Will all restaurants have to list their calorie info??

Options
13

Replies

  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
    Options
    I wish more restaurants listed nutritional information. I'd probably feel better about eating out if they did

    This.

    Maybe it's just laziness, but I am starting to seek out places that are easy to log.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Options
    Cheesecake Factory grilled chicken and avocado club sandwich. Sounds decent, right? 1752 calories. That's a whole day for most people here, including a big guy like myself. Add in drinks, appetizer, and bread and we're at 3k pretty easily.

    Here's a link to the ET, NT page on on CF

    eatthis.menshealth.com/restaurants/cheesecake-factory

    Well, who are we saying it sounds decent for? The average human that's eating at drive-thrus constantly or someone who has gotten informed about this?

    I wouldn't order that thinking it sounds decent. Avocado is calorie dense, then the word "club" which usually means bacon, condiments probably include mayo, I'm sure it comes with a LARGE side of fries and I'm sure the sandwich is already a 2 person portion size. And someone making calorie conscious decisions probably wouldn't be getting the drinks, appetizer, or bread.
  • jmkmomm
    jmkmomm Posts: 3,247 Member
    Options
    I don't know if it is true or not but my dietician at the hospital where I have been getting my diabtic training said that with the new 'Obamacare' that all chain resturuants that have 20 or more in their chain will have to have their nutritional data public. I do know that Cracker Barrell did theirs this week.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Options
    Cheesecake Factory grilled chicken and avocado club sandwich. Sounds decent, right? 1752 calories. That's a whole day for most people here, including a big guy like myself. Add in drinks, appetizer, and bread and we're at 3k pretty easily.

    Here's a link to the ET, NT page on on CF

    eatthis.menshealth.com/restaurants/cheesecake-factory

    Well, who are we saying it sounds decent for? The average human that's eating at drive-thrus constantly or someone who has gotten informed about this?

    I wouldn't order that thinking it sounds decent. Avocado is calorie dense, then the word "club" which usually means bacon, condiments probably include mayo, I'm sure it comes with a LARGE side of fries and I'm sure the sandwich is already a 2 person portion size. And someone making calorie conscious decisions probably wouldn't be getting the drinks, appetizer, or bread.

    I think you're making some very optimistic assumptions about the human race. Have you visited our forums lately?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,526 Member
    Options
    Chain restaurants in CA do.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Options
    Cheesecake Factory grilled chicken and avocado club sandwich. Sounds decent, right? 1752 calories. That's a whole day for most people here, including a big guy like myself. Add in drinks, appetizer, and bread and we're at 3k pretty easily.

    Here's a link to the ET, NT page on on CF

    eatthis.menshealth.com/restaurants/cheesecake-factory

    Well, who are we saying it sounds decent for? The average human that's eating at drive-thrus constantly or someone who has gotten informed about this?

    I wouldn't order that thinking it sounds decent. Avocado is calorie dense, then the word "club" which usually means bacon, condiments probably include mayo, I'm sure it comes with a LARGE side of fries and I'm sure the sandwich is already a 2 person portion size. And someone making calorie conscious decisions probably wouldn't be getting the drinks, appetizer, or bread.

    I think you're making some very optimistic assumptions about the human race. Have you visited our forums lately?

    You had to go there? That was a cheap shot. You win. :sad:

    P.S. My inbox is still empty, Dave.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Options
    You want misleading? I'll give you misleading:

    Cheesecake Factory's Crispy Chicken Costoletta - According to the menu, it's a chicken breast lightly breaded and sautéed to a crispy golden brown. It is served with a lemon sauce, mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus.

    Doesn't sound too bad right?

    According to CSPI, it also has 2,610 calories, more than a 12-piece bucket of original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, and 4½ days' worth of saturated fat (that's over 90 grams).


    Putting that information on a menu would probably keep people from ordering it. In NYC most places have to post calories. I love it

    Wait a sec. Misleading?

