Check your food BEFORE you go out!

arewethereyet
arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
edited September 19 in Motivation and Support
I went to dinner at Olive Garden this afternoon. I asked the waitress if she could suggest anything 'light' on the menu. She suggested the Shrimp Caprese. Looked innocent enough. angel hair pasta, grilled shrimp, tomatoes and a "light butter sauce"

Just looked it up ....1533 calories!
add that to the bowl of soup and caprese flat bread........

Thank God I was filled up on the minestrone soup (150 ) a bread stick (150) and 1/6 of the flatbread (100) so I only ate 3 shrimp that were not in the sauce and a few tblsns of pasta.

IF I had eaten that plate I would be :sad: right now.

So I am thinking that the next time I go out to eat it is a good idea to check the menu BEFORE I go. This way I can plan what I want to eat and not make a big show at the table.

Wow..1533 for pasta and shrimp. I really am learning things!!

:flowerforyou:

Replies

  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    I went to dinner at Olive Garden this afternoon. I asked the waitress if she could suggest anything 'light' on the menu. She suggested the Shrimp Caprese. Looked innocent enough. angel hair pasta, grilled shrimp, tomatoes and a "light butter sauce"

    Just looked it up ....1533 calories!
    add that to the bowl of soup and caprese flat bread........

    Thank God I was filled up on the minestrone soup (150 ) a bread stick (150) and 1/6 of the flatbread (100) so I only ate 3 shrimp that were not in the sauce and a few tblsns of pasta.

    IF I had eaten that plate I would be :sad: right now.

    So I am thinking that the next time I go out to eat it is a good idea to check the menu BEFORE I go. This way I can plan what I want to eat and not make a big show at the table.

    Wow..1533 for pasta and shrimp. I really am learning things!!

    :flowerforyou:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    Olive Garden - Shrimp Caprese, 1 plate
    1,533 calories
    195 carbs
    48 grams of fat
    79 protein
    1,249 mg sodium
    27 g fiber
  • raincloud
    raincloud Posts: 405 Member
    I ALWAYS do that and know exactly what I am going to order. Otherwise you get into the mess you're in now.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    I know. I cant believe I almost fell right into a lard bucket! I didnt eat the shrimp caprese, so I saved myself. But I now feel awfully guilty cuz my hubby just polished it off!! oops:blushing:
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
    I ALWAYS do that and know exactly what I am going to order. Otherwise you get into the mess you're in now.

    Yep, me too. My dh knows I'm a nut because I hate going somewhere that doesn't have nutritional info available! Seemingly *innocent* dishes can turn out to be a diet nightmare! :sad:
  • JanCar
    JanCar Posts: 51
    I ALWAYS do that and know exactly what I am going to order. Otherwise you get into the mess you're in now.

    Yep, me too. My dh knows I'm a nut because I hate going somewhere that doesn't have nutritional info available! Seemingly *innocent* dishes can turn out to be a diet nightmare! :sad:

    I with you guys. It's actually gotten to the point that we just really prefer cooking our own food. I know exactly what goes in. I used to love Coldstone Creamery until I found out that the "Love It" size chocolate and Peanut Butter shake had almost 1700 in it! :noway: I probably sucked that down in a half hour! Not worth it!
  • jacmiley
    jacmiley Posts: 202 Member
    I used to work at Olive Garden - great food but not for the healthy minded. If you really want a shocker look up the alfredo.

    As for coldstone creamery - I LOVE it! My only saving grace is that there isn't one near me :-)
  • jamerz3294
    jamerz3294 Posts: 1,824 Member
    I ALWAYS do that and know exactly what I am going to order. Otherwise you get into the mess you're in now.

    Yep, me too. My dh knows I'm a nut because I hate going somewhere that doesn't have nutritional info available! Seemingly *innocent* dishes can turn out to be a diet nightmare! :sad:

    I with you guys. It's actually gotten to the point that we just really prefer cooking our own food. I know exactly what goes in.

    :grumble: I know *exactly* what you're saying sista! We're at the point that eating out can be more of a chore, than a pleasure! :noway: Like this morning, after church, we had coffee, and "snack" in the Fellowship Hall... try to log a micro sized apple brownie, g'head, just try! :angry: Then, at brunch, cranberry walnut toast, yeah sure?! :sick: So we do try to make healthier choices, including sharing one meal, and an appetizer between us for dinner. Seems to work out better that way, and we don't have the guilt monster to feed as well. This morning, I ordered the potato pancake special with 2 eggs and bacon. Ezzie ordered an egg an that toast. She then got, from my plate, a strip of bacon, and a potato pancake...voila! :bigsmile: We *both* had a wonderful meal, and it wasn't too hard on the calorie count.
    Thanx for bringing this topic up sista, it's one we ALL deal with, luvya and hugz! :flowerforyou:
  • frithir
    frithir Posts: 179 Member
    Eating out is a very rare luxury for us because #1 there just aren't any restaurants around here that serve food worth eating on a consistant basis and #2 it's a real trick to find something that I CAN eat and what hubby WILL eat. Eating at home is no hardship because while I'm a good cook, he's a fantastic chef who derives a great deal of pleasure in engaging in culinary art so especially on his days off, I cheerfully concede the kitchen to him and thoroughly enjoy the results. Case in point, one of the drastic life changes I made when I was diagnosed with cancer was trying a vegetarian diet and remaining a vegetarian until Curt and I were first married. He got a hankering for some southern fried chicken one night and made up a mess of it. Oooohhh it smelled sooo good and I'm just a weak, fallible humanoid after all.........:wink: OK, so I do eat poultry and fish now but it's usually only on the weekends when we eat together and I never have started eating red meat again so I didn't fall all the way down!

