Restaurants with No Nutrition Info

kyleekay10
kyleekay10 Posts: 1,812 Member
in Food and Nutrition
How do you guys handle eating at restaurants that don't have any nutrition info on MFP or online? My boyfriend lives an area surrounded by 90% NON-chain restaurants, so I can never find nutritional info.

Tonight we're probably going somewhere called "True Foods". There were a few things in the MFP database from there, but absolutely nothing online, so I know the MFP database probably isn't 100% correct.

I run into this issue a lot lately, so I'm just curious what you guys do in these situations.

Replies

  • hananah89
    hananah89 Posts: 692 Member
    I just try and find something in the db that looks close enough and then try and maybe eat under my cals for a couple days. Nothing drastic. You just can't know for sure.
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 604 Member
    What I try to do is stick to more basic foods like fish, chicken, steak that I can possibly come close to... You can also try to find comparable things on MFP... So, if you order chicken marsala from this particular restaurant, there are probably a 1000 choices for that on MFP. Bottom line is it won't really be accurate. I always try to err on the high side. It's safer. Good luck!
  • lambchristie
    lambchristie Posts: 552 Member
    I ask at the restaurant and they typically have something they can show you while you are at the restaurant; but can't take with you.

    I also find something as close as possible in the MFP database ... there are a lot of things under 'generic' and try my best to find something that close to what I am eating.

    I also have made my own recipe based on what I ate .. and save it under my recipes and label it the name of the restaurant/deli and what it was IE "Glenson's White Meat Tuna". I write down the ingredients from the labels at the deli and go from them. Its not exact but I am sure its not that far off either.

    I know its a bummer...even some small chains in my area do not have the info. Its annoying.
  • jasonalvear
    jasonalvear Posts: 72 Member
    For those restaurants, I make it a point to have those be a free meal that I set aside for the week so I don't worry about the calories. As far as fitting them into my daily calorie goal outside of a free meal, if they don't have nutritional info, you can look up something similar, but I just skip it and eat something else that I can track, but that's just me.
  • palmerar
    palmerar Posts: 489 Member
    I would just try to figure out portion size and preparation. Ask your server how big the serving is, and what the preparation is if it's not on the menu. That way you wil have a better guess as far as nutrition goes. You can also do some research if you are unsure of cooking techniques and use recipes similar that do have nutrition info. There really is no way to know for sure....even posted nutrition informaiton is not exact., so try not to worry too much and enjoy your meals!
  • moonshine_betty
    moonshine_betty Posts: 169 Member
    I eat out a lot and rarely ever at chain restaurants so I run into this issue often. MFP's database is actually fairly extensive so sometimes I get lucky and find items close to what I ate in the database so I use that. Other times, I just guesstimate based on what's in what I'm eating. I still lose weight despite doing this so I don't fret; calorie counting can never be 100% accurate.
  • ritchiedrama
    ritchiedrama Posts: 1,304 Member
    I just don't record it, or add 1,000-2,000 calories.

    It doesn't really matter, one day won't hurt, even two days won't hurt. It takes months to get fat.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    What I try to do is stick to more basic foods like fish, chicken, steak that I can possibly come close to... You can also try to find comparable things on MFP...

    I used to think this, until I found out a Texas Roadhouse Grilled Chicken breast had 1000 calories. If you get a plain grilled chicken breast at another place, it may only have 250 calories. Food is prepared differently everywhere. Even chain restaurants sometimes get there food from different distributors..

    It's best to just enjoy your meal out and get in some extra exercise or count it as a cheat day.
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    Find something close in the database and provide yourself a bit of a buffer. A local non-chain restaurant to me had a special of a smoked salmon and cream cheese quiche that I had to have. Lo and behold, there was a Barefoot Contessa version in the database.
  • frenchfacey
    frenchfacey Posts: 237 Member
    i just let go. cuz i have zero control of those meals

    sometimes i assume, or add quick cals but i just...let go...and just enjoy

    what else can you do?
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    Log it to the best of your ability one ingredient at a time. It's really not that hard--I do it all of the time. Sure, it's an estimate but it really gets you to think about what is really in your food.

    Also, congrats for eating at a lot of non-chains. It's good to support the small family owned restaurants and restaurants that actually cook and make things from scratch (versus some of the "Casual Family Dining" chains that do nothing more than microwave food in plastic bags).
  • UrbanLotus
    UrbanLotus Posts: 1,163 Member
    I never ever eat at chains, so I try to limit eating out as much as I can. When I do, I pre-plan - eat light the rest of the day, workout, etc. Get something that doesn't sound too heavy and try to estimate calories by googling. And then I let it go, thats all you can do - this is a lifestyle change and I'm not going to stop going out to eat, so it is what it is.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    i just let go. cuz i have zero control of those meals

    sometimes i assume, or add quick cals but i just...let go...and just enjoy

    what else can you do?

    You can log it one item at a time. It's not that hard.

    Last night I ate out for Boston Restaurant Week.

