Oh my god! Chili's calories *faint*
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Whatever it is, it's not fine dining.
been thinking about it: I guess it's something cultural. Where I come from, there are fastfood restaurants, dining rooms (not posh but good quality, simple food) and good restaurants. Everything that serves burgers and the unhealthy kind of food Chili's is serving is considered to be a fastfood restaurant, where fastfood refers not to fast serving but rather to poor nutritional value or quality of produce. Something like Chilis doesn't really exist in my home country, nor in any of the other countries I've lived in before, but would be called fastfood there.
Around here, restaurants are classed as:
Fast food (counter service, drive through, not much variety on the menu, child friendly with play areas for kids),
Casual dining (table service, more menu items, still child friendly but they don't provide entertainment for kids except maybe crayons and a placemat. Examples:Chili's, Applebees, Olive Garden, Denny's, locally owned "family" restaurants)
Fine Dining (tablecloths, professional chefs, wine list, not child friendly)0 -
Here in the US fine dining restaurants aren't exactly "healthy", either. The nice thing is you can get main dishes and side diesh "a la carte" so you aren't stuck with side dishes you don't want. The bad thing is the side dishes are pretty much all full of fat and calories. Even the veggies usually come with a creamy or cheesy sauce. The salads have high-fat dressings and lots of calories extras like cheese, croutons, fried onions, nuts, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I love fine dining restaurants (although my wallet does not). i just wouldn't say they are necessarily "healthier" than fast food restaurants. No matter where you eat you need to make a conscious effort to choose the best options.0 -
I wonder if the word you are looking for is chain restaurant instead of fast food restaurant. Lots of chain restaurants have pre-packaged, frozen foods that they heat up in the "kitchen".
If you split your meal in half when you get it, that would probably help out as well. Just ask the server to bring the "to go" box with your meal, and do it right then and there. Or split meals with your friends.
Grilled meats and veggies are going to be your best bets calorie wise, but watch the sauces, and be prepared for some bloat the next couple of days from the very high sodium counts.
Most of all, enjoy the company of your friends, because that is what truly matters.0 -
How big are the portions? I'm English so I've never heard of Chilli's. Maybe you could share with someone. I've only been to the US once and I remember the portions were massive.
Otherwise your idea of suggesting somewhere else is good. We went to a Turkish place last year, and that was pretty healthy, just chicken and veg on a skewer with salad and some Turkish bread. I went to a Maroccan place recently that was healthy too...a small portion of couscous with some sort of chicken dish.
Generally they are large. A burger can often be made with 1/2 lb of meat. When I go to a place like Chili's, I usually order off the appetizer menu and have a plain salad with dressing on the side.0 -
1. Share an appetizer or split a meal.
2. Order something that has the lesser calories on the menu.
3. Order a salad, get the dressing on the side and maybe omit some of the items that are on it.
Or
4. Don't eat the entire meal.
There are plenty of ways to NOT consume that many calories when you go out to eat. What do you do when you go out to eat at a restaurant that doesn't post their menu items and calories some place? :huh: Yes you can find a "healthy" restaurant but the calories, fat, sodium can still be very high depending on what you get. Fancy =/= Healthier. You're deceiving yourself if you think so.0 -
At most restaurants, a Salmon dinner or 6 oz sirloin steak are the best options.0
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Last time I was at Chili's, they had a Mango-chile Tilapia that was actually pretty tasty, and had excellent macros. Roughly 600 calorlies. Or you could split a burger and fries with someone -- 1400 divided by two isn't bad. Just don't bother with appetizers (or the dreaded chips and salsa) and don't drink your calories.0
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next time you go there, choose fajitas and ask for corn tortillas or just skip the tortillas altogether and have a "salad" . you will still feel satisfied and it will be yummy but lower cal. we do this occasionally. ask for extra lettuce too.
Normally this is awesome advice that I use, too...but seriously, something NUTS is up with Chili's...I ordered spicy shrimp tacos with a black bean side, ate less than one of the 3 tortillas, and logging it my sodium was STILL through the roof and insane, calories were crazy too. Usually I think I can go for a healthier option but at Chili's I am not even sure that's possible unfortunately.0 -
Chili's is one of the worst for calories and sodium! There are hardly any smart choices to be had.
On the flip side Ruby Tuesday's is one of the better national chains for smart choices.0 -
We're meeting friends tonight at Chili's (no idea why they always chose fastfood outlets) and I just looked at the nutritional values of their food. OMG! How can it not be a crime to serve something like that? An appetizer with 1900kcal and 135 grams of fat and more salt than I eat in three days? O.o A salad containing nearly as much calories as I eat on a whole day!
