Post 'em here. All those disappointing meals you thought were healthy but are really high calorie

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Replies

  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Most of these high calorie meals have outrageous calorie counts because of added fat, typically in the form of cheese, sauce or dressings. You can cut so many calories on restaurant salads by omitting any croutons or tortilla strips and getting the dressing on the side. Dressing on the side allows you to have more control over what you consume and you can better estimate how much is eaten.

    ETA: there is something fundamentally flawed about your calorie counting practices if you thought anything with 1/4 cup of dressing would ever be low calorie. Unless your balasmic is 100% vinegar, that's an enormous amount of calories. Personally, I don't like to eat a meal where 75-90% of the calories in the meal come from...dressing

    Yes, that's what this post is about.

    1/4 cup is what cooks on the line will put in for a salad when the dressing is not on the side. To them, it's just one ladle. Clearly, we know better than that now. In the past, salad seemed like the healthy choice but now we know it's packed chock full of bad things.

    It's helpful to remember that vinaigrette has a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. So if you have 1/4 cup, that's 4 tablespoons. 3 of 4 tablespoons is likely pure oil...so you're looking at roughly 360kcal from the oil in that dressing.

    I hear some people make a vinaigrette that is 2/3 thick, aged balsamic and 1/3 oil. And that they carry it in their purse in a fine tip squeeze bottle and weigh it out to the gram. Of course, I would not know anyone like this.

    Is that like reduced balsamic? I know you cook it down for caprese salad....

    A high quality aged balsamic will be fairly viscous as far as vinegars go--the grape just is reduced, fermented, then aged for 12 or 18 years or so. So on a Caprese, you can use a fine balsamic out of the bottle, or if you just have a thinner balsamic, you can reduce it.

    How's the sugar content compare? Because reduced balsamic is incredibly sweet. What's driving the viscosity of the aged balsamic? Is it sugar? Or something else.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Most of these high calorie meals have outrageous calorie counts because of added fat, typically in the form of cheese, sauce or dressings. You can cut so many calories on restaurant salads by omitting any croutons or tortilla strips and getting the dressing on the side. Dressing on the side allows you to have more control over what you consume and you can better estimate how much is eaten.

    ETA: there is something fundamentally flawed about your calorie counting practices if you thought anything with 1/4 cup of dressing would ever be low calorie. Unless your balasmic is 100% vinegar, that's an enormous amount of calories. Personally, I don't like to eat a meal where 75-90% of the calories in the meal come from...dressing

    Yes, that's what this post is about.

    1/4 cup is what cooks on the line will put in for a salad when the dressing is not on the side. To them, it's just one ladle. Clearly, we know better than that now. In the past, salad seemed like the healthy choice but now we know it's packed chock full of bad things.

    It's helpful to remember that vinaigrette has a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. So if you have 1/4 cup, that's 4 tablespoons. 3 of 4 tablespoons is likely pure oil...so you're looking at roughly 360kcal from the oil in that dressing.

    I hear some people make a vinaigrette that is 2/3 thick, aged balsamic and 1/3 oil. And that they carry it in their purse in a fine tip squeeze bottle and weigh it out to the gram. Of course, I would not know anyone like this.

    Is that like reduced balsamic? I know you cook it down for caprese salad....

    A high quality aged balsamic will be fairly viscous as far as vinegars go--the grape just is reduced, fermented, then aged for 12 or 18 years or so. So on a Caprese, you can use a fine balsamic out of the bottle, or if you just have a thinner balsamic, you can reduce it.

    How's the sugar content compare? Because reduced balsamic is incredibly sweet. What's driving the viscosity of the aged balsamic? Is it sugar? Or something else.

    Serious question: are you supposed to put sugar in vinegar when reducing it? The BF loves caprese salad but I think I goofed up when making the drizzle last time.
  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Most of these high calorie meals have outrageous calorie counts because of added fat, typically in the form of cheese, sauce or dressings. You can cut so many calories on restaurant salads by omitting any croutons or tortilla strips and getting the dressing on the side. Dressing on the side allows you to have more control over what you consume and you can better estimate how much is eaten.

    ETA: there is something fundamentally flawed about your calorie counting practices if you thought anything with 1/4 cup of dressing would ever be low calorie. Unless your balasmic is 100% vinegar, that's an enormous amount of calories. Personally, I don't like to eat a meal where 75-90% of the calories in the meal come from...dressing

    Yes, that's what this post is about.

    1/4 cup is what cooks on the line will put in for a salad when the dressing is not on the side. To them, it's just one ladle. Clearly, we know better than that now. In the past, salad seemed like the healthy choice but now we know it's packed chock full of bad things.

