Restaurant Menus
Sloth_TurtleGirl
Posts: 79 Member
I will be the first to admit that I eat out entirely too much. But, when they started putting calories on menus it made me want to eat out more. I felt like I finally had power. If I wanted that Olive Garden pasta dish, I'd order it and split it in half to make the calories manageable. I'd just have the other half the next day. Anyway, I mention Olive Garden because we were there last week and the menus with the calories were gone! Has something changed? I thought there was some new law that chain restaurants had to put in calories. Maybe I was wrong. It does make it less convenient.
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We go out as a family every Saturday night. I am in search of places that post calories. Not sure if you live on the west coast but discovered that Pita Jungle has great options that can fit into a daily allowance nicely.
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I am in Arizona but I thought California has a law about calories on menus.
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Even if they don't have it on the menu, I would think Olive Garden has the calorie information online, same as most other chain restaurants.0
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What state are you in? It may be that Olive Garden is willing to pay the fine, rather than disclose that their fried lasagna appetizer is 4,500 calories
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I absolutely HATE going out to eat. Even though places are starting to list calories, I still don't feel like I have enough control over what I'm eating and that within itself is the reason why I very rarely eat out. I don't know how you do it.2
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That was just beautifully answered. Add a mouse cake dessert for another 2,000 calories.What state are you in? It may be that Olive Garden is willing to pay the fine, rather than disclose that their fried lasagna appetizer is 4,500 calories
Menu could have been changing because it was not accurate. I think they have to be within 20% accuracy. Ex: A 1,000 listed caloric meal cannot have more than 1,200 calories.
@ chelseahatch24 You and I are in the minority. Such restaurants are making a killing in profits. And "expanding".1 -
Agree with "chelseahatch..." above.
I'm semi-retired ("retired and maybe not know it yet" LOL), so I've taken up the cooking duties for the family. The more I cook, and the more varied (most of it healthful and "clean"), the less we like to eat out casually. Special occasions and convenience, OK.
The problem seems to be, you can think you are making prudent choices based on what you see, not what's actually *in* the food (I'm talking about "food for sustenance" while eating out, not that special-occasion indulgence where you don't care so much about adhering to your macros). Hidden calories in starches, syrups (HFCS), sugars, oils, et cetera, and stuff like salt content and more are things you can't really control. I totally support menu guidelines for calories (and sometimes, other food content and especially allergens [daughter has the severe peanut allergy]) for chain restaurants where common processes, ingredients and such are supposed to prevail; I also certainly understand the same disclosure is onerous for one-off or quality restaurants where art supersedes science, special menu items pop up and individual chefs vary from a corporate prep standard. The labwork can get pretty expensive for accurate food counts.
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@ mjbn And, when you sit down to eat, you don't want a grilled chicken salad. You want to get your money's worth and try something delicious. I'm so bored with lettuce and chicken why would I want to pay for that at a restaurant?4
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TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »@ mjbn And, when you sit down to eat, you don't want a grilled chicken salad. You want to get your money's worth and try something delicious. I'm so bored with lettuce and chicken why would I want to pay for that at a restaurant?
Some people obviously want them through, they're pretty widespread on menus. They wouldn't be if they didn't sell.0 -
I actually sat down at texas roashouse last night and looked at the menu.... one of their salads was 1300 calories!!!4
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When I first heard that restaurants had to start posting calories, I didn't think it would matter to me. Wow. Now that the calories are posted, it makes a huge difference in what I order. The biggest impact has been skipping sweets. I work in the same building as a Panera. It's very easy to ride the elevator downstairs and get a cookie, brownie, etc. Now that I know how many calories are in things, I hardly ever decide it's worth it.3
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chelseahatch24 wrote: »I actually sat down at texas roashouse last night and looked at the menu.... one of their salads was 1300 calories!!!
I'll be taking Mr. Riven to Texas Roadhouse for his birthday, his choice. I'll just log my food in advance so I can make smart, informed choices when I get there. It's easy to dispassionately look through their menu online, pick what's most appropriate based on calories and macros, and pre-log it in MFP. I don't even need to look at the menu when I get there.
You might feel more comfortable dining out when you've got a strategy in place before hand. Try it out!4 -
chelseahatch24 wrote: »I actually sat down at texas roashouse last night and looked at the menu.... one of their salads was 1300 calories!!!
I'll be taking Mr. Riven to Texas Roadhouse for his birthday, his choice. I'll just log my food in advance so I can make smart, informed choices when I get there. It's easy to dispassionately look through their menu online, pick what's most appropriate based on calories and macros, and pre-log it in MFP. I don't even need to look at the menu when I get there.
You might feel more comfortable dining out when you've got a strategy in place before hand. Try it out!
Unfortunately I was on a military base and had to eat on a complete whim. Sometimes creating a strategy is not feasible. I settled for a 270 calorie sirloin, side salad, and a veggie.1 -
TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »@ mjbn And, when you sit down to eat, you don't want a grilled chicken salad. You want to get your money's worth and try something delicious. I'm so bored with lettuce and chicken why would I want to pay for that at a restaurant?
yep!0 -
chelseahatch24 wrote: »chelseahatch24 wrote: »I actually sat down at texas roashouse last night and looked at the menu.... one of their salads was 1300 calories!!!
