Have you been surprised by the nutrition of restaurant food?

michellew91

So today I went to Chili's with some friends and got Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers, I was expecting it to be bad but got quite the shock when I looked it up later: Crispy Honey-Chipotle Chicken
Calories-1680
Fat-73
Carbs-203
Wow, thank goodness I only ate half, but now I need to convince myself to throw the rest away and be done with it! As I start trying to eat a healthy diet, I need to learn to look things up before I go out to eat!

mjrkearney

You probably don't want to look up the sodium content on something like that. I've been surprised both ways on nutritional information from restaurants. The "healthy" stuff is loaded with crap you don't even think to worry about and so much of it is just fillers with no real value. The occasional "junk" can surprise you, too. Somehow, two semi- regular tacos at Taco Bell (one Volcano and one Doritos for the #stealataco promo) managed to be one of the least worrisome fast food meals since I've started on here.

FJcntdwn2sknyluv

All the time, any-more I check here or the restaurants website BEFORE I leave to go to eat!..Save you alot of hassel

KeltaRose

All the time, any-more I check here or the restaurants website BEFORE I leave to go to eat!..Save you alot of hassel

I agree. If I'm going out to eat, I plan my day accordingly. I know exactly what I'm going to eat before I get there and exercise more on those days, and the days after.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Applebee's Fiesta chicken. Grilled chicken, rice. Good choice, right? Nope over 1000 calories.

polishmehappy

I was shocked by a grilled chicken salad I had at Garfield's last week.... it packed almost 500 calories! I rarely eat out these days but once in awhile the significant other wants to stop and eat somewhere at the spur of the moment. But now he has joined MFP so that might change!

Crochetluvr

Oh yeah! I went to a restaurant and had a cheeseburger with guacamole and salsa on a bun. When I checked later, I found out it was nearly 1,100 calories and 60g of carbs. The day before, I had a homemade cheeseburger with guacamole and salsa and it came out to 670 calories and 30g of carbs. That's why I rarely eat out anymore unless I really plan for it and realize I will have to do some extra workout time to compensate. You play, you pay.

Colexlovely

I didn't realize how much calories were in pasta. I love alfredo and there are sooooo many calories in it.

jerbear1962

Speaking as a chef I can tell you that many restaurants look for those repeat customers by serving extreme servings with added calories and fat. Fat adds flavor...butter adds flavor through FAT....go online and look up 80% of any major restaurant, look at the calorie, fat, carb and sodium counts. Many places with wings will add a bit of salt and butter to their sauce to get you to not only eat more but to want to drink more as well. I figured up on here a meal for a restaurant I worked at years ago and one plate of food was 1600 calories, with 140 grams of fat, 2343 mg sodium and so bad for you...so very bad.

AprilRN10

I generally look it up online before I go if I know I'm going. If I don't know ahead of time, then I stay away from stuff with lots of sauce or fried foods. I do salads a lot. I get dressings on the side.

RainxPain

Always look up a restaurant's nutritional info before going. I go by this: If the place doesn't have nutritional info, either don't go or overestimate.

Nefetete

All the time, but honestly the thing that surprised me more is that some SALADS have more cals / fat then a stake & potato. How the hell does something that should be ‘healthy’ end up being some of the worst choice to make?

jnn0409

OMG Burger King one thing of honey mustard dipping sauce from what I remember was like close to 90 calories!

mgnmsn

applebees chicken fajita rollup with fries..... 1440 calories.... that is just about what i am eating for an entire day.... smh. to think i used to eat that all the time!

SoDamnHungry

Sometimes I'm surprised when the item has less calories than I thought.

codapea

The all you can eat salad at Olive Garden!!! II was shocked to find out that it's practically the worst thing on the menu. I don't know how they could possibly get so much fat, sugar, and sodium in their salad dressing.

ncthomas09

I first noticed it with a salad from applebee's!!! I seriously think there is something like the opposite of the sensa sprinkles that ADDS calories to food!!! I can't imagine how salads, side veggies, etc can be so much higher in calories when you go out to eat than if you were to have prepared the same meal at home!!!

orangelobster

I've been absolutely shocked. Even things that I thought might not be too, too bad turned out to be terrible. It seems that I won't be eating in restaurants too often - at least until I achieve my goals
Very disappointing .

coolraul07

You probably don't want to look up the sodium content on something like that. I've been surprised both ways on nutritional information from restaurants. The "healthy" stuff is loaded with crap you don't even think to worry about and so much of it is just fillers with no real value. The occasional "junk" can surprise you, too. Somehow, two semi- regular tacos at Taco Bell (one Volcano and one Doritos for the #stealataco promo) managed to be one of the least worrisome fast food meals since I've started on here.

*this*
2 weeks ago I was meeting friends for lunch at Chili's. The day before I dl'd the NI menu and went thru it paying especially close attention to sodium (NA). Many of the things that appear relatively OK (even the lower calorie section) have 50-100+% RDA of NA! Of the dozens of entrees, less than half a dozen have less than 1,000 mg NA (roughly 40%DV), and that's before adding dressings, sauces, and sides! I got the Carib. salad... my new fave. Interestingly enough, the tostada chips aren't so bad, just use the salsa very sparingly. Wanna real shock? Look at NA for anything with the word 'buffalo' in it, OMG!
Last week I wanted to treat myself because I worked so long that I neglected to eat much all day. I looked at a couple of fast menu NI menus and Burger King surprised me by having some of the lower NA options. I got a Triple Whopper no pickles/ketchup and it had less than 700mg NA. That 200+ mg less than Wendy's JUNIOR bacon chzburger! I used to eat 2 of those at a time, never again!

