Eating Out at a BBQ Restaurant - Help!

Buckeye_Dave
Buckeye_Dave Posts: 59 Member
edited November 13 in Health and Weight Loss
Greetings!

I will be eating out at a BBQ restaurant this evening and need some help choosing a lower calorie meal. I am a faithful CICO believer so the calorie count is obviously important. Unfortunately, this restaurant does not share any nutritional facts for its selections. Any advice? Here is a link to the menu:

https://4rsmokehouse.com/menu/
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Replies

  • Azuriaz
    Azuriaz Posts: 785 Member
    Does it have a menu with calorie count online? Some places do.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Smoked turkey and green beans. Or basically any meat, easy on the sauce, steer clear of the mac & cheese on the side.
  • suruda
    suruda Posts: 1,233 Member
    looks a little dicey for sure! I would probably go with chicken and veggie sides...smoked corn, jalapenos, or even coleslaw. I think those would be your better choices for low calorie. The beef brisket or steak tips would probably be ok too. I would avoid those cuts that have tons of fat or mystery ingredients...ribs, sausage, etc. I would also skip cornbread, mac and cheese, potato salad, any sides like that. Their salads are probably pretty high calorie and wouldn't be as satisfying as a plate of lean meat with some good veggies!

    Enjoy it!
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
    Any of the meats will be fine any likely you can just use the USDA value. Pulled Pork=USDA Pork Shoulder. Brisket is obvious. Get the chichen, decided if you want the skin or not. Basic BBQ, with ribs as the acception, doesn't have sauce on it. That being said, to keep the moisture of the meet, some place will put it in a sauce which may or may not have a lot of sugar in it. Ribs are hard. It is difficult to estimate the amount of meat and the meat is very fatty and wet ribs come with the sweet sauce. Chicken by the piece would be the easiest. I don't use much if any sauce beyond vinegar or hot sauce. Sweet BBQ ruins the flavor of the meat.

    The sides are where it is harder. Even if they have green beans or other vegetables, they may be cooked in a lot of fat.

    I love BBQ and make it all the time at home (as I southerner I know the definition of BBQ means it's been cooked for many, many hours. Burgers or chicken on the grill is not BBQ). At home, I have low calorie sides. When I go to BBQ places, that is rarely an option. I will just treat myself to fries.
  • Buckeye_Dave
    Buckeye_Dave Posts: 59 Member
    Thanks for great suggestions. Not only the meal itself but tips on how to log it! You guys are the best....
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
    edited September 2015
    I just looked at the menu. If I was trying to keep my calories to a minimum, I'd get get half a smoked chicken, corn, green beans, and baked beans. I'd take the green and baked beans home to use s a side in another meal.

    Or get a salad with chicken on it.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    I'd probably get the 1/4 smoked chicken with collards and smoked jalapenos. I'm so going to smoke jalapenos this week now. I never even thought of that!
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    Eat light during the day and bank your calorie for BBQ. Eat what you enjoy and allow yourself to eat up to maintenance or a little higher for the day. Plan and log before you go out so you don't have any major surprises.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I would take it easy on my other meals for the day and then I would go nom some BBQ and not worry about it.
  • VykkDraygoVPR
    VykkDraygoVPR Posts: 465 Member
    I had a 1/4 of lean brisket yesterday. That's going to be pretty similar always. I usually get half a chicken, or pork loin. This is Texas though, so barbecue is just smoked meat, which is pretty easy to calculate.

    No matter what you decide to get, they should able to weigh the meat for you. Just ask.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Well it's tough to say without knowing what your daily goal is.

    I went to a BBQ restaurant for lunch yesterday. I had half a rack of baby back ribs (just smoked, I added some sauce), some sweet potato/green bean salad, and cornbread. I estimated it at 1200 calories (the ribs were pretty big). I used whatever database entry I could find, and picked a high one for the ribs. Wasn't hungry at all for dinner so I skipped it... still stayed under my 1800 calorie goal. But yeah, it was lunch, which is my biggest meal anyway, big dinners just don't work out for me because I can't just skip lunch.

    Bottom line is you can probably fit whatever you like as long as you eat lightly the rest of the day. Just maybe not dessert on top. Either way, even if you go over, with your typical deficit you'll make up for it in a couple days anyway.
  • Buckeye_Dave
    Buckeye_Dave Posts: 59 Member
    Excellent advice! Thank you all
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
    All good advice here! Just had to chime to say 4Rivers is awesome! Best BBQ. :smile:

    Their salads are actually really good too (much better than typical BBQ restaurant salads), just decide if you want to get it without the croutons. Basically, it's a pile of good, fresh veggies and meat. Otherwise, I agree with everyone else to just plan what you and fit it in with "close enough" entries from the database. Enjoy!
  • DBrooks1979
    DBrooks1979 Posts: 350 Member
    SOUTHERN PULLED PORK ........................... 11.99 SMOKED chicken ......... half 12.99 SLICED PORK ............................................ 11.99 COLLARDS, SOUTHERN GREEN BEANS, SMOKEHOUSE CORN

    These are the choices that I would find would be the lowest in calories and all for you if your doing a dinner plate there... just some ideas...
  • tryin2die2self
    tryin2die2self Posts: 207 Member
    You will be safer with smoked meats. Sticky BBQ = lots of extra sugar. If the sides are creamy or fried, let the buyer beware. Then there is the bread to be wary of. Salad, fresh corn and the veggies should be fine. You should be able to stay the course with what they offer.

