Restaurant calorie-counting...

anony999

Does anyone have tips on how to figure out how many calories, carbs, fats, proteins, etc. are in one-off restaurant foods?

I see thedailyplate recommended from time to time, and I've seen other sites that help with chain restaurants.

I'm going to a non-chain restaurant for a special occasion this weekend. I am pretty sure I'll blow my calorie intake (all part of the plan, I'll allow it on special occasions ONLY and within reason), but I'll try to limit the damage.

This is a Moroccan restaurant with a set menu - I can only choose things like lamb or rabbit instead of chicken, or stick to a vegetarian menu. Just wondering how I could attempt to quantify it all without drilling the chef!

Thanks for your help and advice! I am really liking this site and the helpful folks on it!

anony999

Does anyone have tips on how to figure out how many calories, carbs, fats, proteins, etc. are in one-off restaurant foods?

I see thedailyplate recommended from time to time, and I've seen other sites that help with chain restaurants.

I'm going to a non-chain restaurant for a special occasion this weekend. I am pretty sure I'll blow my calorie intake (all part of the plan, I'll allow it on special occasions ONLY and within reason), but I'll try to limit the damage.

This is a Moroccan restaurant with a set menu - I can only choose things like lamb or rabbit instead of chicken, or stick to a vegetarian menu. Just wondering how I could attempt to quantify it all without drilling the chef!

Thanks for your help and advice! I am really liking this site and the helpful folks on it!

sculley

I know not all resturants do their food the same but maybe you could find information on maybe a moracan menu I don't think it would deviate too much...but just my opinion... If your really worried just limit the portion as well.

anony999

Thanks, Sculley! That tip will probably work for most places and I will definitely keep it in mind. However, for this particular group of foods, I haven't been able to find all of the nutritional info for equivalent dishes after searching around a bit. Also, I have no idea on portion sizes. Hrm.

Maybe I should just declare this meal a 10,000 calorie binge (hopefully it's not REALLY that)... that way, I am assuming the worst and can adjust other days for it.

Here is the menu in question (prepare your drool cloths!):

Harrira soup
A tomato broth base with chicken, vegetables, chickpeas,
mildly spiced with pepper and Mediterranean spices. This soup
is a warming start in the cold winter months.

First Course
Three salads, hummous, and baba ganouj
Carrots strongly flavored with garlic, vinegar, and spices contrast
the tender eggplant salad beside them, marinated in mild spices.
The third salad is a medley of crunchy diced cucumbers and
tomatoes with parsley, vinegar and oil. Served on the side is the
creamiest, richest hummous (chickpeas,
tahini, garlic and lemon) and smooth, rich baba ganouj (eggplant
pureed with tahini and various Mediterranean spices).
Served with pita bread for dipping.

Second Course
B’stilla
A traditional Moroccan pastry of flaky phyllo dough dusted
with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Filled with a delectable
mix of eggs, chicken, and sweet cinnamon spices.

Third Course
Chicken or Rabbit
The chicken at Casablanca is melt-off-the-bone tender, perfect for
eating with fingers. Topping it is your choice of lemons and olives,
super-spicy homemade harissa sauce, walnuts, or dried apricots. The
rabbit (an unusual and low-fat alternative to chicken) is cooked in
a mildly spiced tomato sauce topped with sweet dates.

Fourth course
Beef or chicken shishkebab, or lamb
Juicy chunks of beef or chicken grilled with onions, green peppers,
and tomatoes and brushed with a garlic and olive oil marinade.
Or alternatively, meltingly tender nuggets of juicy lamb topped with
sweet honey and almonds, or fragrant lemon and spicy cumin.

Fifth course
Cous cous with vegetables
A traditional dish of Morrocco, a medley of carrots, onions, and
other vegetables served on a bed of steamed semolina grains, topped
with bits of chicken, chickpeas, and raisins.

Sixth course
Basket of fresh fruit
Fresh and uncut fruit- apples, grapes, oranges, plums, and other
in-season fruit to refresh your palate.