    Oh and Jammerz ~ after looking at your new icon picture, I'm more than ever convinced that referring to you as cousin is the right thing to do :happy:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    I ALWAYS do that and know exactly what I am going to order. Otherwise you get into the mess you're in now.

    Yep, me too. My dh knows I'm a nut because I hate going somewhere that doesn't have nutritional info available! Seemingly *innocent* dishes can turn out to be a diet nightmare! :sad:

    I with you guys. It's actually gotten to the point that we just really prefer cooking our own food. I know exactly what goes in.

    :grumble: I know *exactly* what you're saying sista! We're at the point that eating out can be more of a chore, than a pleasure! :noway: Like this morning, after church, we had coffee, and "snack" in the Fellowship Hall... try to log a micro sized apple brownie, g'head, just try! :angry: Then, at brunch, cranberry walnut toast, yeah sure?! :sick: So we do try to make healthier choices, including sharing one meal, and an appetizer between us for dinner. Seems to work out better that way, and we don't have the guilt monster to feed as well. This morning, I ordered the potato pancake special with 2 eggs and bacon. Ezzie ordered an egg an that toast. She then got, from my plate, a strip of bacon, and a potato pancake...voila! :bigsmile: We *both* had a wonderful meal, and it wasn't too hard on the calorie count.
    Thanx for bringing this topic up sista, it's one we ALL deal with, luvya and hugz! :flowerforyou:

    Oh yeah Ezzie knows it dont count if she din't order it!! :heart: :smokin:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    Eating out is a very rare luxury for us because #1 there just aren't any restaurants around here that serve food worth eating on a consistant basis and #2 it's a real trick to find something that I CAN eat and what hubby WILL eat. Eating at home is no hardship because while I'm a good cook, he's a fantastic chef who derives a great deal of pleasure in engaging in culinary art so especially on his days off, I cheerfully concede the kitchen to him and thoroughly enjoy the results. Case in point, one of the drastic life changes I made when I was diagnosed with cancer was trying a vegetarian diet and remaining a vegetarian until Curt and I were first married. He got a hankering for some southern fried chicken one night and made up a mess of it. Oooohhh it smelled sooo good and I'm just a weak, fallible humanoid after all.........:wink: OK, so I do eat poultry and fish now but it's usually only on the weekends when we eat together and I never have started eating red meat again so I didn't fall all the way down!

    Oh and Jammerz ~ after looking at your new icon picture, I'm more than ever convinced that referring to you as cousin is the right thing to do :happy:

    Frithr I am swooning at the thought of my DH cooking. Alas his idea of cooking a meal is sticking leftovers in the microwave! :brokenheart: :laugh:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    I used to work at Olive Garden - great food but not for the healthy minded. If you really want a shocker look up the alfredo.

    As for coldstone creamery - I LOVE it! My only saving grace is that there isn't one near me :-)

    HA.. I worked at an Italtian rest and the owner showed me how to make alfredo sauce. OMG-a PINT of full fat cream...is that even possible? I used to laugh when someone would order Shrimp alfredo cuz they said it was healthy. :embarassed:

    And the second shocker was Ceasar Salad.. 2 tlbs of dressing has close to 60 grams of fat.. wowo:noway:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    Good morning:flowerforyou:
  • faythe
    faythe Posts: 245
    I used to work at Olive Garden - great food but not for the healthy minded. If you really want a shocker look up the alfredo.

    As for coldstone creamery - I LOVE it! My only saving grace is that there isn't one near me :-)

    HA.. I worked at an Italtian rest and the owner showed me how to make alfredo sauce. OMG-a PINT of full fat cream...is that even possible? I used to laugh when someone would order Shrimp alfredo cuz they said it was healthy. :embarassed:

    And the second shocker was Ceasar Salad.. 2 tlbs of dressing has close to 60 grams of fat.. wowo:noway:

    I know what you mean about people eating "healthy." I worked at McDonald's and occasionally a customer would ask, "What's the healthiest thing on the menu?" Um, that would be a side salad and a glass of water. :bigsmile: Still hungry?

    I LOVE food. I love eating out and I love cooking. So, my solution has been to plan to eat out so that I have the free calories/nutrients for it.
  • blink14
    blink14 Posts: 57 Member
    I started looking up menu choices not long after I joined here in the spring, it has made things so much easier. even now that I'm trying to maintain my weight, I usually will look up a restaurant, or try to have a dish in mind when I go. A huge calorie saver is to only eat half and take the rest home, whether you split it as soon as you get the dish, or use your will power to only eat half at the restaurant. I've actually found that I'm less likely to even eat the leftovers.
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