    All that said, treat yourself within reason. Does you plan allow for a cheat meal? Can you "bank" calories/macros? A diet that is so strict you have little room to move normally leads to binge eating with a side of guilt. I say that... but maybe you had a cheat meal already this week.

    Know Thyself :)
  • VykkDraygoVPR
    VykkDraygoVPR Posts: 465 Member
    7lenny7 wrote: »
    CICO takes a back seat to BURNT ENDS!!

    My family yells at me when we get barbecue. I have a tendency to steal all the burnt ends off the brisket. It's worth it.
  • sbmcm
    sbmcm Posts: 32 Member
    I was in the same boat yesterday. I managed to navigate it with grilled chicken breasts, cooked greens and fresh fruit, and I split the chicken breasts to have over two meals. However, even just half my order of chicken breasts was more than my full day's allotment of sodium, so don't be alarmed if you still see extra weight afterward.
  • michelle7673
    michelle7673 Posts: 370 Member
    It looks like they sell the meat by the half or full pound a la carte. Turkey, chicken, burnt ends, pulled pork -- you should be able to get a good posting value pretty easily. Honestly, as delicious as those sides sound, as you won't know what fat is in them (hence the deliciousness) -- if it were me, I'd just eat the hell out of the barbecue. You may get collard greens thinking "I'm having vegetables" when you could have half a pound of smoked turkey instead. And they might be the same number of calories. We have a similar BBQ joint here and that's just what I would do. Wait. Maybe I need to do that later :)
  • Buckeye_Dave
    Buckeye_Dave Posts: 59 Member
    You guys rock! Ok, I have 1,100 calories banked for tonight so I should be in good shape! Now I am getting greedy and wondering if I can eat for 900 calories and still have 200 left for a glass of wine when I get home! :smiley:

    Seriously, thank you all....
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
    Hi I work at a bbq place! :) so I don't know how it works there but about 4 oz pulled pork is around 245 cals. If I get potato casserole its about 4 oz about 115 cals. Or I put salad then my pulled pork. Or I take chicken at around 300 cals.
  • SSBN631b
    SSBN631b Posts: 1 Member
    Sonny's has a complete up-to-date listing of their whole menu as a pdf at https://api.sonnysbbq.com/app/uploads/2017/06/Sonnys-Nutritional-Info-04052017.pdf. I am going to a 4r tomorrow for the first time and was really irked that with as many outlets as they have they are not responsible enough to post their information. I am meeting others and doubt that I will be a regular.
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
    Probably too late for your post, but I regularly eat out at a local BBQ place and stay within my range. I order grilled wings, usually naked or with minimum sauce and a side salad with a vinaigrette.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    midlomel1971 wrote: »
    Probably too late for your post, but I regularly eat out at a local BBQ place and stay within my range. I order grilled wings, usually naked or with minimum sauce and a side salad with a vinaigrette.

    Well since the post was created in 2015...
  • sytchequeen
    sytchequeen Posts: 526 Member
    wow. I don't care what you're having but I'll have the tri-tip and a smokehouse salad, thanks.
  • lmsaa
    lmsaa Posts: 51 Member
    The poster who resurrected this thread (SSBN631bSSBN631b, 1 post only, and on the first day of membership) probably did an Internet search for nutrition information and found MFP. I get this third right now looking for "4 Rivers Smokehouse nutrition info" on Google:
    "4 Rivers Smokehouse Nutrition Facts, 4 Rivers ... - MyFitnessPal
    www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/4-rivers-smokehouse
    4 Rivers Smokehouse nutrition facts and nutritional information. Find calories, carbs, and nutritional contents for 4 Rivers Smokehouse and over 2000000 other foods at MyFitnessPal.com."
    All it leads to is a 700 cal listing for a burnt end sandwich with the rest of the info blank (0's).

    That said, my husband called me to tell me he was picking up Billy Sims BBQ last week, and I had him get me a pint of coleslaw to bulk out my Lean Cuisine. I usually use a bag of frozen green beans or broccoli, but I thought I'd have coleslaw for variety. After it was too late to cancel the order, I looked up the calorie count and found that it was about 500 calories. I put the cole slaw in a colander and rinsed out the dressing before I ate it. It still had a tangy taste, but must have had many fewer calories. For me, coleslaw is just not a splurge-worthy food.

  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    midlomel1971 wrote: »
    Probably too late for your post, but I regularly eat out at a local BBQ place and stay within my range. I order grilled wings, usually naked or with minimum sauce and a side salad with a vinaigrette.

    Well since the post was created in 2015...

    haha...I didn't even notice that.
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