How do you track restaurant food with no nutrition info?

hannakw
hannakw Posts: 8 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I will be going to a small independent restaurant for dinner tonight, I have checked on their menu online and it has no nutritional info.

Do I skip tracking this evening or guess? I am a little worried about guessing though...

Also what do I order? Chicken or duck? I LOVE duck but is it fattier?

Replies

  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,646 Member
    I try as best I can to "approximate" with another known restaurant's dish that is tracked if possible.
  • JoanaMHill
    JoanaMHill Posts: 265 Member
    I try to go off ingredients from the local grocery store, since it's likely they buy a lot of stuff from there. Of course my town only has two grocery stores with pretty much the same brands so it's easier for me to do than it might be for you.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    I try as best I can to "approximate" with another known restaurant's dish that is tracked if possible.

    This, or order things very specifically, like grilled chicken breast plsin and veggies with no buttery finish.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I used to either find something as similar as possible to what I was eating or just skip logging it altogether and practice intuitive eating. I didn't and don't eat often, so it was never really a big deal.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    I used to either find something as similar as possible to what I was eating or just skip logging it altogether and practice intuitive eating. I didn't and don't eat often, so it was never really a big deal.

    I cannot stop thinking of your pastrami.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Well it depends a lot on how it's cooked.
  • tempehforever
    tempehforever Posts: 183 Member
    I almost always eat at restaurants without nutrition info as there are very few chains in my city (aside from the usual Panera-type lunch places)--and the restaurant scene is so great here I wouldn't eat at them even if they did exist!

    I eat out a few times a week, and just pick something from the food database that looks like its in the general ballpark of what I'm eating. I tend to err on the side over-estimating serving sizes and calories, as I assume there are often hidden oils and butter in most restaurant food. I try to make decent choices (usually) and to stop eating when I'm no longer hungry. Usually. :)
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    I try as best I can to "approximate" with another known restaurant's dish that is tracked if possible.

    This, or order things very specifically, like grilled chicken breast plsin and veggies with no buttery finish.


    But the buttery finish is the best part :cry:
  • Mojoman02
    Mojoman02 Posts: 146 Member
    You can ask the waiter how it's prepared....they can always ask the chefs/cooks.
  • jamebb
    jamebb Posts: 86 Member
    I generally guesstimate what the nutrition info would be if I made it at home, then I multiply that by 1.5 or 2. If you've ever watched any restaurant cooking shows, you'll notice that they use way more oil, salt etc than you'd use at home. This seems to work for me and I'd suggest not stressing too much about it. It's all just an estimate anyway.

    Oh you can also look for similar dishes from chain restaurants which do have calorie counts available.

    eta: eat the duck and enjoy it!
  • redgdon
    redgdon Posts: 2
    Here's how I would look at this. I don't eat out very often, maybe once a month. So my approach to this would be "Let's call it an even 1000 calories". I'd adjust the rest of my daily intake to accommodate and maybe do an extra 10 mins on the rowing machine at the gym. In my mind if your eating out infrequently, who cares. Drop a few calories for the rest of the week and it'll balance out.

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