Being fooled by the "healthy stuff" on the menu

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DAM5412
DAM5412 Posts: 660 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just realized my eggplant and chicken "healthy" wrap at lunch was almost 1000 calories...This is why I should always pack my lunch. Seriously. This is the second time a wrap sandwich has gotten me, yes, I should know better.

What things do you find surprisingly high in calories?

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  • dawnmcneil10
    dawnmcneil10 Posts: 638 Member
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    Coffee drinks used to really get me, 500+ calories for a beverage.....no thank you!

    I'm also blown away by the sodium content in restaurant food. You cannot ever convince me grilled chicken needs salt.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Calories have nothing to do with whether something is "healthy" or not. There are any number of highly nutritious foods that are also calorie dense...

    That said, how big was this wrap? Most wraps I come across even in restaurants are closer to 500 - 600 calories or so.
  • DAM5412
    DAM5412 Posts: 660 Member
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    cwolfman13, it wasn't that big and I was pretty shocked when I looked it up on MFP and it came up as 976. It was a spinach wrap, grilled chicken, spinach, eggplant (possibly fried, but not breaded), mozzarella and some type of pesto aioli. The restaurant website does not list the nutritional value on their page, but someone had input it on MFP.

    I totally understand that many high calorie foods can be very healthy, I was just surprised by this one.
  • 6ftamazon
    6ftamazon Posts: 340 Member
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    Ahh pesto will do it...it's got about 100 calories a tablespoon. Usually with restaurant food, I budget my calories, or split the meal. Portions are generally double what they should be, plus most restaurants pile on the cheeses, oils, butters, etc...all the delicious goodness lol
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    The wrap itself is probably 250 calories or something, so it adds up.
  • liberaltendencies
    liberaltendencies Posts: 150 Member
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    Oh, that is the worst! Even when I've found something that's "healthy" calorie wise, the sodium is off the charts!

    I still get tricked by salads.
  • focusedonfitness2015
    focusedonfitness2015 Posts: 240 Member
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    Oh, that is the worst! Even when I've found something that's "healthy" calorie wise, the sodium is off the charts!

    I still get tricked by salads.

    Agreed with the salad comment. A local Mid-West pizza chain; Donatos, has an amazing Chicken harvest salad. Total calories are around 700! Must be the candied pecans and cranberries, mixed with bleu cheese chunks..Insane...but oh sooooo good :tongue:
  • HealthyGinny
    HealthyGinny Posts: 821 Member
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    Just realized my eggplant and chicken "healthy" wrap at lunch was almost 1000 calories...This is why I should always pack my lunch. Seriously. This is the second time a wrap sandwich has gotten me, yes, I should know better.

    What things do you find surprisingly high in calories?

    Just today I bought a salad for lunch without checking the cals first... Ate it and then went to log it: 513 cals! I think it was due to the dressing and the little cheese pieces and the nuts but still! :(
  • Lelah77
    Lelah77 Posts: 177 Member
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    I got dinged by a breakfast food recently - the omelettes had cream in the eggs and had been griddled in butter. The veggies had been sautéed in oil, too. It was insanely good, but I almost pooped when I figured out the calories!

    My husband laughs at me, but now I thoroughly research menus and nutrition information before we go out (even if I have to quick-search on my phone). I, thankfully, have a decent list of "Ok" foods that I will eat when we go out. I hate those surprises!!! I am also that person who asks the server 100 questions about the prep of my food. I don't feel bad, either. I was a waitress for 14 years and I never had a problem answering those questions. Regardless of the reasons (allergies, special diet, curiosity) a consumer has a right to know what he/she is about to shovel in their gullet!
  • HealthyGinny
    HealthyGinny Posts: 821 Member
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    Approaching this from a "foods that have more calories than you think" perspective, I'd say for me it's the foods they teach you are "good for you" when you're a kid. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, milk, cereal, etc. Not that those things are "bad" but the calories can get out of hand quickly unless you monitor the portions. I think a lot of people don't realize how much peanut butter they're using, how much milk they're really drinking in a glass, or what a portion of cereal actually looks like compared to their own bowl. I've been losing weight longer than my account indicates, and I remember a few years ago when I first started how I was surprised to find out my bowl of cereal was 3-4 servings before milk. It was pretty eye opening.

    Totally agree with you. My cereal bowl when I was a child must have been 3 times the recommended serving too...
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I got dinged by a breakfast food recently - the omelettes had cream in the eggs and had been griddled in butter. The veggies had been sautéed in oil, too. It was insanely good, but I almost pooped when I figured out the calories!

    My husband laughs at me, but now I thoroughly research menus and nutrition information before we go out (even if I have to quick-search on my phone). I, thankfully, have a decent list of "Ok" foods that I will eat when we go out. I hate those surprises!!! I am also that person who asks the server 100 questions about the prep of my food. I don't feel bad, either. I was a waitress for 14 years and I never had a problem answering those questions. Regardless of the reasons (allergies, special diet, curiosity) a consumer has a right to know what he/she is about to shovel in their gullet!

    Good for you. I'm one of those people who hate conflict or being a pain, so I don't do it, when I really should.
  • usernameMAMA
    usernameMAMA Posts: 681 Member
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    Arby's "Market Fresh" Sandwiches! Some have almost double the calories of what their regular roast beef sandwiches have.
  • liekewheeless
    liekewheeless Posts: 416 Member
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    Yep, a lot op restaurant foods have full fat/ sugar sauces to make it taste good. Considering that 2 tbsp of dressing is usually 120 calories or so,.. drench a wrap in the stuff and you can easily add 400 calories right there. Then add the "healthy" calories and there you go.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
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    I was pretty shocked when I looked it up on MFP and it came up as 976.

    You know it could be wrong? Some people enter wildly inaccurate guesses
  • bkthandler
    bkthandler Posts: 247 Member
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    Restaurant salads get me every time..yesterday I looked up the menu of the place I went for lunch….all of the salads were close to 1,000 calories (I know it’s the cheese and dressing, which I could usually do without).

    A hamburger with green beans was significantly less. I don’t mind having a bigger lunch and smaller dinner but a salad isn’t going to make that possible.

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