    It's helpful to remember that vinaigrette has a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. So if you have 1/4 cup, that's 4 tablespoons. 3 of 4 tablespoons is likely pure oil...so you're looking at roughly 360kcal from the oil in that dressing.

    I hear some people make a vinaigrette that is 2/3 thick, aged balsamic and 1/3 oil. And that they carry it in their purse in a fine tip squeeze bottle and weigh it out to the gram. Of course, I would not know anyone like this.

    Is that like reduced balsamic? I know you cook it down for caprese salad....

    A high quality aged balsamic will be fairly viscous as far as vinegars go--the grape just is reduced, fermented, then aged for 12 or 18 years or so. So on a Caprese, you can use a fine balsamic out of the bottle, or if you just have a thinner balsamic, you can reduce it.

    How's the sugar content compare? Because reduced balsamic is incredibly sweet. What's driving the viscosity of the aged balsamic? Is it sugar? Or something else.

    Serious question: are you supposed to put sugar in vinegar when reducing it? The BF loves caprese salad but I think I goofed up when making the drizzle last time.

    Many people include sugar, honey, etc when they make a balsamic reduction. I have no idea how long you'd have to reduce it to get the desired texture if you DIDNT add a sugar. But for me...I just dont make it, because it is too sweet for me in general.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Most of these high calorie meals have outrageous calorie counts because of added fat, typically in the form of cheese, sauce or dressings. You can cut so many calories on restaurant salads by omitting any croutons or tortilla strips and getting the dressing on the side. Dressing on the side allows you to have more control over what you consume and you can better estimate how much is eaten.

    ETA: there is something fundamentally flawed about your calorie counting practices if you thought anything with 1/4 cup of dressing would ever be low calorie. Unless your balasmic is 100% vinegar, that's an enormous amount of calories. Personally, I don't like to eat a meal where 75-90% of the calories in the meal come from...dressing

    Yes, that's what this post is about.

    1/4 cup is what cooks on the line will put in for a salad when the dressing is not on the side. To them, it's just one ladle. Clearly, we know better than that now. In the past, salad seemed like the healthy choice but now we know it's packed chock full of bad things.

    It's helpful to remember that vinaigrette has a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. So if you have 1/4 cup, that's 4 tablespoons. 3 of 4 tablespoons is likely pure oil...so you're looking at roughly 360kcal from the oil in that dressing.

    I hear some people make a vinaigrette that is 2/3 thick, aged balsamic and 1/3 oil. And that they carry it in their purse in a fine tip squeeze bottle and weigh it out to the gram. Of course, I would not know anyone like this.

    Is that like reduced balsamic? I know you cook it down for caprese salad....

    A high quality aged balsamic will be fairly viscous as far as vinegars go--the grape just is reduced, fermented, then aged for 12 or 18 years or so. So on a Caprese, you can use a fine balsamic out of the bottle, or if you just have a thinner balsamic, you can reduce it.

    How's the sugar content compare? Because reduced balsamic is incredibly sweet. What's driving the viscosity of the aged balsamic? Is it sugar? Or something else.

    Serious question: are you supposed to put sugar in vinegar when reducing it? The BF loves caprese salad but I think I goofed up when making the drizzle last time.

    Many people include sugar, honey, etc when they make a balsamic reduction. I have no idea how long you'd have to reduce it to get the desired texture if you DIDNT add a sugar. But for me...I just dont make it, because it is too sweet for me in general.

    Ohh.....

    Thanks @HardcoreP0rk!
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Most of these high calorie meals have outrageous calorie counts because of added fat, typically in the form of cheese, sauce or dressings. You can cut so many calories on restaurant salads by omitting any croutons or tortilla strips and getting the dressing on the side. Dressing on the side allows you to have more control over what you consume and you can better estimate how much is eaten.

    ETA: there is something fundamentally flawed about your calorie counting practices if you thought anything with 1/4 cup of dressing would ever be low calorie. Unless your balasmic is 100% vinegar, that's an enormous amount of calories. Personally, I don't like to eat a meal where 75-90% of the calories in the meal come from...dressing

    Yes, that's what this post is about.

    1/4 cup is what cooks on the line will put in for a salad when the dressing is not on the side. To them, it's just one ladle. Clearly, we know better than that now. In the past, salad seemed like the healthy choice but now we know it's packed chock full of bad things.

    It's helpful to remember that vinaigrette has a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. So if you have 1/4 cup, that's 4 tablespoons. 3 of 4 tablespoons is likely pure oil...so you're looking at roughly 360kcal from the oil in that dressing.

