How do you deal with logging food at restaurants with no posted nutrition info?

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OneHundredToLose
OneHundredToLose Posts: 8,534 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This is probably a fairly common scenario - you go to a restaurant, and they don't have nutrition info posted, even on the internet. They also don't have any entries in the MFP database. How do you deal with logging your food intake in this scenario?

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  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,988 Member
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    Deconstruct (what are the various ingredients in the meal), estimate amounts based on long experience weighing food at home, round up a bit to account for any underestimation, assume some hidden fat, log.

    E.g., I got bipimbap from a food truck for lunch today. No nutrition information. So I broke it down and logged it.

    1 large egg
    1 tsp vegetable oil, in case they used it to fry the egg
    1 1/4 cup cooked medium-grain rice
    1/3 cup shredded lettuce
    1/3 sliced raw carrot
    1/3 cup mung bean sprouts
    1/3 cup boiled, drained spinach
    6 oz. firm tofu
    30 ml bulgogi sauce
    1/2 tsp sesame seeds
  • snikkins
    snikkins Posts: 1,282 Member
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    I usually log it as another restaurant's food if the items are similar or as the poster above suggested and deconstruct if I can. If not, I make a best guess, know it isn't perfect, and move on.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    I try to find a similar restaurant and use their info, then overestimate a bit. It works if you go to those types of restaurants infrequently.
  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member
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    I would try to order something fairly simple - grilled salmon or steak, potato & a vegetable. Estimate portion size the best you can. I would also add another 100 or so calories to cover any added oil that might find it's way into the dish.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    I take the most generic entry and add 10%.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,988 Member
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    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    I do the same--I just came to tell you I love bibimbap and that sounds delish.

    I walked past the regular sidwalk bibimbap cart with the long line to go check out the food trucks in the park, and the first two I came to were selling bibimbap! I figured it was a sign!

  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    I try to separate out the ingredients and add in additional butter/oil - so perhaps I would call it an "educated Wild A** Guess" WAG is sometimes what you get left with when the food prep is done by someone else.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,937 Member
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    All of the above and also ...

    I look up recipes. Many recipe sites list calories now, so I do a search to see if I can find something quite similar to what I had.
  • getofftheschnide
    getofftheschnide Posts: 7 Member
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    Calorie counting while helpful can be a real PITA sometimes. If you stick to lean proteins and raw greens and don't finish your plate. Forgettaboutit.
  • Ashtoretet
    Ashtoretet Posts: 378 Member
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    Ooh another Ghost fan. I just estimate high based on similar things I've eaten. Look up a similar fast food item and it'll probably be close, then overestimate a couple hundred calories if you want to be safe.
  • tekkiechikk
    tekkiechikk Posts: 375 Member
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    I also deconstruct the food and add the items separately, and err on the high calorie side if there are multiple entries.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
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    I make the best guess I can, either by deconstructing the meal and tallying up the calories for the individual ingredients and adding in some extra for insurance, or by comparing whatever I ate to a similar meal at a restaurant that posts nutrition information. I usually use whichever figure is higher.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    I either find the same entry at a similar restaurant or add up the food bit by bit.

    The other day, I was out on a day trip and had lunch at a seaside town restaurant - absolutely no calorie information whatsoever. They were selling sandwiches and cakes and hot meals - very unique ones I have to add. Definitely home-made. I had no idea how I was going to add up the complicated unheard of meals (which sounded delicious.. argh) so I chose a simple Jacket Potato and baked beans.

    I could have logged the jacket potato, then half a tin of baked beans, the butter and the side salad seperately but on this occasion, I searched 'Jacket Potato and Beans' in to MFP database and found a restaurant that has nutritional info available and logged it as that.

    It can be tricky and it does take a bit of common sense - some restaurants cook it a different way or use different kind of ingredients..

    If one restaurant has my meal down as 460 cals and another has it down as 550 cals - I'll log it as 500 to be on the safer side. Can be complicated and irritating though..
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I deconstruct when possible too. If it's an already made dish like tacos or lasagna I try to find an equivalent in the database though (typically I pick an entry with higher calories than average, but not the highest either).
  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,215 Member
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    I deconstruct, add an error margin, and log the closest. However, if it's someplace I visit often, I'll use the meal builder and just make it a meal. If I didn't have something or added something, then that's just one or two items I need to deal with and not 5 or whatever.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    OneHundredToLose wrote: »
    This is probably a fairly common scenario - you go to a restaurant, and they don't have nutrition info posted, even on the internet. They also don't have any entries in the MFP database. How do you deal with logging your food intake in this scenario?

    I usually just do my best estimate, but I tend not to eat out a lot either.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    Deconstruct (what are the various ingredients in the meal), estimate amounts based on long experience weighing food at home, round up a bit to account for any underestimation, assume some hidden fat, log.

    E.g., I got bipimbap from a food truck for lunch today. No nutrition information. So I broke it down and logged it.

    1 large egg
    1 tsp vegetable oil, in case they used it to fry the egg
    1 1/4 cup cooked medium-grain rice
    1/3 cup shredded lettuce
    1/3 sliced raw carrot
    1/3 cup mung bean sprouts
    1/3 cup boiled, drained spinach
    6 oz. firm tofu
    30 ml bulgogi sauce
    1/2 tsp sesame seeds

    I have never even thought of doing this....but, it's a good idea.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    edited August 2015
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    I pick an entree in the database from another restaurant, and figure for one meal, it's close enough. Being wrong on one meal won't hurt anything. Deconstructing is good, if you can actually see all of the ingredients.

    Now, if you were eating at this restaurant every day, you might have to go by results, or ask the cook to give up his secrets.
  • OneHundredToLose
    OneHundredToLose Posts: 8,534 Member
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    thaesda wrote: »
    Ooh another Ghost fan. I just estimate high based on similar things I've eaten. Look up a similar fast food item and it'll probably be close, then overestimate a couple hundred calories if you want to be safe.

    Heh, you're the first person I've seen on this site who recognized Papa Emeritus. Ghost is definitely one of my favorite bands :smile:
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
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    I do the same as all suggestions above but the first thing I do is go for just the lean protein and double the veggie, ask for all sauces on the side and ask for a to go box so I can split my portion when I get it. I also over estimate the calories when I make the entries just in case.

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