I am going to applebees for dinner... advice/support needed

SolidGoaled
SolidGoaled Posts: 504 Member
edited September 24 in Food and Nutrition
I will definitely take a look at their 550 menu - and I threw in an extra workout today (burned 465 cals) just so I could have an appetizer, too.

Any ideas on what to enjoy and what to avoid?? I am doing so well - I don't want to blow it. :/
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Replies

  • tara3103
    tara3103 Posts: 107
    I usually get a 6ox sirloin and a side of steamed veggies. I don't eat seafood, so having a steak makes me feel like I'm having a cheat meal, but its not too bad. Enjoy!
  • HolsDoinIt
    HolsDoinIt Posts: 327 Member
    their 550 or less steak w/ shrimp and steamed brocolli is awesome!! plus its good for you..
  • jessemerson86
    jessemerson86 Posts: 174 Member
    Be careful of their under 550 calorie meals...they're loaded with sodium (most have almost the recommended daily totals in just the one meal). I suggest looking up their nutrition information and looking at both calories and sodium of the items that interest you then making your decision from there.
  • muth3rluvx2
    muth3rluvx2 Posts: 1,156 Member
    Some of those 550 meals look danged good!! And shrimp doesn't have alot of cals so you can eat a ton of them! :-)

    Enjoy your dinner - that's a good choice of place to go.
  • aks1985
    aks1985 Posts: 27
    oh sheesh applebees is a name i cringe about...each time i've eaten there i end up overloading on my daily calories...like to the point where one dessert is equivalent to my entire day's calorie intake.

    nonetheless, i prefer the tilapia...its really nice...with brocolli. avoid the appetizers
  • ShellyMacchi
    ShellyMacchi Posts: 975 Member
    if you are watching your sodium, be careful, cause i found their low cal menu VERY high in sodium
  • EZGruv
    EZGruv Posts: 215 Member
    I believe they have nutrition facts on their website. If not, ask for them when you get there.
  • in_it_2_win_it
    in_it_2_win_it Posts: 144
    I was just there last night.. there is an under 500 chicken entree.. that I had last night I can't remember what I had.. but it was chicken and cheese.. and onions and then had some veggies
  • tishamarieann
    tishamarieann Posts: 12
    There is a tilapia with veggies and rice its got a spicy kick to it that is awesome, n the tilapia is huge the meal is barely 400 calories its one of the weight watcher meals!!1
  • KWSR16
    KWSR16 Posts: 91
    I went a while ago for me and my fiance's anniversary and had the shrimp skewers and island rice (I think it is) and it was really good! Very filling. Plus I got to eat about 1/4th of our dessert...the Blondie!! MMMMM SO GOOD!! I would definately stay with the under 550 cal menu. They have their actual cal's and stuff on thier website. Check it out before you go to make sure you know exactly how much you can eat so your not guessing and end up going waaay over. (Its very easy to do at Applebee's sad day...its one of my favorite restaurants.)

    Good luck and enjoy! :drinker:
  • agdeierl
    agdeierl Posts: 378 Member
    I'm sure they probably are loaded with sodium. The last time I went there was a while ago, and I wasn't tracking sodium at that time. I got the asiago peppercorn steak. It was pretty good. I haven't tried the dijon chicken with portabellos, but it looks good too! If you get the steak, I would suggest asking them to lay off or go easy on the butter for the veggies, because when I ate them, I could taste that they were practically SOAKED in butter!
  • MelissaE27
    MelissaE27 Posts: 682 Member
    their 550 or less steak w/ shrimp and steamed brocolli is awesome!! plus its good for you..


    I agree this is really good!
  • dawnular
    dawnular Posts: 1
    The 550 calorie chicken dijon and mushroom dish is really good. I put lemon juice on the brocolli instead of butter and it tastes great!
  • agdeierl
    agdeierl Posts: 378 Member
    Oh and whatever you do, I would do your best to stay away from their spinach artichoke dip as absolutely heavenly as it tastes! It is deadly. Go check the nutrition stats on their website if you don't believe me!
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    I like getting the peppercorn steak with just veggies. That filled me up without having an appetizer. Another thing you can do is get a meal and then immediately cut it in half and only eat one side and take the rest home. It's half the calories and twice the goodness! My wife did this with the orange chicken and it filled her up twice over (probably could have been 3 times), but I don't know what the nutrient values are on that (not on under 550 menu).
  • cobygrey
    cobygrey Posts: 270 Member
    I usually get a 6ox sirloin and a side of steamed veggies. I don't eat seafood, so having a steak makes me feel like I'm having a cheat meal, but its not too bad. Enjoy!