I'll be taking Mr. Riven to Texas Roadhouse for his birthday, his choice. I'll just log my food in advance so I can make smart, informed choices when I get there. It's easy to dispassionately look through their menu online, pick what's most appropriate based on calories and macros, and pre-log it in MFP. I don't even need to look at the menu when I get there.
You might feel more comfortable dining out when you've got a strategy in place before hand. Try it out!
Unfortunately I was on a military base and had to eat on a complete whim. Sometimes creating a strategy is not feasible. I settled for a 270 calorie sirloin, side salad, and a veggie.
It sounds like you still made good choices for yourself. Give yourself more credit! (And maybe some sauteed mushrooms to go with that steak...
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chelseahatch24 wrote: »chelseahatch24 wrote: »I actually sat down at texas roashouse last night and looked at the menu.... one of their salads was 1300 calories!!!
I'll be taking Mr. Riven to Texas Roadhouse for his birthday, his choice. I'll just log my food in advance so I can make smart, informed choices when I get there. It's easy to dispassionately look through their menu online, pick what's most appropriate based on calories and macros, and pre-log it in MFP. I don't even need to look at the menu when I get there.
You might feel more comfortable dining out when you've got a strategy in place before hand. Try it out!
Unfortunately I was on a military base and had to eat on a complete whim. Sometimes creating a strategy is not feasible. I settled for a 270 calorie sirloin, side salad, and a veggie.
It sounds like you still made good choices for yourself. Give yourself more credit! (And maybe some sauteed mushrooms to go with that steak... )
I forgot about that! I got sauteed mushrooms and onions too!!! Yum!0 -
chelseahatch24 wrote: »I actually sat down at texas roashouse last night and looked at the menu.... one of their salads was 1300 calories!!!
Some of these salads are a whole day's worth of calories! I've watched a number of "disclosure" videos on youtube ("eat this, don't eat that" types of channels) that show how awful some of these dishes are (relative to calories and such). A number of the chains also show up in these "Vids of Shame" LOL.
I even made up a "Average Diner Chef Salad" personal MFP recipe that calls for 655 cals per serving - prior to adding any dressing. I'm thinking even that's too low by about 35% (the exact amount of cheese can vary the count), so I might have to dissect my next salad better before eating it.0 -
chelseahatch24 wrote: »I actually sat down at texas roashouse last night and looked at the menu.... one of their salads was 1300 calories!!!
Some of these salads are a whole day's worth of calories! I've watched a number of "disclosure" videos on youtube ("eat this, don't eat that" types of channels) that show how awful some of these dishes are (relative to calories and such). A number of the chains also show up in these "Vids of Shame" LOL.
I even made up a "Average Diner Chef Salad" personal MFP recipe that calls for 655 cals per serving - prior to adding any dressing. I'm thinking even that's too low by about 35% (the exact amount of cheese can vary the count), so I might have to dissect my next salad better before eating it.
Yep, you're absolutely right! I eat 1200 calories a day so you can imagine what i was thinking when I saw 1300!!!0 -
There was something passed, but it had not reached the date to officially go into effect. Because of the printing schedule for menus at some restaurants, they would not have been printing new menus until after the effective date had passed. As a result, they had to add the calorie information to the menus before they were legally required to do so. Now that the government has decided to postpone implementation of this requirement, many restaurants will print their next menus without the information. Most do still have that information on their websites.
--Source: Recently worked on a project for a major restaurant chain and found this out over lunch with the client.1 -
The biggest issue I have with eating at chain restaurants that post calorie counts is that the accuracy relies heavily on the consistency of the preparation. Take Chipotle for example. It's easy to get the nutrition info off the website and believe that you are eating a 500 calorie burrito bowl, but I think we all know that the people behind the line dishing it out aren't measuring 2 oz of rice or 4 oz of chicken or whatever the calorie counts are based on. Not to mention the half cup of sour cream that they throw on there. That alone is probably 200+ calories.
Some chain restaurants pre-prep the food at a corporate location where it is more likely to be weighed or measured according to a recipe. But if things are being prepared on the fly by a line cook, there is no way they are taking the time to weigh and measure the proper serving size.
Personally, I rarely eat out, but when I do, I would rather go to a local restaurant with small portions sizes and minimal ingredients so I can just estimate the calories. Even then, I usually add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil or overestimate the amount of cheese because restaurants are usually putting more of those flavorful ingredients in there than I would guess. After all, their goal is to make it taste good, not to monitor my waistline.1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »@ mjbn And, when you sit down to eat, you don't want a grilled chicken salad. You want to get your money's worth and try something delicious. I'm so bored with lettuce and chicken why would I want to pay for that at a restaurant?
Some people obviously want them through, they're pretty widespread on menus. They wouldn't be if they didn't sell.
