Let's not wait on nutrition

tipusnr

Why wait for the government to tell restaurant's that they have to make nutrition information available? Many of these restaurants have websites as well as social networking pages where we can ask - in public - "What's so difficult about providing nutrition information? Don't you know what's in your recipes?" Or maybe less aggressively "Where can I find the nutritional information on your menu items so I can continue to patronize your fine establishment?"

I just did this sort of thing on Tumbleweed's Facebook page and got a response saying that they didn't have the nutritional info on all their menu items but, if I told them which item I was looking for, they would try to get it for me.

If enough of us do this - they'll get the message!

MTGirl

Great idea!

rmccully

I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS AND HAVE GOTTEN NO WHERE WITH IT.

aippolito1

Some places are just stubborn so we've gotta just keep at it and hopefully it'll get us somewhere!!

tipusnr

Sent my request to the website comment section that their e-mail hot-linked to. Asked for the nutrition for my main course and told them that I hoped to get a positive response as this was starting to look like a run around.

What do you think about using this thread to list companies you've written to for nutrition information and their response?

I was kind of upset yesterday when I went on a couple of nutrition sites that I used to use and could not get on without giving them my cell phone number. What's up with that?

amy1612

I went to a really great restaurant last week called Gusto, and though they didnt list ALL the nutritional value of every item, they did have a healthy living menu with calories,etc listed. It gives people the chance to make an informed choice about what they choose. I had all 3 of my courses from the healthy living menu,and it was great to know that my "blow out" of a 3 course meal came to only 1125 calories (minus wine).

lotusfromthemud

I think it is true that restaurants need to be a bit more forthcoming.

But, a caveat for this (as an ex-sous chef): anything you get will be an estimate at best. There's a lot of user error/user adjustment in how your food is prepared, and restaurant kitchen calories will add up quickly. If your sandwich has a condiment/sauce on it, and you get it prepared by the heavy-handed guy, that can add a few hundred calories. When I made a pasta dish that just didn't look right, my instructions were to add a "tab" (about half a tablespoon) of butter to it. Culinary school in two seconds: butter fixes everything.

Long (slightly depressing) story short: if you want to know how many calories, etc are in your food, make it yourself.

Sorry for being a negative Nelly.

kdiamond

I boycott restaurants that don't display their nutritional information (except mom and pop type places). I figure, if they can't share, it must be so bad I don't want to eat there anyway.

tipusnr

No problem with the negativism! You've provided good information. Unfortunately, I don't have time to cook as much as I used to (especially with cycling season in full bore) and my wife can't get the cooking for two not six figured out. (I don't mind eating the same dishes often but not back-to-back for three days and things that make it into the freezer often hide and are not seen for several years!)

tipusnr

No problem with the negativism! You've provided good information. Unfortunately, I don't have time to cook as much as I used to (especially with cycling season in full bore) and my wife can't get the cooking for two not six figured out. (I don't mind eating the same dishes often but not back-to-back for three days and things that make it into the freezer often hide and are not seen for several years!)

Sorry for the repeat reply. The server took so long to reply that I didn't think the first one went through.

lotusfromthemud

No problem with the negativism! You've provided good information. Unfortunately, I don't have time to cook as much as I used to (especially with cycling season in full bore) and my wife can't get the cooking for two not six figured out. (I don't mind eating the same dishes often but not back-to-back for three days and things that make it into the freezer often hide and are not seen for several years!)

Sorry for the repeat reply. The server took so long to reply that I didn't think the first one went through.

True, we don't always have time to cook. I just wanted everyone to know that bit of "insider info"...just so they're not cutting it down to a wire counting restaurant food.

Everytime I eat out, I log the food, and two tablespoons of butter, because I know it's in there. That being said, holding restaurants accountable would make them snap to a bit more consistency in the kitchen.

tipusnr

Bob Evans has a heck of a neat nutrition area on their menu site!

Cathyvil

About a month ago I asked Bertuccis, through their website, to provide nutritional info for my meal. I never even got a reply back. Coupled with hearing other bad reviews with them for this topic, I don't see myself eating there very often. Which is sad because it's where my boss and I usually go to lunch when we need uninterrupted brainstorming time. And of course they have the best rolls ever *drools* :laugh:

sendmoretigers

send them another e-mail telling them what you just told us and start taking your money elsewhere (preferably a local farmer's market!!! but anywhere else will make the point) i brought up in another forum that even mcdonald's responded to pressure when it was combined with a drop in revenue. corporations do not care for you or your health but they are very mindful of their revenue and that is a vanity of theirs that can be exploited!

Nich0le

Ok, restaurants that don't provide nutritional data and those that do still consider most of their "healthy" options to be healthy if they contain around 700 calories. As a former restaurant owner and wife of a chef I can tell you that what most people think is healthy is usually the worst thing on the menu for them. Yes you can boycott, you can email, txt, etc and hopefully they will start to listen. Yes, their info is basically an estimate but it is always good to have an idea what you are looking at calorie wise.

Be a smart diner, know that meat portions are typically twice what a person should be eating in one meal, veggies are usually drenched in butter (that's how they make 'em shiney!) and side salads are about all the veggies and fatty dressing you need in a day. But I have a feeling you all know that.

Many "mom n pop" places are trying to provide healthier options but we expect to get huge portions of food and when they fall short of filling the plate people feel "ripped off". When we go out to eat, a family of four, we pick two entrees, no appetizers and split the meal. If anyone is still hungry we go home and have some fruit.

As far as "not having time to cook", I used to think the same way and I have found that if I pick one day over the weekend and plan on spending two hours in the kitchen I can prepare a whole weeks worth of meals and lunches (without the chef's help) Crock pots are wonderful wonderful tools to have available and you can make two or three meals and make a little extra and have leftovers during the week. I think people would be surprised how little effort it takes with a little planning to eat better.