What is it about Restaurants???

soldiergrl_101
soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I am learning how to cook, and in pops the question...What is it about restaurants. Why is it that the food they make is sooo extremely high in calories, salt, carbs, ect. For example Applebee's...most of their appetizers are 1000 calories alone. Isn't there ingredients or substitutes they could use to make the same tasty dishes but not so high in everything? Granted I know, most restaurants now have the low cal menu but still, why do we have to be limited to five entree's on the menu?

I am genuinely curious because i don't understand how I can make the same dishes at home and everything be so much lower. It doesn't make sense to me.

Replies

  • bethiewilliams
    bethiewilliams Posts: 37 Member
    most food served in restaurants is full of fat to make things taste yummy - cream, oil, butter etc - it all enhances flavour. also portion sizes don't help. At home we would use non stick pans and spray oil or maybe just a little oil to help onions cook, lean cuts of meat and no or half fat cream/crème fraiche but in restaurants they want maximum flavour and that means fat! The tastiest steak will be the one with the marbled fat going through it (rump/sirloin).

    If you are learning to cook - good on you! get a couple of simple recipe books or ask friends for some simple ideas (or better still, look on here - loads of people including me have put recipes on here that are tasty and low cal)

    Good luck to you!

    :)
  • y4k4m4n
    y4k4m4n Posts: 9 Member
    most food served in restaurants is full of fat to make things taste yummy - cream, oil, butter etc - it all enhances flavour. also portion sizes don't help. At home we would use non stick pans and spray oil or maybe just a little oil to help onions cook, lean cuts of meat and no or half fat cream/crème fraiche but in restaurants they want maximum flavour and that means fat! The tastiest steak will be the one with the marbled fat going through it (rump/sirloin).

    If you are learning to cook - good on you! get a couple of simple recipe books or ask friends for some simple ideas (or better still, look on here - loads of people including me have put recipes on here that are tasty and low cal)

    Good luck to you!

    :)

    This.

    They use a lot of fat pretty much everywhere, from salad dressings to cooking meat; it just makes everything taste better.

    But this doesn't mean you shouldn't go to the restaurants once in a while, just forget about dessert, don't eat the sauces in the dishes, avoid fried items, choose grilled meats and most importantly avoid wine/beer as it will make you take poor decisions regarding your diet (in addition to be super caloric)
  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
    Thanks :) I am trying to learn how too cook healthy versions of "dirty" recipes, like how to make low fat cupcakes, and all those indulgences that i want but cant have hahaha
  • gracielynn1011
    gracielynn1011 Posts: 726 Member
    In addition to what Bethie said, restaurant food has to be preserved, and most cases that means packed with salt, until time to cook it. Then they have to add all the fattening ingredients to make it taste better after being packed with salt.

    I used to hate to cook, but I am learning how to take my husband's favorite foods (high fat, high sodium) and make them healthier so that we both love them.

    Also, any time we eat out now I either share my meal with my daughter, or ask for a to go box and pack up half right away. Most restaurant portions are enough for 2 meals anyway.
  • y4k4m4n
    y4k4m4n Posts: 9 Member
    In addition to what Bethie said, restaurant food has to be preserved, and most cases that means packed with salt, until time to cook it. Then they have to add all the fattening ingredients to make it taste better after being packed with salt.

    Well, these sound like ****ty restaurants heating up industrial food; real restaurants don't preserve produce, never heard of that.

    Do yourself a favor and if you go out, at least go to a place where they cook fresh produce. They're not that hard to find :)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    In addition to what Bethie said, restaurant food has to be preserved, and most cases that means packed with salt, until time to cook it. Then they have to add all the fattening ingredients to make it taste better after being packed with salt.

    I used to hate to cook, but I am learning how to take my husband's favorite foods (high fat, high sodium) and make them healthier so that we both love them.

    Also, any time we eat out now I either share my meal with my daughter, or ask for a to go box and pack up half right away. Most restaurant portions are enough for 2 meals anyway.

    if we are talking about applebee's, chilli's etc then yes..

    If we are talking about locally owned or more high end restaurants then no, most of their food is fresh...
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Just as Bethie says, they load in the flavor by using whole products: heavy cream, whole milk, butters, oil, etc... It all adds up. But it isn't like the food at Applebee's will kill you. One Applebee's Appatizer isn't what caused most of us to come here. It was eatting 3 or 4 Applebee's Appatizers at a time.

    And another thing, as said above, is portion size. Most portions at restaurants (not just Applebee's) have larger portion sizes, often times 3 times larger than the actual serving. People want their moneys worth, so restaurants often serve 2-3 servings of extra servings, and that goes for salad dressing servings as well.

    That being said, you can still have your normal entree's you like. But opt to spent the extra $2.95 for the side salad (so you can eat a good rounded meal) and ask for the dressing on the side (so you can control how much goes in) and then half the meal by asking for a to go box right away before the food gets there. Portion off the extra food as soon as you get it into the to go box to take home for lunch the next day.
  • roxylola
    roxylola Posts: 540 Member
    A lot of generic chain type restaurants don't serve the best quality food or employ the best possible chefs. Frequently the food is not actually cooked on site just pulled out of the freezer and reheated or dropped in the deep fat fryer.

    A better restaurant may charge more but you would find less fat cream etc in the meal to provide flavour in place of quality food.

