Have you been surprised by the nutrition of restaurant food?

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michellew91
michellew91 Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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!
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Replies

  • mjrkearney
    mjrkearney Posts: 408 Member
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    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
    FJcntdwn2sknyluv Posts: 651 Member
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    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
    KeltaRose Posts: 44
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    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
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Applebee's Fiesta chicken. Grilled chicken, rice. Good choice, right? Nope over 1000 calories.
  • polishmehappy
    polishmehappy Posts: 92 Member
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    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
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,143 Member
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    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
    Colexlovely Posts: 133 Member
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    I didn't realize how much calories were in pasta. I love alfredo and there are sooooo many calories in it.
  • jerbear1962
    jerbear1962 Posts: 1,157 Member
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    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
    AprilRN10 Posts: 548 Member
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    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
    RainxPain Posts: 152
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    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
    Nefetete Posts: 343 Member
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    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
    jnn0409 Posts: 171 Member
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    OMG Burger King one thing of honey mustard dipping sauce from what I remember was like close to 90 calories!
  • mgnmsn
    mgnmsn Posts: 133 Member
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    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
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    Sometimes I'm surprised when the item has less calories than I thought.
  • codapea
    codapea Posts: 182 Member
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    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
    ncthomas09 Posts: 322 Member
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    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
    orangelobster Posts: 151
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    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
    coolraul07 Posts: 1,606 Member
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    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
    Gwilson939 Posts: 37 Member
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    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
    miadhail Posts: 383 Member
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    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.

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