    I hear some people make a vinaigrette that is 2/3 thick, aged balsamic and 1/3 oil. And that they carry it in their purse in a fine tip squeeze bottle and weigh it out to the gram. Of course, I would not know anyone like this.

    Is that like reduced balsamic? I know you cook it down for caprese salad....

    A high quality aged balsamic will be fairly viscous as far as vinegars go--the grape just is reduced, fermented, then aged for 12 or 18 years or so. So on a Caprese, you can use a fine balsamic out of the bottle, or if you just have a thinner balsamic, you can reduce it.

    How's the sugar content compare? Because reduced balsamic is incredibly sweet. What's driving the viscosity of the aged balsamic? Is it sugar? Or something else.

    It's just the reduction process--it's concentrated grape juice, basically. I haven't looked into sugar because I don't track it, especially not if it is natural. If someone is doing Keto, they probably would need to. But again, just a slight drizzle is sufficient to let ingredients shine through.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Most of these high calorie meals have outrageous calorie counts because of added fat, typically in the form of cheese, sauce or dressings. You can cut so many calories on restaurant salads by omitting any croutons or tortilla strips and getting the dressing on the side. Dressing on the side allows you to have more control over what you consume and you can better estimate how much is eaten.

    ETA: there is something fundamentally flawed about your calorie counting practices if you thought anything with 1/4 cup of dressing would ever be low calorie. Unless your balasmic is 100% vinegar, that's an enormous amount of calories. Personally, I don't like to eat a meal where 75-90% of the calories in the meal come from...dressing

    Yes, that's what this post is about.

    1/4 cup is what cooks on the line will put in for a salad when the dressing is not on the side. To them, it's just one ladle. Clearly, we know better than that now. In the past, salad seemed like the healthy choice but now we know it's packed chock full of bad things.

    It's helpful to remember that vinaigrette has a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. So if you have 1/4 cup, that's 4 tablespoons. 3 of 4 tablespoons is likely pure oil...so you're looking at roughly 360kcal from the oil in that dressing.

    I hear some people make a vinaigrette that is 2/3 thick, aged balsamic and 1/3 oil. And that they carry it in their purse in a fine tip squeeze bottle and weigh it out to the gram. Of course, I would not know anyone like this.

    Is that like reduced balsamic? I know you cook it down for caprese salad....

    A high quality aged balsamic will be fairly viscous as far as vinegars go--the grape just is reduced, fermented, then aged for 12 or 18 years or so. So on a Caprese, you can use a fine balsamic out of the bottle, or if you just have a thinner balsamic, you can reduce it.

    1 of my favorite condiments:
    l0pmhd1pmczd.png
    (it's in the database for those curious about calories/sugar content.. it's reduced to a thick glaze and in a squeeze tube). I usually drizzle about 8-10g on top of a salad (that I've also spritzed with some non-reduced balsamic vinegar spray and olive oil). Also nice on hard boiled eggs.
  • kaypee65
    kaypee65 Posts: 120 Member
    I generally make salads at home with my own vinaigrette. I use oil and vinegar infused vinegars and oils. Yep, there is added sugar. But when I'm only using a tablespoon of each it's not a big deal.

    In any case, I put about 1T vinegar, 1T oil, and 1t mustard in a nice salad bowl. Whisk with a fork or whisk. Add in 4 cups of salad stuff, and mix by hand. Literally, put your hands in the bowl to mix the salad. I get far better distribution of dressing/lettuce/tomatoes/cucumbers etc.

    My favorite from oil and vinegar is their fig. Nothing is better for a winter salad with pears and a bit of gorgonzonola tossed into a salad.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    kaypee65 wrote: »
    I generally make salads at home with my own vinaigrette. I use oil and vinegar infused vinegars and oils. Yep, there is added sugar. But when I'm only using a tablespoon of each it's not a big deal.

    In any case, I put about 1T vinegar, 1T oil, and 1t mustard in a nice salad bowl. Whisk with a fork or whisk. Add in 4 cups of salad stuff, and mix by hand. Literally, put your hands in the bowl to mix the salad. I get far better distribution of dressing/lettuce/tomatoes/cucumbers etc.

    My favorite from oil and vinegar is their fig. Nothing is better for a winter salad with pears and a bit of gorgonzonola tossed into a salad.

    That sounds so dreamy!
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Most of these high calorie meals have outrageous calorie counts because of added fat, typically in the form of cheese, sauce or dressings. You can cut so many calories on restaurant salads by omitting any croutons or tortilla strips and getting the dressing on the side. Dressing on the side allows you to have more control over what you consume and you can better estimate how much is eaten.

