Does this look like a 700 calorie lunch?

emily_fox
emily_fox Posts: 62 Member
edited August 2015 in Food and Nutrition
I work in a doctor's office, we get food catered almost every day. I'm trying to teach myself portion sizes, and I don't have a food scale at work. So, I eyeball my portions. Today we had Olive Garden. Do you think this looks like a 700 calorie lunch? It's half a portion of the chicken Marsala, I think 2 ounces of pasta (spaghetti and meat sauce?) , an ounce of potatoes and a cup of salad with dressing on the side. I'm hoping it's less than 700, but I try to overestimate cals eaten. Also, please give suggestions on how I could have improved this meal. More meat? Etc.osuxb6bu2a93.jpg

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Replies

  • Y_A_F_A
    Y_A_F_A Posts: 11 Member
    Based on only what's pictured, I'd guess less than 700 - maybe 250 for the pasta/sauce, 100-150 for the chicken, and 100-150 for the potatoes - lettuce almost none. It's kind of hard to really tell portion sizes though, as the plate could be bigger or smaller than I'm guessing.
  • emily_fox
    emily_fox Posts: 62 Member
    Yeah, I figured it would be kinda hard to guess super accurately from the picture. Do you think the portions look ok? I really just want to learn portions
  • Ashtoretet
    Ashtoretet Posts: 378 Member
    http://media.olivegarden.com/en_us/pdf/olive_garden_nutrition.pdf A full serving of non-stuffed chicken marsala is 1030, so 515

    Iceberg lettuce is something like 15 calories per 3 cups so that's pretty much 0. http://miamimommysavings.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Olive-Garden-Salad-Dressing.png claims the bottled dressing is 80 calories per 2 tablespoons and I would think the portion you have is dressed with less than 1 tablespoon. So maybe 30 calories.

    https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/white-potatoes-(flesh-and-skin)?portionid=44238&portionamount=1.000 says 20 calories for the potatoes

    Google says a spaghetti noodles have roughly 1.58 calories per gram, and there are 57.6 grams in 2 ounces, so the bare pasta would be around 90 calories.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/prego-marinara-sauce-with-meat-227591480 says .5 of a cup is 80 calories so I would guess you have slightly less than that, so maybe 50 calories.

    Altogether that's 705 by my estimates. If it were me, I would write down like 730. If I were getting this food often, I would probably cut out the spaghetti and add more potatoes to feel full for less calories.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited August 2015
    emily_fox wrote: »
    Yeah, I figured it would be kinda hard to guess super accurately from the picture. Do you think the portions look ok? I really just want to learn portions

    portions are an individual thing...an appropriate portion for me is not going to be the same as an appropriate portion for you.

    also, no..that doesn't look like 700 calories...I'd say somewhere between 300 - 400...500 tops...but then again, stuff like this is tricky as I have no idea how much dressing is on your salad...or marsala sauce, but it looks fairly minimal.
  • atiana19
    atiana19 Posts: 94 Member
    I would remove one of the starches probably the pasta and add some more veggies that would greatly reduce the calories but still keep you full
  • atiana19
    atiana19 Posts: 94 Member
    steam broccoli or sauteed spinach would be excellent with that
  • Y_A_F_A
    Y_A_F_A Posts: 11 Member
    If you mean in terms of proportions - relative amount of pasta, meat, etc. - then I'd say yes. As a meal, I would personally consider dropping either the pasta or the potato in favor of additional veggies for greater nutritional variety. Doing so might mean you need to slightly increase the portion size of the protein and starch to hit your calorie goal though. Not that there's anything bad about what you have included.
  • happysquidmuffin
    happysquidmuffin Posts: 651 Member
    Ashtoretet wrote: »
    http://media.olivegarden.com/en_us/pdf/olive_garden_nutrition.pdf A full serving of non-stuffed chicken marsala is 1030, so 515

    FYI just referring to your estimate of the chicken marsala calories, that calorie figure is for the full meal - not just the chicken part of it. So I agree with the other lower estimates on the chicken calorie count. Doesn't look like more than 4-5 oz of cooked chicken. Plus a few calories for the marsala sauce coating it.
  • happysquidmuffin
    happysquidmuffin Posts: 651 Member
    I'd probably log it 600 calories and call it good, because that's probably still slightly overestimating.
  • Y_A_F_A
    Y_A_F_A Posts: 11 Member
    Ashtoretet wrote: »
    http://media.olivegarden.com/en_us/pdf/olive_garden_nutrition.pdf A full serving of non-stuffed chicken marsala is 1030, so 515
    ...

    I *think* that value is for the chicken marsala meal, not just the chicken from the meal.

  • emily_fox
    emily_fox Posts: 62 Member
    Everyone's responses have been so helpful. I ended up logging it at 723, and then I did a 15 minute walk afterwards. Maybe I should keep a scale at work? But I feel good knowing that I might be overestimating. I'd rather overestimate than under, and I really wanted to see if I was on the right track.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Olive Garden lists their calorie info online, so you can look it all up.

