Why is it that restaurant food is so high in sodium?

homeport51

I went to Applebee's for dinner last night. They have an under 550 menu with some yummy stuff on it. I was going to have the Chicken Teriyaki, but the sodium for one serving was 2900! I went to their website and picked the thing with the least sodium off the 550 menu, but it was still over 1500. Makes it difficult to eat out.
Any suggestions?

PoeRaven

I don't have any suggestions just want to vent along with you. :grumble:
Yesterday we went to Pizza Hut for lunch. I had a nice salad. One small piece of pizza and a tiny bit of the pasta. The sodium was off the charts for that one meal! Even the low fat salad dressing had almost 800 grams!

smbakke77

Avoid Applebee's!! HA HA...I think restaurants tend to over season their meals for flavor and all the seasonings are high in sodium. You could always ask the waiter or waitress how the meal is prepared and whether or not they can make it more "plain" for you and you could always add a more reasonable portion of salt?

FrenchMob

Just an FYI - Having a high sodium meal once in awhile isn't going to kill you. Especially if you're doing some kind of cardio exercise as you'll sweat alot of that sodium out. Watching sodium intake is more important for people that don't do any exercise at all.

crummywatertowr

The sodium is used to preserve it. Most of that stuff is made somewhere else and then shipped to the individual stores. If each restaurant cooked from scratch each Applebees would taste completely different.

stormieweather

Because salt enhances food flavors and makes it taste better.

Mirabilis

Because salt enhances food flavours and makes it taste better AND IT'S CHEAPER THAN OTHER SPICES heh.

microwoman999

Nobody knows how to leave food alone LOL If we never invented seasoning we would all be sad but sometimes little is more. I agree with RVachon every once in awhile is no biggie you will not see a change in your weight and if you do it only lasts for a day its not permanent! Unless of course you do it all the time

Jelleebean

i always figured they added more salt to make you drink more, thus, a higher bar tab. the enhancing the flavour thing never occured to me, but, it does make sense.

alienblonde1

Another reason is salt is a CHEAP ingredient. When eating out I try to remember to ask no added salt and I don't use salt at home.

Tamstar1985

sodium is a flavour enhancer and i feel (for myself at least) that it increases appetite significantly... :$

ieuanfw

I had an eye opener yesterday, I love a packaged soup made by Bear Creek, so I made a package without looking at the label. I ate a fairly large bowl. When I went to enter it into MFP I found it had 960 grams of sodium per cup and vertually no food value at all. I don't need that kind of sodium in my diet.
I've decided two things ---- One, I'm reading every labelto check the contents before I make any food purchases. And two, I'm [whenever possible] going to prepare my own meals from fresh so I have more control of whats in the finished meal.

heathergettingfit

Think of it in the same way you do about processed foods -- pumped full of stuff to make it last longer. The stuff has no health benefit.

I completely agree with you. It is frustrating when the menu gives you a so called healthy option only to find out it is not so healthy. I try and select menu items that are fresh and unprocessed--salads, grilled, lean meats, steamed veggies--when I go out to eat.

smbakke77

Just an FYI - Having a high sodium meal once in awhile isn't going to kill you. Especially if you're doing some kind of cardio exercise as you'll sweat alot of that sodium out. Watching sodium intake is more important for people that don't do any exercise at all.

That's good information, thank you!

bjohs

I went to Applebee's for dinner last night. They have an under 550 menu with some yummy stuff on it. I was going to have the Chicken Teriyaki, but the sodium for one serving was 2900! I went to their website and picked the thing with the least sodium off the 550 menu, but it was still over 1500. Makes it difficult to eat out.
Any suggestions?

Some of my girlfriends and I have created a local group we call Fit for Life Luncheon. We visit one restaurant each month and try to select the healthiest menu items. Our goal is to be able to dine at any restaurant and make smart choices. We start by looking for their nutrition guide online before meeting at the restaurant. September will be Applebee's. This month was Chili's and I selected the Grilled Chicken Breast and Steamed Broccoli from the children's menu. I also ordered a side house salad with Avocado Ranch dressing and had water to drink. The meal was delicious! But the bonus was that it was only:

Calories = 260
Carbs = 15g
Fat = 8g
Protein = 33g
Sodium = 873mg



With the proper planning, there are smart choices at any restaurant. If you are unable to find the nutritional guide online, one of my tricks is to just ask for a plain grilled chicken breast and whatever vegetable they have (steamed or grilled) and to prepare it without any seasoning if possible. At mom & pop diners, I will ask for plain scrambled eggs and a side of fruit. Most restaurants will have some variation of these simple menu items. It's always good to have a plan before going out to eat.

homeport51

I went to Applebee's for dinner last night. They have an under 550 menu with some yummy stuff on it. I was going to have the Chicken Teriyaki, but the sodium for one serving was 2900! I went to their website and picked the thing with the least sodium off the 550 menu, but it was still over 1500. Makes it difficult to eat out.
Any suggestions?

Some of my girlfriends and I have created a local group we call Fit for Life Luncheon. We visit one restaurant each month and try to select the healthiest menu items. Our goal is to be able to dine at any restaurant and make smart choices. We start by looking for their nutrition guide online before meeting at the restaurant. September will be Applebee's. This month was Chili's and I selected the Grilled Chicken Breast and Steamed Broccoli from the children's menu. I also ordered a side house salad with Avocado Ranch dressing and had water to drink. The meal was delicious! But the bonus was that it was only:

Calories = 260
Carbs = 15g
Fat = 8g
Protein = 33g
Sodium = 873mg



With the proper planning, there are smart choices at any restaurant. If you are unable to find the nutritional guide online, one of my tricks is to just ask for a plain grilled chicken breast and whatever vegetable they have (steamed or grilled) and to prepare it without any seasoning if possible. At mom & pop diners, I will ask for plain scrambled eggs and a side of fruit. Most restaurants will have some variation of these simple menu items. It's always good to have a plan before going out to eat.

Great suggestions! Thanks!

silkysly

Drink lots of water on the days you eat out. I mean double what you would normally drink. It will help when you over indulge in the sodium.., even if it’s not by choice. Hang in there, you’re doing good.

withchaco

I think it's because restaurants cater to the majority (they're businesses, after all), and a lot of people in the U. S. like their food salty! Asking for the sauce/ dressing on the side, as well as having the food prepared without salt, can help a lot, although they don't do it with every menu item.

I generally avoid Teriyaki anything because it tends to be very salty Too bad as teriyaki can be very delicious in moderation.

ieuanfw

Very good suggestion. I ate at a nice British Pub and had the Fish Sandwich on whole wheat. Figured that sodium would be loaded so drank twolarge glasses of water, One before the meal came and the other when I finished. Guess I wanted water for the fish toswim in. Left the Frys on the plate along with the tartar sauce and catsup.