Restaurant Shame List
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CPK has the best salads... I go for the 1/2 Miso Salad with Shrimp... under 500 calories!!!
Cheesecake Factory has a fabulous menu called "Skinnylicious"... really good stuff and still big portions
I agree TGIF should just burn down. Even if I wanted fatty foods, I wouldn't pick that craptastic chain
Applebees is GROSS with a capital G
Fried Chicken Places: KFC, Popeye's and Cane's
Here's one that needs to go away: Long John Silvers..... WTF is this?
See I like Applebees because they at least make a token effort. Their under 550 menu has a few options and is actually pretty good. The Sirloin and Garlic Shrimp is actually pretty good IMO (other than the Sodium which of course is something all restaurants seem to have issues with).
I was just thinking of Applebees. I love their peppercorn steak with double steamed veggies. It is about 600 calories if I splurge and get a little butter for the veggies, but not too bad if I have prepared for a meal out. And usually I can only finish half of the steak anyway!
Applebee's has gotten in trouble many, many times with the FDA for their caloric value being completely incorrect. They are repeat offenders. They advertise food that is truly 1000+ calories as only being 500. Not all of them do this, but most of the ones in my area have been fined repeatedly for doing this. Just thought you might want to know.
I take back what I said about them then. I had no clue. Thanks for opening my eyes.
Like I said, the ones in your area might be totally legit with their calorie counts. But when they had their deal with WW (don't know if they still do) they were taken to court atleast twice by the FDA for mislabeling and misleading. But honestly, all restaurants could be doing that. Applebee's is just one that got caught.0 -
No one forces anyone to buy or eat any of the entrees, so who really cares if a menu is chock full of high cal choices
I agree with this guy, I have been overweight all my life and it's because I chose to eat ridiculous. We all know that getting a combo large sized with fries and a coke packs on an extra 500 or so calories but we order it because we want to. I am glad restaurants have jumped on a healthier option menu though. Plus saying portion size is out of control is silly, don't eat it all take half home....I know I couldn't do that before getting on this site and watching my portion size but now it's easier to do.0 -
Cheesecake Factory. They have a new "skinny" menu but their regular menu is horrible... and so good...
Chilli's is bad too. I mean their Caesar Salad has over 1000 calories, how is that possible?
And blooming onions are amazing. Whenever we go to outback and order one my diet goes to ****. My family is a big fan of appetizers. So even if I order a healthy meal that's where I get in trouble.
Also the 99's calories are pretty crazy. There's 2200 calories in their Chicken Parm...650 in their kids pasta... crazy crazy crazy.
But honestly who finishes an entire meal at a restaurant when the portions are that insane?
OOOH QUIZNOS A veggie sub has more calories than a Big Mac FACT0 -
you should take a look at dominos pasta bread bowls..... pasta in a bowl of bread CARB OVERLOAD
Pizza in general is deadly and kills my diet at least twice a month. And frozen pizza is just as bad. It makes me sad.
TGI friday's has some decent choices, but their sodium counts are bad. I wish they had better choices w/appetizers. Often times I do an appetizer and that's it.
Buffalo Wild Wings and Quaker Stake are horrible too.0 -
At TGIF I get the petite sirloin, broccoli, and tomato mozzarella salad. It might not be the healthiest food ever, but I'm there less than once a month. Applebee's is harder because I love the chicken fajita roll up and buffalo bites. At least I don't eat the 4 appetizer sampler as a meal anymore0
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Cheesecake Factory.
Seriously. In the "Eat This, Not That" book they have like 3 or 4 dishes under the top 20 worst (calorie and nutrient) dishes in the US.0 -
This is shaping up to look more like a Restaurant Awesome List than a Restaurant Shame List.
The reason these restaurants are so successful is b/c they make food that people want to buy. If they started serving lots of healthy food w/o as much butter and salt they'd be out of business in a week. The restaurants are simply a reflection of the average American's preferred tastes!