    Their stuff is ridiculously high in calories.
  • kozykondition1
    kozykondition1 Posts: 45 Member
    I'd be surprised if it was over 400. I don't even see salad dressing. The chicken looks stripped of sauce also. So 250-300.
  • wearmi1
    wearmi1 Posts: 291 Member
    It looks like a very sad 723 calorie meal ;-( Sorry to say.
  • emily_fox
    emily_fox Posts: 62 Member
    edited August 2015
    Yeah, I agree, quite pitiful for the calorie bomb. But I know that if I'm going to sustain this long term, I can't give up the drug rep lunches (saves me so much money), I've decided I'll modify.
  • whiteblossom14
    whiteblossom14 Posts: 240 Member
    My supper under 500 So not sure I why yours is so high o2pfxyoxqyhu.jpg
  • emily_fox
    emily_fox Posts: 62 Member
    repsrequired wrote: »
    My supper under 500 So not sure I why yours is so high o2pfxyoxqyhu.jpg

    Because it's crappy Olive Garden haha, your meal looks delicious!!!

  • whiteblossom14
    whiteblossom14 Posts: 240 Member
    emily_fox wrote: »
    repsrequired wrote: »
    My supper under 500 So not sure I why yours is so high o2pfxyoxqyhu.jpg

    Because it's crappy Olive Garden haha, your meal looks delicious!!!
    It was lovely potatoes done in my actufy with no oil yum yum
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    repsrequired wrote: »
    emily_fox wrote: »
    repsrequired wrote: »
    My supper under 500 So not sure I why yours is so high o2pfxyoxqyhu.jpg

    Because it's crappy Olive Garden haha, your meal looks delicious!!!
    It was lovely potatoes done in my actufy with no oil yum yum


    im just impressed that you took the time to organize the cucumber. when I cook it looks like a giant mess with rough sloppy cuts
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    I'd say you're safe logging that at 700. It's likely slightly under, but better to over estimate.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    atiana19 wrote: »
    I would remove one of the starches probably the pasta and add some more veggies that would greatly reduce the calories but still keep you full

    ^^^What I was going to say. I would not want 700 cal for lunch, but if it works for you that's ok.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    Rather than a food scale, maybe bring in some accessories. Get your own salad dressing and measure it into containers and bring to work. Keep some fruit or extra veggies in the fridge. Next time skip the pasta and eat extra (pre-weighed) veggies. You could easily cut off a couple of hundred calories a meal with simple tweaks. (And still enjoy free food!)
  • catkayxx
    catkayxx Posts: 3 Member
    I would guesstimate 500-550 tops, overestimating to allow for dressing, oils and sauce.
  • suruda
    suruda Posts: 1,233 Member
    I think you could easily modify and still enjoy the free lunches by enjoying the lean proteins and veggies and skipping the potatos or pasta (or just taking a bite if you feel too deprived. up the lettuce, cut up the chicken and put it on top of the lettuce and make a salad out of it. With or without dressing would have been good calorie value!
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    Remove the salad and add more pasta. Lots more.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I'd say 500 tops. Definitely nowhere near 700. 160 for the chicken (assuming there's some sauce on it, but it looks like a 3.5 oz piece), 200 for the pasta (looks like less than two ounces to me, but there's sauce). 100 for the potatoes, if that, and 5 for the salad.

    But yeah, typically I go for pasta or potatoes, not both.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    edited August 2015
    Ashtoretet wrote: »
    http://media.olivegarden.com/en_us/pdf/olive_garden_nutrition.pdf A full serving of non-stuffed chicken marsala is 1030, so 515

    Iceberg lettuce is something like 15 calories per 3 cups so that's pretty much 0. http://miamimommysavings.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Olive-Garden-Salad-Dressing.png claims the bottled dressing is 80 calories per 2 tablespoons and I would think the portion you have is dressed with less than 1 tablespoon. So maybe 30 calories.

    https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/white-potatoes-(flesh-and-skin)?portionid=44238&portionamount=1.000 says 20 calories for the potatoes

    Google says a spaghetti noodles have roughly 1.58 calories per gram, and there are 57.6 grams in 2 ounces, so the bare pasta would be around 90 calories.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/prego-marinara-sauce-with-meat-227591480 says .5 of a cup is 80 calories so I would guess you have slightly less than that, so maybe 50 calories.

    Altogether that's 705 by my estimates. If it were me, I would write down like 730. If I were getting this food often, I would probably cut out the spaghetti and add more potatoes to feel full for less calories.

    This sounds high to me. I assume the chicken marsala dish is more than just the chicken, and this appears to be 1/2 piece of the chicken only. The dish itself likely includes pasta or rice.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    500, tops.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    kozykondition1 wrote: »
    I'd be surprised if it was over 400. I don't even see salad dressing. The chicken looks stripped of sauce also. So 250-300.

    At Olive Garden the salad is tossed in dressing unless you request it not be.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    A general rule of thumb for meat, is the size of a deck of cards is 3-4oz. 4oz of chicken is ~120 calories (going off of memory here). That means, that the chicken is at most 200 calories and that would be loaded with sauce (doesn't look to be the case).

    A "medium" potato is about the size of a computer mouse and comes in ~160 calories. Yours looks like less, so 100 calories.

    The pasta doesn't look like much, but I'll give it 200. And the salad (depending on dressing) will be 50.

    Grand total ~550 calories and I'm probably high.

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