Crazy salad stats

Pat_Johnson
Pat_Johnson Posts: 32 Member
edited September 25 in Food and Nutrition
So I went to eat luch with my kids at school. They all agreed they wanted Wendy's I figured ok I'll grab a salad for myself there and a tall glass of water. (to make my crystal light) I later logged in the wendys salad only to hear the horrible news 700 calories OMG are you kidding me. For that I could have had a burger. So I went to the site and looked through some things good on thier menu, to never deal with that again. Anyone else ever had a shock like that when thinking your picking the best thing?

Replies

  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    salads are usually some of the worst things on many restaurant's menus. I've heard of some that are upwards of 1400.
  • Gettinfit2
    Gettinfit2 Posts: 254 Member
    This is also a topic in the following thread:

    "What food's calorie content shocked you the most....?!?!?!"

    You might find some other shockers.
  • sexygenius
    sexygenius Posts: 1,078 Member
    wendy's side salad is only 25 cals...you could have ten of them! lol
  • fanceegirl75
    fanceegirl75 Posts: 620 Member
    It's not so much the salad that's bad...it's the dressing and the croutons and other options such as bacon, blue cheese, etc. A leafy green salad with tamato, carrots and a fat free dressing will be good. Also, try eating the half sizes when they are offered.
  • angebean
    angebean Posts: 195 Member
    I went through half a bag of AMC buttered popcorn yesterday for 800 cals. =/ i was not a happy camper.
  • SusieB01
    SusieB01 Posts: 89
    YES! Once I was really hungry so I grabbed a fast food burger and fries-thinking, "how many calories can that be, anyway?" I got home and looked it up and the burger was 900+ calories alone! I don't remember how much the fries were. That's one thing I like about this site--I can look it up on my phone right then. That's already helped keep me from eating some things I shouldn't.
  • Val_from_OH
    Val_from_OH Posts: 447 Member
    My favorite thing at Chili's, the Quesadilla Explosion salad is a 1400 calorie salad. I am aware of this and eat no more than 1/2 of it!

    One of my shockers was the grilled chicken snack wraps at McDs - nearly 300 calories each, may as well have a cheeseburger!

    Also, sweetened iced tea. Sugar is only 16 calories per teaspoon, so my fave Chick Fil A large iced tea must have more than a 1/4 cup of sugar in it - huge shocker! Chocolate milk too :-(
  • BryanAir
    BryanAir Posts: 434
    I just had a Cheesesteak sandwich with mushrooms, onions, and sweet peppers and some curly fries for the same amount of calories.
  • Colie912
    Colie912 Posts: 17 Member
    I checked out Red Robin's site and it shocked me!!! Everything had tons of calories!!!
  • SusieB01
    SusieB01 Posts: 89
    By the way, many of the fast food places have salads that aren't high in calories--just watch the dressing! Often the dressings are at least as high as the salads themselves if not even higher. For me, Wendy's is one of the worst for having high calorie salad dressing.
  • DeBlue
    DeBlue Posts: 254 Member
    It's not the "salad" part of the salad that will blow your day's calorie budget.

    There is no rule that you have to take it like the restaurant pre-packages it. I modify everything when I order food because if you are paying for it, you should get what you want -- no guilt about it. You can do a LOT to improve that standard salad offering. Trim a massive amount of calories by having the dressing on the side and just dip your fork a bit into it for each bite. Bring your own low-cal fat-free dressing or ask for substitutes, again on the side. Ask for no cheese or bacon bits. Go easy or better yet skip the croutons. Only have the meat-versions if it is grilled not breaded and deep-fried.

    A healthy salad is about the veggies, and you can never go wrong if you keep it about the veggies!
  • Jami22
    Jami22 Posts: 253 Member
    If I know I'm eating out I always try to look ahead and have my options planned out. Wendy's is hard though. I went through their website yesterday and they have a place where you can find combo options around 500 calories... it wasn't much. I have definitely learned to stick to the light dressings to save about 100 calories.
  • spammyanna
    spammyanna Posts: 871 Member
    I checked out Red Robin's site and it shocked me!!! Everything had tons of calories!!!

    The same thing happened to me! I won't ever eat there again!
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    Honestly, since the day I downloaded this site I haven't eaten anything that I didn't look into prior to putting it in my mouth. I've even picked up food, looked it up while holding it, and put it back down after seeing the stats. lol But yeah, some people go with the saying "if you bite it, write it", I go with "write it before you bite it." :D
  • Tzavush
    Tzavush Posts: 389 Member
    If you don't add the extras to the salad and switch out the dressing for the fat free italian, Wendy's salads are quite reasonable, its the extras that make it add up.

    Also, at the one close to me they have the nutritional information posted next to the till. All the information is there including if you alter the salad to remove the extras.
  • angebean
    angebean Posts: 195 Member
    My favorite thing at Chili's, the Quesadilla Explosion salad is a 1400 calorie salad. I am aware of this and eat no more than 1/2 of it!

    One of my shockers was the grilled chicken snack wraps at McDs - nearly 300 calories each, may as well have a cheeseburger!

    Also, sweetened iced tea. Sugar is only 16 calories per teaspoon, so my fave Chick Fil A large iced tea must have more than a 1/4 cup of sugar in it - huge shocker! Chocolate milk too :-(


    I order my tea 1/2 sweet and 1/2 unsweet or just unsweet and add a little sugar so I can control it...
  • nahhan12
    nahhan12 Posts: 79
    Chilli's and Red Robin....the ONLY things I can have there is a cup of soup and a small side salad. At that point, you ask yourself "Well then what's the point of going out if I could have easily made this food at home?"
  • chrisc31
    chrisc31 Posts: 137 Member
    Chilli's and Red Robin....the ONLY things I can have there is a cup of soup and a small side salad. At that point, you ask yourself "Well then what's the point of going out if I could have easily made this food at home?"

    This is my thought exactly! So if I'm going out to eat, I refuse to get a salad knowing that I could have easily made it at home for way less calories and money!
  • JigglyPig
    JigglyPig Posts: 231 Member
    Salads are INSANE when it comes to the toppings:
    Croutons
    Bacon
    Ham
    Cheese
    More cheese (really fatty ones like bleu cheese, etc.)
    Nuts
    Seeds
    Thick, creamy dressings

    When I go to restaurants, I ask for a salad with nothing on it but vegetables. I choose a sensible dressing, and I ask for it on the side. Then I did my empty fork into the dressing, and then I spear some lettuce. In the end, I barely even have a tablespoon of dressing...yet I feel as though all of my salad was flavored with dressing. It's wonderful! It keeps the calories WAY down.
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