It's pointless to try and eat healthy at these restaurants. So I find it best to just eat very low calorie all day long (or just fast) and then pig out at the restaurant. If I'm going to cheesecake factory, then I'll usually run 5-6 miles in addition to eating very little food up until dinner.0 -
Sadly, Buffalo Wild Wings. Ordered a wrap and it was still 850 calories0
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I love CPK! A half salad makes a good and tasty meal. I also like splitting a thin crust pizza (chicken, spinach, artichoke) Yum. But, these are for treat days, not a daily thing. And, yes, the sodium in every restaurant meal is crazy high.0
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I eat lean cuisine pizza. It's not health food by any means, but where else can you have a personal pizza for under 500 calories?0
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I eat half of my restaurant meals..... the football player in my profile LOVES leftovers for breakfast!0
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I heard that omelets from IHOP actually have pancake batter in the eggs "to make them fluffier" and it makes the calorie count insane.
Also getting a salad almost anywhere is more than you expect. The one time I didn't look up a quesadilla explosion salad before I ate it, I ate the entire salad, and it ended up being 1200 calories!
Chipolte - I get the burrito bowl, and add fajita veggies & no sour cream or guacamole, I get 2 meals out of the bowl, each about 350 calories0 -
The only places around here that I stay away from are Hardees and Five Guys. I'm in the mecca of bbq (my opinion anyway) and even the bbq joints can fix you up with something relatively healthy. Hardees was obviously built by a very jaded woman that wants to see all men dead by the age of 40.0
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As long as a restaurant makes some effort to post/list the calories and macros in their foods, they're A-OK in my book.
Chilis has a Margarita chicken dish that is VERY macro friendly, and tastes baller.
Chili's Margarita chicken is so freaking good. And it's only 550 calories for the chicken, rice, black beans, torilla strips, and pico. :drinker:
Much better than anything on their "lighter" options menu, in my opinion.0 -
Cracker Barrel, for refusing to give out nutrition info beyond 'we don't know, it varies from serving to serving, so why bother worrying about it." (only slightly paraphrased)
I only go to Cracker Barrel for a splurge meal. Not because they don't show their calories, but when I go someplace like that, I want to be able to order whatever I want. Country Fried Chicken, Fried Okra, Mac and Cheese, and Biscuits.... MMMMMM.0 -
5 Guys...so good, so bad!0
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In some ways, it's easier to eat at chain restaurants than it is to eat at non-chain, especially ones serving ethnic foods or are high end. At least you can decode the menu and find substitutions with the familiar. Some of the other ones, you're just sitting there going WTF?0
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CPK has the best salads... I go for the 1/2 Miso Salad with Shrimp... under 500 calories!!!
Cheesecake Factory has a fabulous menu called "Skinnylicious"... really good stuff and still big portions
I agree TGIF should just burn down. Even if I wanted fatty foods, I wouldn't pick that craptastic chain
Applebees is GROSS with a capital G
Fried Chicken Places: KFC, Popeye's and Cane's
Here's one that needs to go away: Long John Silvers..... WTF is this?
See I like Applebees because they at least make a token effort. Their under 550 menu has a few options and is actually pretty good. The Sirloin and Garlic Shrimp is actually pretty good IMO (other than the Sodium which of course is something all restaurants seem to have issues with).
I agree. Their under 550 menu does have some good options, again with the exception of sodium. My boyfriend's parents prefer chains so its nice to see some better options on the menu like these.0 -
there are healthy options at these place but any food not made at home leads to high calories, just have to choose wisely. I will look at the menu online before i go to see what will work for what i need that day in calories. Also we dont have to eat the whole meal, cut it in half, but this can be a hard thing to do at times. I find it easier to just eat at home and avoid the whole temptation.0
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Cracker Barrel, for refusing to give out nutrition info beyond 'we don't know, it varies from serving to serving, so why bother worrying about it." (only slightly paraphrased)
I only go to Cracker Barrel for a splurge meal. Not because they don't show their calories, but when I go someplace like that, I want to be able to order whatever I want. Country Fried Chicken, Fried Okra, Mac and Cheese, and Biscuits.... MMMMMM.
I haven't been it probably years, but I always get breakfast.. pancakes, eggs, toast, hash browns, mmmm .. they have the BEST breakfast!!0
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