Why hasn't the entire world..

Honestly, though, how hard WOULD it be?

Most restaurants SHOULD have some sort of portioning system in place anyway. You'd just have to measure out the portions once to know what the calorie count/macros are for each dish assuming that your restaurant employees follow the proper portion sizes when cooking the meals.

That is a very good question. However, from your comment I will assume you haven't worked in service industry. The answer is, that it would be extremely hard.

1) You need to be very specific. Something that is hard for most smaller restaurants
2) Most non-chain restaurant menus constantly change. Most on daily bases. It would be a nightmare for them
3) Many restaurants offer their customers the option to customize the orders. Once again, a huge problem there.
4) Many small restaurants aren't really picky about portion size. I know most of the good restaurants I frequent usually give way more than what they consider a typical serving.

Theres a few other reasons but you get the idea. It isn't really easy for smaller businesses

*shrugs*

You know what is good for you and what isnt. If you think McDonalds is "healthy" then clearly there is something weird going on with you to begin with.

Fast food never made anyone fat. The overuse of it did. Fast Food IMO, does not have any obligation to put nutritional labels on anything. Enjoy in moderation. Period.

Very well said.

It only takes common sense to do this.

Pretty sure people were just fine 100's of years ago without nutritional information. (Please don't say food was healthier back then because it wasn't.)

Food isn't healthier currently either. Its our lifestyle that is unhealthy.

Agreed. That's what it is.

Honestly, though, how hard WOULD it be?

Most restaurants SHOULD have some sort of portioning system in place anyway. You'd just have to measure out the portions once to know what the calorie count/macros are for each dish assuming that your restaurant employees follow the proper portion sizes when cooking the meals.

That is a very good question. However, from your comment I will assume you haven't worked in service industry. The answer is, that it would be extremely hard.

1) You need to be very specific. Something that is hard for most smaller restaurants
2) Most non-chain restaurant menus constantly change. Most on daily bases. It would be a nightmare for them
3) Many restaurants offer their customers the option to customize the orders. Once again, a huge problem there.
4) Many small restaurants aren't really picky about portion size. I know most of the good restaurants I frequent usually give way more than what they consider a typical serving.

Theres a few other reasons but you get the idea. It isn't really easy for smaller businesses

Actually, I worked in the service industry from when I was 15 until I was 22 as both a server and a cook lol. I also currently work at a fitness facility and we also portion out all of our meals (rice bowls, wraps and salads) so every one receives the same size meal. When I was cook at (one of) the other restaurants I worked at, we had specific portion sizes for everything we put into our meals (from cheese on nachoes to how many ounces of chicken, etc). We pre-portioned all of our fried foods (like french fries, chicken fingers, pasta) by weight so each person was receiving the same amount of food per meal (i.e., 6 oz of french fries). It really wasn't that hard and didn't involve that much prep work. There is a lot of down time the restaurant during slower hours and the waitresses used to help pre-portion food when it was slow. All a restaurant would need is a weigh scale which costs just a few dollars.

You would only need to calculate the calories in each dish once to know how much was in each meal if everything was pre-portioned the way it should be - a feat that even the smallest of restaurants would be able to do during the training phase of opening their business (when all of the cooks/wait staff are getting trained on how to cook all the meals properly, etc).

And, of course, if you have an overzealous cook who squirts too much sauce on a salad, the nutritional info might be skewed but isn't it the same in restaurants that already do have nutritional info available to their customers (i.e., McDonald's, Applebees, etc)?

I'm still for nutrition labels. It CAN be (not always) the difference between me choosing to eat there or not. I simply like to know (to the best of my ability) what I am putting into my body. With so many deceiving menu items and possible hidden calories, it's the only way I feel confident. Smaller restaurants would see a LOT more of my $$$ if they helped with giving me that confidence. I don't necessarily CARE what the values are (IIFYM) but I need the tool to arrange the rest of my day (or week). Help me splurge responsibly.

Like what was point out before, that stuff takes time and money which usually small resturaunts usually dont have.

I happen to oversee a small restaurant, on the side of my full time job. Part of bring a SUCCESSFUL restaurant is knowing the food cost-OF EVERYTHING we offer. It's not difficult to assess the caloric values at that time at all.

...It's not going to make me leave, I'm still eating there!...

You answered your own question^^^. When it starts hurting busisness, or they realize it can get them more business, they'll put it on there.

I did ask this question not so long ago and someone mentioned smaller, local restaurants and how much of a pain it would be, which I do understand. However, I see no reason why a chain restaurant shouldn't have to do this. Our government is constantly reminding us of our health and weight issues as a nation and doing this would certainly help.

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as 'you know what is healthy'. I have ordered 'the healthy option' before and been shocked later after a little investigation. Sometimes, for the calorie content of a salad, you may as well have had a burger.

I would also like to add that sometimes chain restaurants will put their calorie count on their website. If they can do this, then why not put it on a menu? This isn't always a problem if our meals out are planned in advance, but when we pop into a restaurant on the offchance, it would be nice to not have to sit there googling the menu and calorie content of everything on my phone for 15 minutes before I can order. Believe me, my fiance is never impressed with that.

At the very least, restaurants could offer an 'under 500 calorie' menu, or something similar.

I actually don't want to see the calorie values on the menu at a restaurant. I don't go out often for a meal and when I do I just get what I want and enjoy it and guestimate when I get home.

I want to be able to order without having the calories glaring at me say no no you can't order me - even though I'm delicious and you only have me once every few months, I'm so high in cals it would ruin your day. :noway:

Honestly this feels like a nanny state thing, and not everyone is on a diet or even cares.

Admiral's Feast is one of the most popular items at Red Lobster. If the stats below we're provided, I'd imagine sales would drop. Nutrition summary:
Calories 1280
Fat 73g
Carbs 92g
Sodium 4300 mg
Protein 63g


Source: My fitness pal food tracker

Freakin' A man. It's part of the reason I don't mind McDonald's trips as much as I used to. At least I know what I'm getting there - and it's much more convenient to have it on the menu. Wendys and BK have the info on a plaque to the side, at least.

I like to fit going out meals into my allowance, so I really do rely on the calorie counts.