Restaurants with no Nutritional Info

1992Leigh1992
1992Leigh1992 Posts: 100 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm just curious as to what others here do when going to a restaurant that isn't a chain or Franchise and has no nutrition table.
Or when going to dinner at other's houses.
I have dinner with family once per week and eat out maybe once per fortnight.
It isn't something that worries me, I am just wondering if/how others on this site try to track this.

Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,341 Member
    Woith restaurants, I either save enough calories throughout the day that it doesn't really matter what I eat, or, if say it's unexpected and I need to eat out I'll order something like a steak with vegies because they can pretty much always tell me what the steak weights and I can guestimate the rest.

    Eating at friends houses can be a bit harder but again, I just try to keep the days calories low and then enjoy it, or I move extra the next day.
  • katebowen37
    katebowen37 Posts: 55 Member
    I order something I know the preparation of at a restaurant. Burgers are a no-go. Many places cook them in oil so they don't stick to the grill. I'll eat chicken or fish (salad, sandwich, whatever) and a side of fruit, veggies or soup. Then I go in MFP and add all ingredients separately. It's not perfect, but it will get close.

    Friends house is harder. Mostly, I guestimate my portions and conversate, "This is great, how do you make it?" I'll pick up invisible ingredients that way. "Oh, wow, a whole cup of butter? It's great, no... I don't need seconds."
  • Renneke
    Renneke Posts: 70 Member
    I search the database for something similar from a chain restaurant.
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    The only places that have nutritional info where I live are fast food joints like Mcd's or KFC. Nothing else provides them. Because I've worked as both a chef and a baker, I'm pretty good at knowing how things are prepared (fried, grilled with a ton of oil, etc) so I feel confident in my estimations about things.

    I haven't actually dined at a friends house while logging, but I'm pretty good with portions so I don't think it'd be much of a challenge.
  • 1992Leigh1992
    1992Leigh1992 Posts: 100 Member
    Yeah, I can see why it would be a lot safer to stick with items that are mostly non-fried proteins and Veg.

    I don't eat meat so most of my options are soups (which are great if available), pasta dishes, curries and stir-fries. Sometimes quinoa <3

    I tend to stick with lentil-based things, because every chef in this city seems to think you have to deep-fry the hell out of tofu.


    While counting to calories in pasta is easy at my house, I feel that restaurants give way larger servings. I am really bad at guessing serving sizes and measure most things like that at home.

    I sometimes try to estimate and other times, normally on Sundays, I just have an 'off-day' where I eat as healthily as possible but don't log.
  • aliceclutz90
    aliceclutz90 Posts: 151 Member
    It's so galling when you order a salad due to no nutritional info, only to be informed later that it was more calorific than the burger :(
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
    It's so galling when you order a salad due to no nutritional info, only to be informed later that it was more calorific than the burger :(

    It's partly why I stay away from salad and keep to things that are steamed or steaks. At least I know how they're prepared and are less likely to get nasty surprises.
  • Timelordlady85
    Timelordlady85 Posts: 797 Member
    My family and I avoid fast food and eating out in general because of not knowing what kind of stuff they are putting into the foods we eat.BUT, If we do go out for a special occasion such as a birthday or Anniversary we go somewhere like a chain restaurant ie. chills, fridays, logan's and order steak, veggies, salad, something easy to figure out the calories if I needed.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    I just guesstimate (and try not to have any dodgy sauces). Usually go for meat or fish with veg so it's easier to eyeball.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,341 Member
    It's so galling when you order a salad due to no nutritional info, only to be informed later that it was more calorific than the burger :(

    I remember working out the calories in a chicken caesar at work with the chef's input and working out it was 50% higher in calories than a deep fried chicken schnitzel topped with ham, tomato sauce and cheese, with a full side of fries. And ladies used to come in all the time saying "I'm being good, I'll just have a chicken caesar"
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
    Guesstimate - there's not really much more one can do. In general, I try to stick to things where I have a reasonable likelihood of guesstimating with a reasonable degree of accuracy - fish/chicken/steak etc - but it's not always possible, especially if friends/family have cooked for you.
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
    I search the database for something similar from a chain restaurant.

    This is what I do too. Alternatively I try and isolate each ingredient of the dish and enter similar items. I also check through all the various entries and choose the highest-calorie one to be on the safe side. I also assume restaurants use triple the amount of oil and sugar I would use making the same thing at home. For example, the other night we went out to Malaysian restaurant and I got a fish asam pedas curry (which was amazing btw). There were a couple of vaguely similar entries in the database so I picked one of them and then added some additional entries for more oil, some chilli-paste, etc.
  • JazmineYoli
    JazmineYoli Posts: 547 Member
    First off I hope you just enjoy yourself and just do good for the rest of the week.
    I search the database for something similar from a chain restaurant.

    I do the same.
    Also, getting steak or fish doesn't always matter either because they saute it in butter or something most times which shoots the calories up. Unless it's steam fish I guess.
  • 1992Leigh1992
    1992Leigh1992 Posts: 100 Member
    What would you guestimate for something like lentil and veg soup, or an average restaurant serving of ricotta- spinach ravioli? I know a lot of these things would be high in kjs/cals, it would just be good to be able to make a more educated guess.

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