Gwilson939

I eat at Applebees every week. I order either 'naked' smallish shrimp (21 pieces=7 oz which is my lean fish portion for the day) not the bigger grilled skewers or I can get 1 'naked' tilapia, a 'naked' salad (I try to get 2 cups) with just a few cherry tomatoes and some chopped cucumbers, and I bring my own seasonings (Mrs Dash) and my own dressing (Wishbone salad spritzers, 10 sprays = 10 calories). I also sometimes order the child's portion of 'naked' broccoli and squeeze a lemon wedge on top of it with some Mrs Dash. I either have ice water or ice tea.
I find that when I order like that, I keep on my plan.

miadhail

So today I went to Chili's with some friends and got Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers, I was expecting it to be bad but got quite the shock when I looked it up later: Crispy Honey-Chipotle Chicken
Calories-1680
Fat-73
Carbs-203
Wow, thank goodness I only ate half, but now I need to convince myself to throw the rest away and be done with it! As I start trying to eat a healthy diet, I need to learn to look things up before I go out to eat!

Hmm, totally out of topic, but I have been hearing a lot of people buzzing about chipotle. What is it, exactly? Lol, Sometimes i feel like I live under a rock or something.

timeforachange2011

Yes! I got a chai latte at Caribou coffee and it had over 500 calories. The mocha my fiance got...over 900 calories!! I couldn't believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!

VelociMama

It is kind of astounding how they fit that many calories into food that when cooked at home is 30-40% fewer calories for even more food. It's some kind of restaurant houdini maneuver.

Sodium content is astoundingly bad too.

Definitely look things up in advance, but if you can't and you want to keep your total calories lower, go for grilled lean meats like fish or chicken and vegetable sides.

Crazy4Healthy

One of the things I loved about visiting NYC, everywhere you go they have the nutritional information listed with each food. I believe they passed a law there or something, but should be required everywhere. Makes it so much easier and just makes sense to me.

Edit: Looks like it was mandated - http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/22/calories.menus/

Also looks like it's going to be required for all (who knows when) - http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/22/calories.menus/

whitelaurel

I went to Chipotle too the other night and got a steak burrito... I looked it up beforehand, so I didn't end up accidentally consuming the whole 880 calories of it (and 96% of my daily sodium intake.) I actually HATE eating out. Except for Red Robin and cheap Chinese buffets, which, hold me down and back, please.

It's expensive and it's bad for you. Always. I went to Denny's once and I remember feeling faint when I realized that my three pancakes were like 1500 calories or something equally obscene.

I have never understood why they put an ice cream scooper full of butter on your pancakes, toast, waffles, etc., when you go out. Do people actually EAT that????????????????!

I hate it. I want to say, "I'm here for LUNCH, not for freaking. Three meals worth of calories in a tiny plate worth of food!"

SomeoneSomeplace

OMG Burger King one thing of honey mustard dipping sauce from what I remember was like close to 90 calories!

Stuff like that gets me too.

Chick Fil A Polynesian Sauce has 100 calories ! No wonder why it tastes so amazing.

I am generally not surprised by thinks at places like Chilli's or Applebee's but I am often surprised by places like Quizno's a veggie sub is over 700 calories, that's more then a Big Mac from Mcdonald's!

My boyfriend worked at Applebees when we lived together and it was awful. I ate so much Spinach Dip I got so fat haha.

ktsmom430

Fortunately, when I began here, I went on line before attempting to visit any restaurant looking for healthy choices before going out to eat. It is truly an eye opener.The sodium content alone is astounding, even on the healthier choices. I very rarely eat out as a result, and when I do, I always pre choose my food before I go, and stick to it.

skarama

Fortunately, when I began here, I went on line before attempting to visit any restaurant looking for healthy choices before going out to eat. It is truly an eye opener.The sodium content alone is astounding, even on the healthier choices. I very rarely eat out as a result, and when I do, I always pre choose my food before I go, and stick to it.

That's actually very smart. I believe that in the US it's becoming a law for restaurants to clearly state nutritional facts for all their meals, or at least in some states, but up here in Canada it seems no one does it. Eating in restaurants + remaining healthy gets that much harder when you don't have a clue what's in your food, I really wish we'd catch up!

cblevitron

The whole entire Outback menu is depressing.

EDesq

Here's My philosophy on eating out. I eat out VERY Seldom (4-5 times a Year), so when I do eat out I use it as a treat/reward sometimes and I Splurge! What's the point of eating something out that I can basically make at home, I eat grilled chicken/turkey burgers/sauteed fish at home...when I go out I'm eating the FRIED Seafood Platter or Half Pound Beef Burger or Steak with Fries and the Best Dessert I can find. 99% of the restaurants in this country CAN NOT do healthy right, so why get disappointed when you get what they have to give? And for those of you that eat out 2/3/4+ times a week, don't fool yourself that you are healthy or eating healthy just because you may keep your weight down, it WILL come back to bite you in the butt!

faylenechung

Yeah, its crazy! That is why I try to look it up prior to going so I know what I am eating.