Restaurant Nutrition Facts

okeedokee5

I'm taking my mom out to lunch on Monday, so I was checking out Chili's nutrition facts ahead of time so I'm prepared with a plan of what to get.

I was shocked at some of the calorie counts for the dishes that I used to get there. Their honey-chipotle chicken crispers were a serious addiction of mine (like, I'd eat them every week, I was so addicted), and I just saw that the meal is over 1600 calories! I used to eat that, AND split an appetizer AND sometimes split dessert without even batting an eye at the nutritional facts. It's no wonder I'm battling a weight problem?

Have you ever looked up the nutritional facts for your favorite meal at a restaurant? Were you as shocked as I was?

shoesalwaysfit

I was shocked when I went to a pancake house that we usually go to. They recently started putting calories on their menu and even the omelettes were over 1000 calories. It is a great thing that they are starting to do this and I wish more restaurants would. I ended up ordering a bowl of grits and a poached egg. It was the only thing under 500 cals.

fay_pigu

I guess you're American or other place with this sensible rule. UK it's really difficult to find this info, especially indi places.

_Mimi_

And it isn't just the calories. Check out the sodium and the fat. :noway:

ashlafer

I think restraunts should be legally obligated to put at least the calorie count of each meal next to the price on the menu.

Yes, this has happened to me ssoooooo many times...Sharry's, McDonald's, Olive Garden...In high school, I had two slices of pizza and a Costco-sized double chocolate muffin for lunch every day. Yeah.

Check out Olive Garden if you'd like to go somewhere where it's easier to count. They have a nutrition menu on each table in a nice little booklet. If you get a soup and salad combo, you can have a bowl of soup and at least two or three bowls of soup for about 400 calories!

linsakins

My BF and I learned the hard way that some of our favorite places were soooo over the top with cals/fat that we just stopped eating out almost all together...which isn't a terrible thing, now is it? lol...saves money, along with our waistlines. We do, however, like to go to Ruby Tuesdays on Fridays. The salad bar is awesome for $2.99. Just nix the pasta salads and the croutons. They have lo-fat options when it comes to dressings, as well. We usually stick to the fish dishes, like the New Orleans seafood or salmon. It satisfies that "eating out" craving we get, and we don't go TOTALLY off course.

dward2011

I can't believe the portion sizes either at these places. I have found that http://thindish.com/ can be pretty helpful if an internet calorie search is uneventful.

Captain_Tightpants

Chilis is pretty bad yeah. Cheesecake Factory is probably the worst, they manage to hide massive amounts of cals in dishes that look and taste reasonably healthy.

I'm always wary of chain restaurant nutrition facts anyway. I'm not sure what governing body regulates or fact-checks them but I bet they're wrong most of the time, if only due to different chefs in different franchises.

WAM777

I think restraunts should be legally obligated to put at least the calorie count of each meal next to the price on the menu.

I SO wish this were true! Somehow though, I don't think that'll happen anytime soon if ever. It's getting to where I refuse to eat at restaurants that have no nutritional data for their food.

Rowena02148

I used to eat out a lot but since I got married and have 3 kids, my husband and I usually don't anymore. We learned to cook everyday at home.

Nowadays, whenever I do go out with my friends,I check out the nutritional menu of the restaurant on line. I'm shocked at how much cal/fat/sodium the meals are!

Now, I hate going out to dinner. I'd rather cook. This saves me $, cal/fat/sodium, and what I spend for one dinner can feed my family and then some. Oh, and I know the handling of the food is clean. You can't say that eating out. You can never be too sure of the place.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

Uno's Pizza has a computer up front with the information on everything from their menu, which was a brilliant idea. Their personal pizzas are actually 3 servings = 1500ish cals. I used to freaking eat those! Sheesh.