Guesstimating is not my strength...

tldbs3341
tldbs3341 Posts: 24 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
This is just out of plain curiosity but I'm eating out this Sunday and although I do want to treat myself, I still want to be 'healthy' if you get what I mean. Unfortunately this restaurant doesn't have any nutritional information anywhere on the internet so I'm in need of some help....
Which of these dishes so you think wouldn't be as 'bad' to eat or which ones do you recommend I should eat if I'm watching my weight? I'm not planning on eating a salad with no dressing and etc. because that's just ridiculous, but I don't want to be eating something that's like over 700 calories for dinner if you feel me.....

Juicy tiger prawns in a piquant tomato, fresh garlic and Metaxa brandy sauce, topped with crumbled feta cheese and served with toasted village pita bread

Chicken breast fillet is marinated with Costas classic family recipe, chargrilled to perfection and delivered searing hot served with toasted village pita bread, fresh garden salad, hummus, sweet tomato sauce, roast capsicum mayonnaise, thick ‘n creamy tzatziki and your choice of herb ‘n spice rice pilaf, rosemary ‘n oregano potatoes or golden fries

Chunks of chargrilled chicken breast and streaky bacon, tossed through fresh premium salad, free range egg, Kefalograviera cheese and pita croutons, topped with sundried tomato, green olive ‘n herb dressing

A warm salad made with chargrilled lamb, a medley of fire-roasted Mediterranean vegetables and fresh mesclun, dressed with extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinaigrette, finished with crumbled feta cheese and toasted sunflower seeds

Succulent chargrilled chicken breast, topped with Costas zesty lemon-herb sauce, served on a bed of baby spinach ‘n jasmine rice and fire-roasted Mediterranean vegetables

Fresh-off-the-boat fish of the day, lightly pan-fried and served with fire-roasted Mediterranean vegetables and garlic ‘n olive oil crushed potatoes, finished with a bright flavoured roast-lemon cream sauce

Replies

  • adoette
    adoette Posts: 181 Member
    Uh, sorting through the flowery language and guessing really hard, the prawns, the fish at the bottom, or the chicken directly above it.

    One thing you can do is build each entree into a "meal" on mfp to get an estimate. My guesses are based off protein, condiments, and sides listed, though they are strictly guesses (I don't even eat seafood!) and listed in no particular order.

    Enjoy your meal!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,689 Member
    What restaurant is it?
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  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,689 Member
    edited June 2016
    tldbs3341 wrote: »
    its a restaurant in christchurch called Costas Taverna

    This place:http://www.costastaverna.co.nz/menu/main-menu/ ? Looks like a nice place.

    You go there frequently?
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,689 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    tldbs3341 wrote: »
    its a restaurant in christchurch called Costas Taverna

    This place:http://www.costastaverna.co.nz/menu/main-menu/ ? Looks like a nice place.

    You go there frequently?

    They've got a Facebook page ... https://www.facebook.com/CostasTaverna/

    Looks like you can send them a message ... why not ask them how many calories are in their meals? Ask them to post the nutritional data on their website, or facebook site or both.
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  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    You could see if other chain restaurants have similar meals and use that nutritional info.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    I'd go with the prawns...minus the feta (because I hate feta ;) )
  • BlendaBrenda
    BlendaBrenda Posts: 75 Member
    I think the chicken with spinach and jasmine rice sounds lowest if he sauce isn't creamy or oily, but that's a guess! I would be careful with the pita bread, they could be hiding a lot of calories depending on how big they are, or butters/oils.
    It all sounds good though! Just get one, and save some for tomorrow before you dig in!
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  • scoii
    scoii Posts: 160 Member
    None sound crazily Hugh calorie to me but the lemon chicken seems to have less concerning elements
  • lulalacroix
    lulalacroix Posts: 1,082 Member
    If you are concerned about calories then I would be careful of the ones with creamy sauces and anything fried, whether lightly or not. I would probably choose either the prawns or lamb salad.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Take the sauce on the side. That's the component that has all the excesses in it.
  • dlkfox
    dlkfox Posts: 463 Member
    You have some mouthwatering choices there!

    The chargriled chicken with the lemon-herb sauce sounds good to me. Call ahead and see if the lemon-herb sauce can be served on the side. (Not so much an issue if it's not butter based.

    Enjoy!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,689 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    You could see if other chain restaurants have similar meals and use that nutritional info.

    This ....

    And another thing I do is to look up recipes online and try to find something close to what the restaurant serves. Many online recipe sites show the calories and nutritional data.

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,689 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    You could see if other chain restaurants have similar meals and use that nutritional info.

    This ....

    And another thing I do is to look up recipes online and try to find something close to what the restaurant serves. Many online recipe sites show the calories and nutritional data.

    For example, here is a chargrilled chicken breast with ginger on rice. You would have to read through the ingredients carefully so you know the amount they're talking about, and under the nutrition tab, you'll see that the values are for one serving but the whole recipe is four servings. So you've got to pay attention to things like to be sure you've got your numbers right.

    But ... something like this might give you an idea of the calorie amounts in the restaurant food ... especially if you were to make something like this and weigh out the chicken and everything so you know what 200 grams of chicken looks like.

    http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1950/chargrilled+chicken+breast+with+ginger


    This is, of course, only one example ... you can try searching for examples that might be closer to the restaurant food.

    And practice! Make the food, weigh everything, get to know that a piece of chicken this size would be approximately this many grams. Or that 10 prawns would be approximately this many grams etc.

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  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    choice #4 or choice #5 seem best to me. If they fry the fish, that's not optimal.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    You might also eat a reasonable portion (size of your palm for the meat and for the carb) and take the rest home.
  • CaptainJoy
    CaptainJoy Posts: 257 Member
    edited June 2016
    I'd choose "Succulent chargrilled chicken breast, topped with Costas zesty lemon-herb sauce, served on a bed of baby spinach ‘n jasmine rice and fire-roasted Mediterranean vegetables." Sounds like a very delish 600 calories. Not the fish because they're fried. I'd also ask for the sauce on the side.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited June 2016
    gothchiq wrote: »
    You might also eat a reasonable portion (size of your palm for the meat and for the carb) and take the rest home.

    Ya, half an entree usually fills me so I regularly take the other half home, get the weights of the components, and figure out the calories from that.
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