How to estimate local restaurant foods

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caweyant
caweyant Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
How do folks typically estimate foods from local restaurants when the nutrition information isn't available?

For example, yesterday I had this grilled steak salad for lunch:

http://empirebrew.com/menu/grilled-steak

Estimating portion sizes (4oz. steak, 2 cups romaine, minimal amount of dressing, etc.) I got about 480 calories. Does this sound about right? Is there a better way to keep track of this sort of thing?

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  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited December 2015
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    The best thing I have found is weigh and measure EVERYTHING at home and you will get a better idea of what something like 4 oz of steak looks like.

    Otherwise, ask the server to check with the cook. Often the kitchen purchases their meats in pre-portioned amounts and would know what the average serving size is. My local pub (we play trivia every Monday night) gets their chicken breasts in 6 oz portions from the wholesaler. Is that going to be exact? No, but close enough for my purposes. Also, always get the dressing on the side. Most of the little containers hold 2 Tbl, although some may be closer to 1/4 cup.

    Sandwiches are a little easier because you can find an entry for something like a Kaiser roll or hot dog bun in the database and feel like it is a reasonable estimate.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    caweyant wrote: »
    How do folks typically estimate foods from local restaurants when the nutrition information isn't available?

    For example, yesterday I had this grilled steak salad for lunch:

    http://empirebrew.com/menu/grilled-steak

    Estimating portion sizes (4oz. steak, 2 cups romaine, minimal amount of dressing, etc.) I got about 480 calories. Does this sound about right? Is there a better way to keep track of this sort of thing?

    Close. Here's what I got.

    I put 5 oz for the steak to be safe for 220 cal
    2 cups romaine 15 cal
    Corn bread croutons..this is tough because I can't see them, anywhere from 30-100 calories for these
    Blue cheese 100 calories
    Roasted red peppers 30 calories
    Balsamic Vinaigrette, two tablespoons can have from 60-150 calories.

    515-565 ish is what I'd log not having seen it though
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    edited December 2015
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    I always round up with food, round down with exercise...so if I'm not sure, and I think it might be a 500 calorie restaurant dinner, I'll log it as 600, or even 700. I do find that after a couple of months of weighing and logging here, I've gotten really good at eyeballing almost to the ounce or gram now, you will too, I'm sure!!!
    If I'm not sure about my burn with my workout, and the machine says I burned 350, I only enter 250....that way I figure the margin of error is much smaller.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I make steak salads and without croutons and oily dressing they come up to 500-600 calories. Steak and cheese add up.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Tumbleweed onion can also be calorific if it's fried in batter. I usually try to find similar dishes in database and log the highest calorie one to be on the safe side.
  • steph2strong
    steph2strong Posts: 426 Member
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    Panera Bread used to have a steak chopped salad with crumbled blue cheese and balsamic dressing, it comes in at about 800 calorie, there were no croutons on this salad. I would definitely think your salad has at least about 800 calories.
  • scorpcookie
    scorpcookie Posts: 113 Member
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    I tend to try and find something on here that has a similar description and then double the portion size to be on the safe side.
  • sistrsprkl
    sistrsprkl Posts: 1,013 Member
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    scorpcookie wrote: »
    I tend to try and find something on here that has a similar description and then double the portion size to be on the safe side.

    I was going to say that I try to find whatever is the most similar and has the most calories but this would work too but I feel like it would wipe out all of my calories for the day for a restaurant entree.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Just ask. Restaurants' profit margin on food is so small that the cooks have a pretty good idea, if not an exact weight, for their meat. They are not going to give you steak or a chicken breast that is several ounces more than their cost allows for. The veggies, not so much but these are low enough calorie that it doesn't matter much if you are off.
  • krmsotherhalf68
    krmsotherhalf68 Posts: 122 Member
    edited December 2015
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    There are some great answers here! I was a Personal Chef, so I have a little leg up on the guessing game that is eating out. However, I still ask my server about how things are prepared. I get salad dressings on the side (or opt for a lower cal/fat version); cheese, bacon, candied nuts, croutons, & any high-sugar/fat/cals add-ons I either ask for them to be omitted, or I get them on the side to control what is going into my mouth. Another great fat/cal saver is to be certain the chef doesn't butter the sandwich rolls. All these things can add up to some whopping numbers if not checked. Some restaurants make it easier by offering healthy options on their menu (sometimes marked with a little heart or star). It's not an exact science, but short of bringing your scale into the restaurant or going into the kitchen to make your own meal, it's as good as it gets.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,180 Member
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    First, I check to see if the restaurant has any info online. Fortunately one of my favourite restaurants does.

    Second, if that doesn't work, I check MFP's database to see if anyone might have entered data about that particular meal from that particular restaurant. That has worked on a couple occasions!

    Third, if that is a bust, then I type the main ingredients from the meal, or name of the meal, into Google and search for a recipe that is quite similar. If luck is with me, I'll find several similar recipes, and then I start comparing calorie counts.


    And finally ... I overestimate. So if my research suggests that my serving might be 400 cal, I'll go up to about 600 cal. ... just in case.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,695 Member
    edited December 2015
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    caweyant wrote: »
    How do folks typically estimate foods from local restaurants when the nutrition information isn't available?

    For example, yesterday I had this grilled steak salad for lunch:

    http://empirebrew.com/menu/grilled-steak

    Estimating portion sizes (4oz. steak, 2 cups romaine, minimal amount of dressing, etc.) I got about 480 calories. Does this sound about right? Is there a better way to keep track of this sort of thing?
    Betting it's about 600-800 calories.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

  • toe1226
    toe1226 Posts: 249 Member
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    Someone on one of these forums recently advised me to take a picture of my plate - I thought it was a great idea since all the cool kids are insta-ing their meals anyways! (...and now I am one of those cool kids).

    Taking a picture obviously doesn't measure the cals, but it means you don't have to sit there and analyze it in the moment, you can look back, look at the size, remember whats on it, post it to mfp and ask all your buddies! ha.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,148 Member
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    I stopped trying to estimate long time ago. If the restaurant doesn't have the nutritional information in their website or menu, and if it is not in the MFP database, I just don't log it. I write what I ate in the Food Diary comment's section and that's all. I mostly go to local places that do not have the nutritional information listed, so I was driving myself crazy and I know that most of the time I was either over or underestimating. Either choice is not worthy to me.
  • kljcorp35
    kljcorp35 Posts: 1 Member
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    Maybe unrelated, but another problem I have when eating out is knowing what they're cooking something in. For instance, if I order a grilled salmon filet, how do I know if they're still not putting butter, or something other than olive oil on it?

    Also, when you look up nutrition info like on 3 scrambled eggs, does the info include the butter or oil that it has to be cooked in? I'm not a chef, but I don't think you can just put 3 eggs into a pan without any butter or oil. Can anyone help me or point me to a link that explains how this stuff is calculated?

    Thanks,

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