Seventh Course
Baklava and mint tea
The version of these traditional small pastries served at Casablanca
is a unique, sweet blend of walnuts and honey snuggled in between
tall layers of flaky, crunchy phyllo dough. The sweet mint tea is
poured from a height to aerate and cool it to perfection.

TamTastic

WOW! That looks amazing!! I am drooling!!

And some of it seems pretty harmless. The soup, hummus and baba ganouj won't be horrible as well the chicken dishes like shish kebab and the cous cous dish.

My advice is to eat light all day and get a good workout in and enjoy. You don't have to watch every little thing but don't go way overboard either. And enjoying yourself like this once in awhile is fine. Just don't let it become everyday. That's all!!

And watch out for the baklava! LOL! That is the stuff that will git ya!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

:flowerforyou:
-Tami

anony999

Thanks, Tam!!

You make some good points, it's not like it's McDonald's! However it will be the night before my first weekly weigh-in (I decided to not obsess on the scale and just hop on every Sunday morning before breakfast).... so yeah a good workout will be key to not undoing my first week's worth of work!

And the baklava would get me in more ways than one... I'm deathly allergic to walnuts, so I'll be skipping it entirely!!

Looking at that menu, about how many calories do you think I should list in my diary here? (cringing)

TamTastic

I can understand your concern. I guess just keep in mind when you do weigh that it might not be as accurate is it could, especially if the food is really salty. Personally, I like weighing later in the week, like on Thursday (which I have done for over a year now! lol!) because if you are going to eat things that are out of the norm, it will be on the weekend. Weighing later in the week gives your body a chance to sort of "get back to normal". But, do whatever feels right to you.

As far as the food.....hmm......you can probably find calorie counts for the hummus, soup (or similar type of brothy soup), and cous cous, shish kebab, on here and kind of guesstimate how much you will eat and from that, you might have a better idea of what the calorie count is going to be. If it were me, I would put in what I could find and then just kind of take it easy with the rest of it.

I know it's hard! Try not to stress! LOL!

Oh and not eating the baklava will save you MANY MANY calories!! So, the walnut allergy is coming in handy. :laugh:

anony999

Thanks again, Tami!! I really enjoy your posts and appreciate the help. I also just saw in another thread that you are also a Trader Joe's fan... go team!!

And the more I think about it, the more I realize that eating the baklava will save me many MANY calories... think "supermodel diet". Twice the taste, zero calories!!

Kidding, I am not advocating bulimia. At least not until week 2 of my new plan.

TamTastic

Thanks again, Tami!! I really enjoy your posts and appreciate the help. I also just saw in another thread that you are also a Trader Joe's fan... go team!!

And the more I think about it, the more I realize that eating the baklava will save me many MANY calories... think "supermodel diet". Twice the taste, zero calories!!

Kidding, I am not advocating bulimia. At least not until week 2 of my new plan.

Your welcome! I hope I was helpful! I tend to ramble on sometimes.

And I talk about Trader Joe's a lot! lol! Some have joked I should get some money for endorsing them so much! :laugh: :blushing:

And ewwww@supermodel diet. There will be none of that here!! lol!

wildkitty505

So looking it over it looks like the same pre-determined menu that my local Moroccan restaurant serves. That being said I'm guessing that it is served the same way which means one or two bowls (depending on how big your group is) of each dish being plunked down and shared between your party. You still get lots of food but at least you aren't stuffing yourself with all of that! If you have 3 or 4 people the portions are pretty reasonable. Most of it is veggies and the sauces aren't really sweet so I doubt it is as bad as you think. Except maybe the dish with the phyllo and the powdered sugar (its the only one I don't like so I never eat it anyways ).

Like everyone else has said I would go and enjoy yourself, keep your portions reasonable, stop when you're full (and not over-stuffed). If you're leaving out the baklava I bet you don't do too bad. I'm 100% sure it won't be 10,000 calories .

Enjoy!