.shtml
and lots of fast food:
http://www.drgourmet.com/health/fastfood/index.shtml

Love the Noodles trio with Japanes Pan noodles, shrimp and salad-yummy.
I also like Chik-fil-A and Baja Fresh.

I usually get the You Pick 2 at Panera, with the turkey or ham half sandwich and a small bowl of soup. Not sure what the calories are, but I'm always able to fit it in okay when I do go there (uh, not that often actually).

asjerven, what do you get at BajaFresh? There's one right near my work so I tried the shrimp salad with verde sauce and a small tortilla soup w/o chicken. It met my calories goal, yeah... but it was so expensive and I didn't feel filled up at all. Plus it didn't really taste good. I ended up being really disappointed and haven't gone back.

Also, thanks for the links!

Yarnpiggie

I usually get the You Pick 2 at Panera, with the turkey or ham half sandwich and a small bowl of soup. Not sure what the calories are, but I'm always able to fit it in okay when I do go there (uh, not that often actually).

Also, thanks for the links!
[/quote

Panera has a meal creator on their website. You can add and subract items from your sandwiches and salads and have it tell you what the nutrition info is.

Yarnpiggie

I usually get the You Pick 2 at Panera, with the turkey or ham half sandwich and a small bowl of soup. Not sure what the calories are, but I'm always able to fit it in okay when I do go there (uh, not that often actually).

Also, thanks for the links!
[/quote

Panera has a meal creator on their website. You can add and subract items from your sandwiches and salads and have it tell you what the nutrition info is.

Well I didnt quote that quite right did I? lol