    I had a green salad with three types of beans and some grilled trout, one glass of wine, and a pana cotta for dessert. Sure, it's an estimate but not hard to log a restaurant meal at all.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    I never ever eat at chains, so I try to limit eating out as much as I can. When I do, I pre-plan - eat light the rest of the day, workout, etc. Get something that doesn't sound too heavy and try to estimate calories by googling. And then I let it go, thats all you can do - this is a lifestyle change and I'm not going to stop going out to eat, so it is what it is.

    You've got a great approach!
  • ptbodacious
    ptbodacious Posts: 65 Member
    I am fortunate to live in a very small town, and we eat out constantly, so I get with the cook and/or the owner and get a list of ingredients and amounts for the dishes I like so I can calculate the nutritional info. I find that if you talk to them during "off" hours when they aren't crazy busy, most of them are more than happy to help. Of course, as it's small town America and they all pretty much know me and know how much weight I've lost in the last 14 months, they aren't worried that I'm trying to steal their recipes, etc. :laugh:
  • kyleekay10
    kyleekay10 Posts: 1,812 Member
    Also, congrats for eating at a lot of non-chains. It's good to support the small family owned restaurants and restaurants that actually cook and make things from scratch (versus some of the "Casual Family Dining" chains that do nothing more than microwave food in plastic bags).

    I definitely like going to the smaller "Mom & Pop" stores. A lot of the time their food is MUCH better than chain restaurants, and I do like knowing I'm supporting a local business. :)

    These are all good ideas, thanks guys. I quick added 750 cals for dinner, and since this is supposed to be a super healthy restaurant, I'm sure whatever I get will fall into that range. It just sucks that I can't estimate my macros; protein is my biggest focus, and I don't like seeing the number so low.

    I almost wish providing nutritional information was a requirement for EVERY restaurant... it would make life so much easier! I'd also eat less bad food on "accident". I looked at my normal go-to meal at the Olive Garden recently, and was shocked that it had over 1,000 calories. And the McDonald's in my area now have calorie information right on the menu, so when I "have to" eat fast food, I know exactly what I'm getting right off the bat.
  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
    How do you guys handle eating at restaurants that don't have any nutrition info on MFP or online? My boyfriend lives an area surrounded by 90% NON-chain restaurants, so I can never find nutritional info.
    I just find something closeish in the database, but you also kind of have to eyeball the size and ingredients to try to find something comparable, because something like 'chicken tenders' or 'greek salad' can vary by a huge amount!
    I almost wish providing nutritional information was a requirement for EVERY restaurant...
    It's expensive to do for the small restaurants and because their food is (often) less 'we purchased this from sysco' you are probably getting fewer calories anyway. Just log close and enjoy!
  • rabblerabble
    rabblerabble Posts: 471 Member
    You just have to guess at it. Our family frequently goes to a local family diner called Jim's that has a half dozen or so locations and isn't big enough to have a website with precise nutrition information. (Much rather go there than to some chain with 100s of locations scattered all over the country). Good comfort food at a reasonable price.

    I try to eat sensibly and try to build as healthy a meal as I can. I don't know the precise number of calories my grilled salmon, plain baked potato, and dinner salad with dressing on the side had the other day, but it certainly was less than the calories in the bacon cheeseburger and fries another family member had.
  • Miiimii
    Miiimii Posts: 279 Member
    I just log all ingredients of my meal seperatly. I'm pretty good in estimating the weight of food and I always log a bit more than I guess. I never eat in restaurant chains, so I always have to do it like that and it works quiet good for me.
  • emAZn
    emAZn Posts: 413 Member
    I live in AZ and True Foods is supposed to be this crazy healthy restaurant. All the people at my work eat there at least a couple times a week. Unfortunatley "heathy" doesn't mean "low calorie". Just be careful about things like aoili (fancy word soaked in a sauce) and pesto (fancy word for soaked in oil).
  • TheNavet
    TheNavet Posts: 162 Member
    As I'm currently on holiday and eating out often I run in that issue very (daily!) often. I usually list the most obvious ingredients (eg: chicken) and add about a couple of tbsp oil depending on how oily the dish felt. Afterwards, I also try to search for foods which are fairly close to what I ate (eg: tzatziky) as I definitely wouldn't even try to estimate how much of what or what went into that specific food.
  • kyleekay10
    kyleekay10 Posts: 1,812 Member
    I live in AZ and True Foods is supposed to be this crazy healthy restaurant. All the people at my work eat there at least a couple times a week. Unfortunatley "heathy" doesn't mean "low calorie". Just be careful about things like aoili (fancy word soaked in a sauce) and pesto (fancy word for soaked in oil).

    Ah, good to know. Glad to hear some feedback from someone in AZ. :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You try and figure out something that won't be too bad... and hope they won't cook it in oil or something, lol.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member

    I almost wish providing nutritional information was a requirement for EVERY restaurant... it would make life so much easier!

    The cost involved in doing that according to FDA standards would kill small businesses.

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