    ETA: there is something fundamentally flawed about your calorie counting practices if you thought anything with 1/4 cup of dressing would ever be low calorie. Unless your balasmic is 100% vinegar, that's an enormous amount of calories. Personally, I don't like to eat a meal where 75-90% of the calories in the meal come from...dressing

    Yes, that's what this post is about.

    1/4 cup is what cooks on the line will put in for a salad when the dressing is not on the side. To them, it's just one ladle. Clearly, we know better than that now. In the past, salad seemed like the healthy choice but now we know it's packed chock full of bad things.

    It's helpful to remember that vinaigrette has a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. So if you have 1/4 cup, that's 4 tablespoons. 3 of 4 tablespoons is likely pure oil...so you're looking at roughly 360kcal from the oil in that dressing.

    I hear some people make a vinaigrette that is 2/3 thick, aged balsamic and 1/3 oil. And that they carry it in their purse in a fine tip squeeze bottle and weigh it out to the gram. Of course, I would not know anyone like this.

    Is that like reduced balsamic? I know you cook it down for caprese salad....

    A high quality aged balsamic will be fairly viscous as far as vinegars go--the grape just is reduced, fermented, then aged for 12 or 18 years or so. So on a Caprese, you can use a fine balsamic out of the bottle, or if you just have a thinner balsamic, you can reduce it.

    How's the sugar content compare? Because reduced balsamic is incredibly sweet. What's driving the viscosity of the aged balsamic? Is it sugar? Or something else.

    Serious question: are you supposed to put sugar in vinegar when reducing it? The BF loves caprese salad but I think I goofed up when making the drizzle last time.

    The only time I have reduced balsamic is when I am making a pork tenderloin or some such, and I am deglazing the pan. I haven't ever thought about putting sugar in it because it is grape juice and is already naturally sugared. For a Caprese, I am using home-grown, organic, heirloom tomatoes, and believe in showcasing the literal "fruits of my labor" with the very best balsamic--not the kinds that you would find at most grocery stores. You might want to seek out one of those shops where you can taste-test different olive oils and balsamics before buying a bottle--they will be on the more expensive side, but for a Caprese or really any kind of salad or veg, if it's good enough you just need a very slight drizzle. The quality of tomatoes is equally crucial.

    For a vinagrette, you need really good ingredients, and you also need a tsp or so of Dijon to emulsify it. (And such a vinaigrette can also be used for Caprese).

    I'm a total pleb and use JUST balsamic vinegar in my salads. Not even oil.

    Walked into Oil & Vine store once, realized that I could buy a car for the cost of the infused oils there, and left.

    LOL. I hope you tasted everything before walking out, and at least got a snack out of it! I bought a set of olive oil and balsamic in a cute wooden box from Williams Sonoma a) at a steep going-out-of-business discount, and b) with a gift card. The original price was $100, and it is shocking to think there are people who actually pay that for wee l'il bottles. It can get crazy.

    This is the place that I stock up on every year when we go to the Traverse City area in Michigan: https://www.fustinis.com/

    It's still quite expensive, but think of it from the perspective that balsamic is like wine. Sometimes you need the Two-Buck Chuck, and sometimes you need something a lot better. I use mass-produced grocery store balsamic for deglazing, because it will be reduced and take on the flavor of the crispy meat particles and fat, and then the nicer stuff when it really needs to stand out. It doesn't spoil, and you can certainly stretch it with judicious use.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    I don't have salads much anymore, but when I do, I use ponzu sauce as dressing. It's amazing. Super low calories, although kind of high sodium if that kind of thing is an issue.
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
    If I'm going for a salad, I use salsa for dressing. I don't do salads much though, because they just don't satiate me unless they have tons of protein added.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    I don't have salads much anymore, but when I do, I use ponzu sauce as dressing. It's amazing. Super low calories, although kind of high sodium if that kind of thing is an issue.

    My mom suggested using bragg's amino's the other day. Not sure if I'm brave enough to do that yet but the sodium should be quite a bit lower.
  • JenObRN
    JenObRN Posts: 102 Member
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Most of these high calorie meals have outrageous calorie counts because of added fat, typically in the form of cheese, sauce or dressings. You can cut so many calories on restaurant salads by omitting any croutons or tortilla strips and getting the dressing on the side. Dressing on the side allows you to have more control over what you consume and you can better estimate how much is eaten.

    ETA: there is something fundamentally flawed about your calorie counting practices if you thought anything with 1/4 cup of dressing would ever be low calorie. Unless your balasmic is 100% vinegar, that's an enormous amount of calories. Personally, I don't like to eat a meal where 75-90% of the calories in the meal come from...dressing

    Yes, that's what this post is about.