    How could anyone be mislead into the belief that something would be low in cals in a place called "Cheesecake Factory"?

    This. Well said. Be like walking into KFC & expecting their chicken to be grilled lightly in a pan with no oil.
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
    Options
    Why do so many places still not have their calorie info available? Drives me nuts lol! Eating at Cheddar's next weekend and it would be nice to be able to plan ahead!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/cheddars-cafe

    took about 3 seconds.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    Options
    You want misleading? I'll give you misleading:

    Cheesecake Factory's Crispy Chicken Costoletta - According to the menu, it's a chicken breast lightly breaded and sautéed to a crispy golden brown. It is served with a lemon sauce, mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus.

    Doesn't sound too bad right?

    According to CSPI, it also has 2,610 calories, more than a 12-piece bucket of original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, and 4½ days' worth of saturated fat (that's over 90 grams).


    Putting that information on a menu would probably keep people from ordering it. In NYC most places have to post calories. I love it

    I have to back the coach's play in this one.

    Without the nutrition information, no amount of education can help you make the right choices at restaurants. Sticking with his Cheesecake Factory example, the average salad in that place is around 1600 cal. I order a cheeseburger there for 750 cals and my friends think I'm indulging when I'm eating less than half the calories they are.

    Choices that seem safe at restaurants are coated in high calorie sauces and oils that bump the calories to levels you would never guess. That said, CF is the most egregious example and is voted worst restaurant in America year after year in the ET,NT books.

    I think that's once again, lack of education. I can't even tell you how many times I've been with people who ordered a cobb or cheff salad or a salad with pieces of fried chicken on it with a creamy mayo based dressing and think that it's "healthy or low-calorie." Hell, I used to be one of those people. Oh, it's on the lighter menu so it must be healthy! But then I educated myself and realized just how many calories really are in things and how much these all add up to. You can ask for a salad with grilled chicken, veggies, etc. I've learned that when I cook food, I use minimal oil and/or other cooking foods because I'm aware of how they add up and realize that restaraunts are cooking their foods almost always in a large amount of oil and butter.

    Oh. & *hands Dave a bar of soap*
    Who goes to the Cheesecake Factory to get a grilled chicken salad? If a meal blows your macros for the rest of the day, then deal with it.

    They should post all nutritional information. That gives me a rough estimate of my macro allotment for the day. Regardless people are going to get whatever they want.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Options
    Thank God we don't have a Cheesecake Factory here!!


    Why?If you did are you forced into walking into the shop? We have plenty here near where I am... yet I've never walked into one...even when I was bigger.

    Just cause it's there, does not mean you HAVE to go there.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Options
    The MFP database is fairly comprehensive. I don't usually have any trouble finding some at least close to what I've eaten.
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    Options
    You want misleading? I'll give you misleading:

    Cheesecake Factory's Crispy Chicken Costoletta - According to the menu, it's a chicken breast lightly breaded and sautéed to a crispy golden brown. It is served with a lemon sauce, mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus.

    Doesn't sound too bad right?

    According to CSPI, it also has 2,610 calories, more than a 12-piece bucket of original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, and 4½ days' worth of saturated fat (that's over 90 grams).


    Putting that information on a menu would probably keep people from ordering it. In NYC most places have to post calories. I love it

    Yes, CSPI does say that it has 2,610 calories. And their xteeme eating 2013 report claims their number comes from Cheesecake Factory itself:
    So you might be a tad surprised to learn that, according to the company, the meal packs 2,610 calories (more than a day’s worth), 89 grams of saturated fat (enough for almost a full work week), and 2,720 milligrams of sodium (your limit for today and most of tomorrow). In fact, the dish has more calories than any steak, chop, or burger meal on The Cheesecake Factory’s menu.

    http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/extreme_eating_2013.pdf

    Butt the Cheesecake Factory website lists it at 1290 calories.

    http://www.cheesecakefactorynutrition.com/restaurant-nutrition-chart.php?