    This does not change the fact that the best steak will have fat in it but a good steak with potatoes and veg will be much better than a cheap steak in a creamy sauce with chips and onion rings.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    How dare Restaurants make their food taste good for the public's enjoyment! LOl seriously though, think about it, would you really got to a place that had crappy food that tasted horrible? I mean these places are providing a service for people so it is expected that they will add ingredients that is going to make the food taste good, and be high caloric..

    However, most of these kinds of places have a "healthy option" menu that is like 500 cals and less...still high sodium though...
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    Spray oil with 0 calories has become one of my best friends.
  • y4k4m4n
    y4k4m4n Posts: 9 Member
    How the hell can oil have 0 calories ?

    BTW some oils are very good for, canola and olive oil for example.
  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
    How dare Restaurants make their food taste good for the public's enjoyment! LOl seriously though, think about it, would you really got to a place that had crappy food that tasted horrible? I mean these places are providing a service for people so it is expected that they will add ingredients that is going to make the food taste good, and be high caloric..

    However, most of these kinds of places have a "healthy option" menu that is like 500 cals and less...still high sodium though...

    I was not disputing how good the food is, its delicious in most cases. I was just curious how come the same food cant be made without the use of high fat ingredients and loads of salt. Of course Ill still eat there :)
  • frankiesgirl21
    frankiesgirl21 Posts: 235 Member
    I'm not at all sure that beer and wine will make you make poor decisions about your food choices at a restaurant. But if you are going to indulge in beer and wine or whatever, you really do need to make smart choices with the food part since we all know that alcoholic beverages are loaded with empty calories and carbs....
  • WhiteRabbit1313
    WhiteRabbit1313 Posts: 1,091 Member
    In addition to what Bethie said, restaurant food has to be preserved, and most cases that means packed with salt, until time to cook it. Then they have to add all the fattening ingredients to make it taste better after being packed with salt.

    Well, these sound like ****ty restaurants heating up industrial food; real restaurants don't preserve produce, never heard of that.

    Do yourself a favor and if you go out, at least go to a place where they cook fresh produce. They're not that hard to find :)

    This, I think, is in reference to chain restaurants, like Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Chili's, etc. Their foods are definitely packed with sodium. One reason is for preservation. Another is because it enhances flavor. I prefer local restaurants, because of this and the fact that the food is usually fresher and better quality, which also enhance the flavor of food.

    For chain restaurants, like steakhouses, you can ask them to grill your steak "clean" or "without butter" and they SHOULD know to refrain from dropping butter, etc. on your steaks. Also, get sauces, gravies, dressings, and condiments, on the side, so you can see how much you're actually eating. Caesar salads, my absolute fave, are the worst on calories. I tend towards wedge salads and scrape off the excess bacon and dressing.

    But yeah, restaurants have to turn a profit and we all know U.S. portion sizes are ridiculously out of control, so learn ways to work around these issues. It CAN be done. I do it daily.
  • knitapeace
    knitapeace Posts: 1,013 Member
    I once heard a chef on TV saying that in his restaurant they start and finish every entree with butter. And this was a pretty high end place if I recall. Butter just gives such a silky mouth feel and that's a big part of our enjoyment of the food. I really like trying to find ways to give the same enjoyment while keeping the calories in check while cooking at home. I use butter almost every day, but nothing like I used to.
  • georgiaTRIs
    georgiaTRIs Posts: 229 Member
    It is hard to go out to eat. I look at the menu and then ask for special foods to be cooked in a special way .. Seems to work for me but I just don't go out that often
  • roxylola
    roxylola Posts: 540 Member
    LOl seriously though, think about it, would you really got to a place that had crappy food that tasted horrible?

    Mcdonalds seem to be making a fair amount of money by doing just this....
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    How dare Restaurants make their food taste good for the public's enjoyment! LOl seriously though, think about it, would you really got to a place that had crappy food that tasted horrible? I mean these places are providing a service for people so it is expected that they will add ingredients that is going to make the food taste good, and be high caloric..

    However, most of these kinds of places have a "healthy option" menu that is like 500 cals and less...still high sodium though...

    I was not disputing how good the food is, its delicious in most cases. I was just curious how come the same food cant be made without the use of high fat ingredients and loads of salt. Of course Ill still eat there :)

    because the majority of the population does to care as long as it tastes good..so there is obviously a market for these kinds of foods...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    LOl seriously though, think about it, would you really got to a place that had crappy food that tasted horrible?

    Mcdonalds seem to be making a fair amount of money by doing just this....

    mcdonalds breakfast - IMO - is pretty freaking good...
  • roxylola
    roxylola Posts: 540 Member
    First I did a double take but I see you are in the states so perhaps you get better choices there. Mcdonalds is a last resort for me, although the breakfast is better than the other meals.
  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
    Ditto what some have said about crappy chain restaurants. Avoid them. How can an Applebee's entree taste the same from one end of the country to another? Mass production and preservatives. If you keep cooking at home and stick to local restaurants with "real" food, soon you won't even like the taste of all that high-sodium preservative-laced crap food. When I end up at one of those places (usually on road trips with hungry, cranky kids and no other choices), I end up eating a bowl of iceberg lettuce, because, while incredibly dull, I can't stomach anything else on the menu.

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