    1/4 cup is what cooks on the line will put in for a salad when the dressing is not on the side. To them, it's just one ladle. Clearly, we know better than that now. In the past, salad seemed like the healthy choice but now we know it's packed chock full of bad things.

    It's helpful to remember that vinaigrette has a ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. So if you have 1/4 cup, that's 4 tablespoons. 3 of 4 tablespoons is likely pure oil...so you're looking at roughly 360kcal from the oil in that dressing.

    I hear some people make a vinaigrette that is 2/3 thick, aged balsamic and 1/3 oil. And that they carry it in their purse in a fine tip squeeze bottle and weigh it out to the gram. Of course, I would not know anyone like this.

    Is that like reduced balsamic? I know you cook it down for caprese salad....

    A high quality aged balsamic will be fairly viscous as far as vinegars go--the grape just is reduced, fermented, then aged for 12 or 18 years or so. So on a Caprese, you can use a fine balsamic out of the bottle, or if you just have a thinner balsamic, you can reduce it.

    How's the sugar content compare? Because reduced balsamic is incredibly sweet. What's driving the viscosity of the aged balsamic? Is it sugar? Or something else.

    Serious question: are you supposed to put sugar in vinegar when reducing it? The BF loves caprese salad but I think I goofed up when making the drizzle last time.

    The only time I have reduced balsamic is when I am making a pork tenderloin or some such, and I am deglazing the pan. I haven't ever thought about putting sugar in it because it is grape juice and is already naturally sugared. For a Caprese, I am using home-grown, organic, heirloom tomatoes, and believe in showcasing the literal "fruits of my labor" with the very best balsamic--not the kinds that you would find at most grocery stores. You might want to seek out one of those shops where you can taste-test different olive oils and balsamics before buying a bottle--they will be on the more expensive side, but for a Caprese or really any kind of salad or veg, if it's good enough you just need a very slight drizzle. The quality of tomatoes is equally crucial.

    For a vinagrette, you need really good ingredients, and you also need a tsp or so of Dijon to emulsify it. (And such a vinaigrette can also be used for Caprese).

    I'm a total pleb and use JUST balsamic vinegar in my salads. Not even oil.

    Walked into Oil & Vine store once, realized that I could buy a car for the cost of the infused oils there, and left.

    LOL. I hope you tasted everything before walking out, and at least got a snack out of it! I bought a set of olive oil and balsamic in a cute wooden box from Williams Sonoma a) at a steep going-out-of-business discount, and b) with a gift card. The original price was $100, and it is shocking to think there are people who actually pay that for wee l'il bottles. It can get crazy.

    This is the place that I stock up on every year when we go to the Traverse City area in Michigan: https://www.fustinis.com/

    It's still quite expensive, but think of it from the perspective that balsamic is like wine. Sometimes you need the Two-Buck Chuck, and sometimes you need something a lot better. I use mass-produced grocery store balsamic for deglazing, because it will be reduced and take on the flavor of the crispy meat particles and fat, and then the nicer stuff when it really needs to stand out. It doesn't spoil, and you can certainly stretch it with judicious use.

    LOVE Traverse City! I miss Michigan. (The west side of the state anyway). I'm not a huge fan of Oklahoma
  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
    kaypee65 wrote: »
    I generally make salads at home with my own vinaigrette. I use oil and vinegar infused vinegars and oils. Yep, there is added sugar. But when I'm only using a tablespoon of each it's not a big deal.

    In any case, I put about 1T vinegar, 1T oil, and 1t mustard in a nice salad bowl. Whisk with a fork or whisk. Add in 4 cups of salad stuff, and mix by hand. Literally, put your hands in the bowl to mix the salad. I get far better distribution of dressing/lettuce/tomatoes/cucumbers etc.

    My favorite from oil and vinegar is their fig. Nothing is better for a winter salad with pears and a bit of gorgonzonola tossed into a salad.

    That's how I make mine. I like those ratios and it's definitely low cal. I don't worry about *counting* sugar, but I'm not in love with the taste of overly sweet things on my salads.
  • lindustum
    lindustum Posts: 212 Member
    Ah yes, Granola - or in general, all cereals that are "healthy" meaning not the sugar-bombs for children.
    My mum saw me the other day getting the scales out for my daily cereal, and she quipped "haven't you figured it out by now how much you need in a bowl?". THAT IS NOT THE POINT. 10g is visually NOTHING, yet so much </3
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    thegeans wrote: »
    I got a cauliflower "steak" at Mom's Organic recently. Come back to MFP and find it's 691 calories. Not "unhealthy," but a reminder that estimating calories is sometimes impossible!

    What the heck did they do to it to make it that high calorie? I ate a real steak the other day which was lower calorie than that.