Appetizers aren't meant to be eaten all by yourself. They're meant to be shared by everyone at the table, and are just supposed to hold you over until the main course arrives. It's not a whole meal all by itself. So yes, if you're eating an entire appetizer all by yourself, you're going to blow your diet - pretty much no matter what that diet might be. For example, you're only supposed to be having 1 or 2 mozzarrella sticks: not the whole plate!
And that "salad" is meant to be an entire meal - not combined with an appetizer on top of it.
Remember that nothing obligates you to eating the entire thing just because they set it down in front of you. Whether you're at Chili's or a friend's house, it's always your job to control your portions. Check out the nutritional infomation beforehand. If you see that scrumptous meal that you have your eye on is double the amount of calories you have available, just eat half and put the rest in a doggie bag for tomorrow. BOOM! Two meals. No diet breakdown. Problem solved.0 -
For years my coworkers have gone to Chili's ...... I used to say "no, thanks" but I always felt badly ......
Nowadays I go, because there are a few items I feel comfortable eating ....... grilled sirloin, mango chicken, grilled chicken salad .....
Eat light the rest of the day ...... drink plenty of water to flush out excess sodium ...... get some exercise in, as well !
And enjoy your friends' conversation !0 -
We're meeting friends tonight at Chili's (no idea why they always chose fastfood outlets) and I just looked at the nutritional values of their food. OMG! How can it not be a crime to serve something like that? An appetizer with 1900kcal and 135 grams of fat and more salt than I eat in three days? O.o A salad containing nearly as much calories as I eat on a whole day!
Appetizers aren't meant to be eaten all by yourself. They're meant to be shared by everyone at the table, and are just supposed to hold you over until the main course arrives. It's not a whole meal all by itself. So yes, if you're eating an entire appetizer all by yourself, you're going to blow your diet - pretty much no matter what that diet might be. For example, you're only supposed to be having 1 or 2 mozzarrella sticks: not the whole plate!
And that "salad" is meant to be an entire meal - not combined with an appetizer on top of it.
Remember that nothing obligates you to eating the entire thing just because they set it down in front of you. Whether you're at Chili's or a friend's house, it's always your job to control your portions. Check out the nutritional infomation beforehand. If you see that scrumptous meal that you have your eye on is double the amount of calories you have available, just eat half and put the rest in a doggie bag for tomorrow. BOOM! Two meals. No diet breakdown. Problem solved.
And I'm adding: just like at home, there's no law that says you have to eat the whole thing. If you live in a country where take away is common, take half home.0 -
I generally get the sirloin and a double portion of broccoli. I don't use their calories, but rather just go off what the generic 8oz sirloin should be. Sometimes I take half the steak home.
If I go with my BF we get the fajitas for 2 and split. We haven't been in ages and all i really miss are the Southwest Eggrolls and lava cake. Both of which I can live without!
We've been hitting Moroccan places, sushi shops and this wonderful authentic Indian place. But we also only see each other 1 every 2 weeks so I plan for those meals.
now I want sushi...0 -
They do have some "lighter choices" available. The sodium is still going to be through the roof but the calorie counts are more "reasonable" or resemble something reasonable. Not what I would call flavorful options though... *shrugs* I just have a bowl of soup and call it a day.0
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Just got back. I had the margarita chicken with black beans only. It was ok, but that's about it. I managed to eat the beans and half the chicken as it was huge, and extremely salty as well. And great: my reflux is back Another interesting thing: the only drink size they had was .. not sure, certainly more than half a liter; maybe a pint. I had water.
I looked through the menu but they had no light options. Note I don't live in the US. What's on the menu here is probably off the menus for years elsewhere. Yes, I checked out the US menus, and it looked much better than what I could get here. Another reason to better avoid those places around here. But at least the company is good0 -
LOL I used to work there and ate there all the time because it was free and they didn't pay much, but I am still 3 years later working off those calories!!!!!!!0
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Try this: http://www.healthydiningfinder.com/restaurant/Chilis
I use that website anytime I know I'm going out to eat to find some of the healthier options if the restaurant menu doesn't specifically mark them for me.0 -
Thanks a lot Yellowlemoned! I bookmarked that site. Looks like I made the only healthy choice I could, considering that the menu here is different0
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That is an AMAZING SITE! Thanks for sharing0
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