    I love this dish!!!
  • agoessli
    agoessli Posts: 81 Member
    Check the sodium! When I went there with my coworkers I just ended up eating a house salad because it wasn't worth it to me to take in all that sodium. But...if you are going to treat yourself, which is definitely deserved once in a while, just make sure you check the sodium as well as the calories. Have fun!
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
    if you get the veggies be sure to ask them not to put butter on them. Lots of restaurants make the veggies then put so much crap on that you could have just had the french fries! I always verify with the server that it's just plain steamed not buttered or oiled.

    I LOVE artichoke dip, but it's really high in cals so only go for a couple dips if you get it. I eat out in a restaurant so seldom (like once a month, though these last couple months have been bad since the hubby keeps getting take out :grumble:) that i usually splurge a bit when I do.

    And whatever you get. Just eat 1/2 and bring home the other 1/2 for tomorrow.

    They have some good salads too on their 2 for 20. Don't get the meatball pasta thing - tons of calories. I sometimes have the Oriental chicken salad, which can't be that bad since it's just crackers and 2 chicken tenders (i prefer fried) with sliced almonds. I get it w/out dressing though (which is probably the only thing that redeems the cal count) and squeeze on some lemon juice. Tasty!
  • amylary
    amylary Posts: 46 Member
    the cajun tilapia is so so great and i do no rice double veggies and still about 320 calories for the whole meal and lots of protien !!!!! its in MFP database
  • lizdavis07
    lizdavis07 Posts: 766 Member
    i went there last night and got the teriyaki chicken pasta on the low cal menu...i believe it was around 490 calories. Unfortunately, i didnt care for it very much, so i didnt even eat half of those calories. I guess that was a good thing though because i did splurge a little on the spinach and articoke dip my friend ordered...whoops :)
  • VictoriaV87
    VictoriaV87 Posts: 2 Member
    I didn't read everyones comments so if Im giving you repeat information I'm sorry. In Eat this Not that the Non-Diet weight loss solution the restaurant it has a chapter on what off their menue other than other items. so for Applebees:Eat the Steak & Grilled Shrimp for 390 cals. 6g sat. fat and 1890mg sodium or the Bruschetta Chicken Sandwitch 530 cals. 3.5 sat. fat., and 1500mg sodium or the Garlic Herb Chicken for 370 cals. 1g sat. fat and 1930mg sodium." Applebee's is one of the last chains that RUFUSES to offer comprehensive nutritional data for thier food". I've stopped going all together.

    Hope this information helps...Goodluck : )
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    if you get the veggies be sure to ask them not to put butter on them. Lots of restaurants make the veggies then put so much crap on that you could have just had the french fries! I always verify with the server that it's just plain steamed not buttered or oiled.


    Yup, made that mistake the other night :grumble: .
  • PoeRaven
    PoeRaven Posts: 433 Member
    The garlic chicken, steamed broccoli and red potatoes is delish and under 400 calories! :drinker:
  • MSDRIZZ
    MSDRIZZ Posts: 246
    their 550 or less steak w/ shrimp and steamed brocolli is awesome!! plus its good for you..
    Agree!
  • AlliBarlik
    AlliBarlik Posts: 111 Member
    I had this meal last night. It was pretty good. Avoid appetizers and dessert. The veggies were good that came with it.
  • AlliBarlik
    AlliBarlik Posts: 111 Member
    I had this meal last night. It was pretty good. Avoid appetizers and dessert. The veggies were good that came with it.
  • heyitsmekatie
    heyitsmekatie Posts: 544 Member
    so many good choices at applebees!!! i had their cajun tilapia on tuesday and it was delicious!! really low in calories and pretty filling too! also, their potato & steak salad is really good. their chicken paradise salad is awesome too! i don't think i've tried one of their low calorie meals that wasn't surprisingly tasty!
  • heyitsmekatie
    heyitsmekatie Posts: 544 Member
    There is a tilapia with veggies and rice its got a spicy kick to it that is awesome, n the tilapia is huge the meal is barely 400 calories its one of the weight watcher meals!!1

    this is what i ate on tuesday! it was really, really good!
  • heyitsmekatie
    heyitsmekatie Posts: 544 Member
    if you get the veggies be sure to ask them not to put butter on them. Lots of restaurants make the veggies then put so much crap on that you could have just had the french fries! I always verify with the server that it's just plain steamed not buttered or oiled.


    Yup, made that mistake the other night :grumble: .

    plus, i think the "butter" they use tastes like crap!
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I used to travel a great deal for work so that meant many dinners with clients at their choice of restaurant. Believe it or not, back in those days I had no weight problems!

    What I would always do was to order a salad first and eat ALL of it (dressing on the side). Honestly, after eating that many greens, I didn't have much room for whatever entree I ordered!

    But when the entree came, again, I ate the veggies first, every time.

    For me, the huge amount of greens and veggies made it literally impossible for me to do much damage with any entree choice at all! I was just too full to have more than a few bites of the entrees, and when you're staying in a hotel, there's no 'doggie bag'. ;)

    Also, as I was eating, heartily, no one gave me any grief at the meals.
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