I think a lot of people just want them because they think they are getting something "healthy". Probably most people ordering that dinner salad would rather have something else on the menu, but want to "be good".0 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »@ mjbn And, when you sit down to eat, you don't want a grilled chicken salad. You want to get your money's worth and try something delicious. I'm so bored with lettuce and chicken why would I want to pay for that at a restaurant?
Some people obviously want them through, they're pretty widespread on menus. They wouldn't be if they didn't sell.
I think a lot of people just want them because they think they are getting something "healthy". Probably most people ordering that dinner salad would rather have something else on the menu, but want to "be good".
But the point is that people are ordering them. What is motivating their desire to order it may be their belief that it's better for them, but it's still getting ordered.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »@ mjbn And, when you sit down to eat, you don't want a grilled chicken salad. You want to get your money's worth and try something delicious. I'm so bored with lettuce and chicken why would I want to pay for that at a restaurant?
Some people obviously want them through, they're pretty widespread on menus. They wouldn't be if they didn't sell.
I think a lot of people just want them because they think they are getting something "healthy". Probably most people ordering that dinner salad would rather have something else on the menu, but want to "be good".
But the point is that people are ordering them. What is motivating their desire to order it may be their belief that it's better for them, but it's still getting ordered.
Very true. But it still makes me sad.
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chelseahatch24 wrote: »chelseahatch24 wrote: »I actually sat down at texas roashouse last night and looked at the menu.... one of their salads was 1300 calories!!!
Some of these salads are a whole day's worth of calories! I've watched a number of "disclosure" videos on youtube ("eat this, don't eat that" types of channels) that show how awful some of these dishes are (relative to calories and such). A number of the chains also show up in these "Vids of Shame" LOL.
I even made up a "Average Diner Chef Salad" personal MFP recipe that calls for 655 cals per serving - prior to adding any dressing. I'm thinking even that's too low by about 35% (the exact amount of cheese can vary the count), so I might have to dissect my next salad better before eating it.
Yep, you're absolutely right! I eat 1200 calories a day so you can imagine what i was thinking when I saw 1300!!!
I'm at 2000/day, which gives me some relative buffer, but not really all that much more, and I'd agree with you that there's better way to punch through my targets than a tricked-up plate of salad, LOL.
I've been tinkering around with homemade dressings this year; some, such as a Catalina-style, can be very low-calorie, and pretty low-fat, and thus not swamping your caloric counts. Yogurt/buttermilk, citrus, etc. are also good bases besides yet-another-vinaigrette.0 -
My only "trick" with eating out is that it's much easier to stay within my calories if I go out for lunch than dinner.
I can have a light breakfast, then say a pizza or a burger for lunch, and a very light dinner and I'd easily be within my calories for the day.
If I go out for dinner, though, I kind of still need a normal sized breakfast and lunch beforehand, and if i have a pizza or burger, I'll end up over my calories. But occasionally having big dinners didn't harm my weight loss on the long term. It's a marathon and not a race.
PS I remember visiting California few years ago and looking at the calories at the menu in the Cheesecake Factory - my slice of cheesecake was something like 1200 calories! Some of the dishes were over 3000 calories! Very eye opening.0 -
One of the harder things about eating out is portion size. The food industry puts way too much for on the plate. It's one thing to leave food on the plate, it's another thing to eat less than half of the meal. I've gotten used to eating healthy portions, I can't eat most of our super-sized portions.
Although for steak out, I will order 2-3 times what I can eat at the meal. It goes great as leftovers at home.0 -
My only "trick" with eating out is that it's much easier to stay within my calories if I go out for lunch than dinner.
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PS I remember visiting California few years ago and looking at the calories at the menu in the Cheesecake Factory - my slice of cheesecake was something like 1200 calories! Some of the dishes were over 3000 calories! Very eye opening.
Agreed. With me being, well, maybe retired and now doing the cooking for the continuing-to-work family, it turns out that dinner is the most likely eating-out candidate when it happens. What's not so good is that eating dinner out is more an unplanned thing than not, so that I have not made consumption adjustments during the day to allow for an "out" dinner.
Cheesecake Factory has a number of items that regularly make it onto those "Big Calorie Meals" lists that pop up on the internet regularly.0 -
Rule of thumb for me: Anytime I eat out, I get online, look up nutrition info and plan what I am going to eat before heading to the restaurant. When I get there, the decision has already been made and it has already been punched into MyFitnessPal. A big shocker for me was the amount of sodium restaurants put in low calorie foods. Sadly, there are not many restaurants that don't have fairly clean menus (low cal, low sodium, etc). Funny thing, the more I eat out, the more I have difficulty losing weight. I hate that because I love to eat out, but it's just the way it is.1
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The Cheesecake Factory lists calories in the menu and it is sooooo useful, so I tend to choose there over other places. But just don't look at the calories in a slice of cheesecake0
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MommaGem2017 wrote: »The Cheesecake Factory lists calories in the menu and it is sooooo useful, so I tend to choose there over other places. But just don't look at the calories in a slice of cheesecake
When I was the bad boy of gluttony, I would eat a meal at the cheesecake factory that had about the amount of calories I eat in three or four days now. And with enough salt that would make Lot's wife blush.
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