Do you ever doubt nutrition information?

LATeagno

I especially do not trust supplement powders or pills.
This is why I advocate whole foods like lean meats, low fat dairy, whole grains, nuts and fresh fruits and veggies.
That's the ideal I strive toward; however, who can live that 100%? Nobody!

When it comes to logging food, I try to cross reference and make a judgement call, letting the cards fall where they may.
What else can we do?
[/quote]


Absolutely agree.

LATeagno

every time i eat out!

also, where did you go, so i don't go there and accidentally order a salad with 3,500 calories? :P

Winking Lizard!

houstonmacbro

I agree, I doubt restaurant calories as well. What if the server/chef gives a little more mashed potatoes or more meat than what was given on the nutritional info. I've never worked in the restaurant industry, but I imagine they don't go around with measuring cups and scales making sure they have the correct portion.

At upscale restaurants they do ... trust me. That salmon at McCormick and Schmicks is definitely going to be nearly exact in ounces as they claim, as they are all about the $$$ and maximizing their returns. Can't do that if you're constantly overfeeding people by 20%.

Very very true. Everything gets measured for consistency and financial reasons.

I didn't think about that, thanks for the info. I had more of the "fast food " restaurant in mind.

Fast food is preportioned too. They have squirters for the sauces that divy out exactly the same amount (very close to it at least) with every squirt. There's a list of how many squirts to put on each sandwich, etc. The restaurant industry is very very savvy.

Dr. Oz, who albeit is not the best source for information as he seems to go for the sensational a little too often for my liking, did a thing on fast food and calories and fat in it. All the ones he tested were very close to the actual calories. Restaurants, fast food or fine dining, need portion control to make money. They usually run on a fairly small margin, so they can't go around giving people too much more than they designed the food item at or they would quickly start to lose profit. Remember, they are in this to make money. I actually trust restaurant calories more than I do the calories on a multi-portion food product from the grocery store. Not that the food product is wrong, but often they will say it is x number of whatever it is which should be a certain weight. If you count out that number then weigh it, more often than not it is not the weight they say it should be, sometimes not even close.

I noticed that too ... I am a big fan of dried figs. Well, the carton says a serving is 4 figs and there are about 4 servings per pack. Well, if you measure out the servings, you actually get about 5 servings instead of 4. So, did the fig company lose a serving on each pack, or did they overcharge me for the 4 I got ...?

fabafter5

I agree, I doubt restaurant calories as well. What if the server/chef gives a little more mashed potatoes or more meat than what was given on the nutritional info. I've never worked in the restaurant industry, but I imagine they don't go around with measuring cups and scales making sure they have the correct portion.

I worked at Red Lobster during college and believe me there are prep people who come in hours before the restaurant opens and measures out everything with a digital scale. All of the pasta was premeasured and stored in plastic baggies. All of the sauces were in paper cups and you just had to microwave it and pour it over the pasta. We even had a certain protocal when it came to making the salads. Something like 5 croutons, 3 cucumbers 2 tomatoes... If you were caught just winging it you would get written up.

Oh and sorry people those special garlic biscuits... Only one biscuit per person at the table plus one more biscuit to fight over! If you ask for more fine but again you would get written up if you put too many at the table first go round.

Gayafrench

Yeah true. I hadn't really thought about that, but a Big Mac is a Big Mac wherever and it is probably going to contain nearly the exact same ingredients and ounces (nothing fit for human or animal consumption).

I worked at McDonald's for my first job when I was 15 as a line cook. It's all about consistency there. That's why the nuggets, sandwiches, and fries taste the same in California as they do in Maine or Florida. Countries vary though according to what the regulations and cutoms are. We used to get in trouble for squirting the big mac sauce in the wrong spot on the bun.

However a bigmac in the US will not be the same calories than in Europe for instance, the same goes for all the sandwiches, dries, drink. What you call small we call large and for instance a small coke in a Mcdonalds in the US is the equivalent to a Large one in the UK or France

houstonmacbro

I agree, I doubt restaurant calories as well. What if the server/chef gives a little more mashed potatoes or more meat than what was given on the nutritional info. I've never worked in the restaurant industry, but I imagine they don't go around with measuring cups and scales making sure they have the correct portion.

I worked at Red Lobster during college and believe me there are prep people who come in hours before the restaurant opens and measures out everything with a digital scale. All of the pasta was premeasured and stored in plastic baggies. All of the sauces were in paper cups and you just had to microwave it and pour it over the pasta. We even had a certain protocal when it came to making the salads. Something like 5 croutons, 3 cucumbers 2 tomatoes... If you were caught just winging it you would get written up.

You've taken all of the magic out of the vision I had of 'chefs' in white hats and aprons slaving over an impossibly high flame and creating these masterpieces. Ungh.