    The CSPI claim is incredible and probably wrong.
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    Options
    I will say that the Cheesecake Factory nutrition info site is among the worst I've seen. More n/a than numbers.
  • Amazon_Who
    Amazon_Who Posts: 1,092 Member
    Options
    I went to a restaurant last month and asked if they put anything on their steamed vegetable. The waitress said just some seasoning. The seasoning turned out to be butter. :grumble:
  • lotusspark
    lotusspark Posts: 368
    Options
    I feel the same way but have limited my restaurant eating so it effects me less than it used to.
  • 3tmom3t
    3tmom3t Posts: 44 Member
    Options
    Went to Cheddar's tonight. I asked for nutritional info and they couldn't give me anything....waitress told me to look online. I did and nothing MFP has some things listed but it is a hodge-podge of their menu. I ended up ordering the vegetable plate...side salad with four vegetable sides and a croissant. I could tell there was butter on all the vegetables, and I did taste the croissant, but it was way to rich for me. Not going back until they have healthier options and nutritional information.
  • monicalosesweight
    monicalosesweight Posts: 1,173 Member
    Options
    You want misleading? I'll give you misleading:

    Cheesecake Factory's Crispy Chicken Costoletta - According to the menu, it's a chicken breast lightly breaded and sautéed to a crispy golden brown. It is served with a lemon sauce, mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus.

    Doesn't sound too bad right?

    According to CSPI, it also has 2,610 calories, more than a 12-piece bucket of original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, and 4½ days' worth of saturated fat (that's over 90 grams).


    Putting that information on a menu would probably keep people from ordering it. In NYC most places have to post calories. I love it

    I completely agree with you. I recently showed some of the kids in my class some pictures about that very topic (we must have read the same one - they posted a picture of this dish) and asked them to guess the calories. They were stunned when I told them. People don't know how unhealthy food can be. Heck, a lot of people don't even have an idea of how many calories they need to eat on a daily basis.

    I even read about a chef recently who started retooling his recipes because he gained a ton of weight and started realizing he needed to make changes. Based on just that, I think it is possible to eat right - just restaurants (and chefs) need to start making food healthier or in proper proportions with sides that would lower the calories. Heck, I love fajitas but I don't need 20 ounces of steak for a fajita meal. I get annoyed when I ask for a steak and broccoli and they put like 3 florets on the side...common...give me more veggies!

    Monica

    P.S. No where does that indicate they included the mashed potatoes and additional sides....I suspect that's the calories for JUST the chicken. The mashed potatoes are on the list at 560 calories. I added the mashed potatoes and asparagus and it's still around 2000 calories.....WAY above what I'd eat in a day unless I were on the treadmill for two insane hours.
  • luvs2teachincali
    luvs2teachincali Posts: 207 Member
    Options
    I'm in So Cal and all the big chains, fast food or otherwise, have calories posted so I assume it's the law. Your local mom and pop shops DO NOT have it posted. My husband looked it up and found out that if the place has X number of employees OR more they have to post calories. I guess it was their way of letting the little guys get away with not listing them. Having calories listed at TGIF's, Chili's, and so on has helped us to NOT eat out nearly as often because we DO feel guilty. But.... it's about accountability. Before, we had no idea how many calories we were eating. We really like being able to make better, more informed decisions.
  • jmkmomm
    jmkmomm Posts: 3,247 Member
    Options
    Cheddar's is one of my husbands favorite places to go. We go there every Friday. I hate it. I love the food but I have so much difficulty finding something that I can fit in my diet. I am getting tired of chicken or salad. They do have a wonderful club and I have it without the salad dressing, and take some other things off, can't remember what.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    Options
    I love having nutritional info available. If a company doesn't care enough about me to provide that info. I don't care enough about them to buy their products. (Small, local places exempted of course. A lot of the little guys will provide ingredient lists and cook to order if you have dietary restrictions.)

Categories