Even the healthy items at restaurants. . .

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regina_mundi
regina_mundi Posts: 30
in Food and Nutrition
. . . are calorie bombs!

Especially in this economy—and especially after this week of it—I like supporting local businesses. Yesterday I went out for the first time since joining MFP. Though everyone at the table kept commenting on how "good" I was being with my choices (I was the only one to order the salad (no dressing) rather than the creamy gazpacho, the mahi mahi rather than the lamb stew, the almond tart rather than the crème brûlée, etc.), that delicious delicious nonsense still set me back almost 1000 calories.

Of course, I may or may not be overestimating, and the food didn't taste excessively salty or conspicuously unctuous, but you really can't know what was added to make it taste so much better than you can make it yourself. And I consider myself a pretty good cook.

In any case I didn't get home until almost midnight, but I got in my workout, showered, and then slept like a baby.

Replies

  • ApproachingDusk
    ApproachingDusk Posts: 70
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    I really hate eating out sometimes because they really are high calorie. The only thing that I've been able to do is avoid the dessert if possible, and save half the entree for another meal if its really high in calories.

    But if I'm going out and not being concerned with it then I'll eat everything and stop when I'm satisfied.
  • jamiealdridge02
    jamiealdridge02 Posts: 93 Member
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    I know.....it is dissapointing to find out how much everything is. One trick that has really helped me is trying to order the "healthier" options at restauraunts, but I only eat about half of my meal. We go out to eat a decent amount so this has allows to still eat out, enjoy food, and still lose weight. Good luck and good for you for supporting local businesses .
  • myurk
    myurk Posts: 108
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    Even those pesky salads can range from 600 to well over 1000 calories!
  • mandahq
    mandahq Posts: 88 Member
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    I was looking at subway online and It still has alot of sodium. It was okay for calories but the sodium was killer!
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    That's why I don't like to eat out. At home, I can control the ingredients and the quality of them. And it's way cheaper. I can't stand paying restaurant markups plus tip.
  • carlxo21
    carlxo21 Posts: 143 Member
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    I know how that is. I ordered a lasanga roll (about the size of an apple) and it was 1700 calories!!! What I do now is look at the menu ahead of time and pick what I am going to order. then I eat half of it and save the rest. It baffles me how high in calories and fats restaurant items are these days. And like you said, you never know what kind of junk they add in there.
  • regina_mundi
    regina_mundi Posts: 30
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    Even those pesky salads can range from 600 to well over 1000 calories!

    I know! That's why I became the (discreetly, I hope) annoying diner who ascertained that the salad was just mesclun greens and watermelon, with the most miserly amount of goat cheese and walnut I could get without offending the chef.
  • mandahq
    mandahq Posts: 88 Member
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    Sometimes you can find menus online. I suggest looking at those before you go out :)
  • regina_mundi
    regina_mundi Posts: 30
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    What I do now is look at the menu ahead of time and pick what I am going to order. then I eat half of it and save the rest.

    That's a great tip. I asked to have my dessert boxed, and it was done artfully. The annoying thing about restaurants that pride themselves on using local ingredients is that even if you look up the menu on the web, the menu actually presented to you might be quite different, because some special at the market caught the chef's fancy that morning, or an ingredient wasn't available or of as high quality.
  • sh0ck
    sh0ck Posts: 168 Member
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    The portion sizes are also a problem a lot of times. Sometimes the food can be pretty healthy but they serve 3-4 "portions" worth per plate.

    I would't mind paying a little bit less to get a little bit less. I don't need as much stuff as they often give me.
  • lugovelb
    lugovelb Posts: 60
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    Hello i fell your pain. When eating out is always good to research ahead of time. That way you know what to order before getting there. Also you can ask for the nutrinional fact sheet. I went to Macaroni grill couple of days ago and my meal was 390 cal. I had some tasty chicken brest filet with grilled vegies and it was good. Other thing I do if i cant get a good calorie count is to cut the protions in half and suddenly a 1000cal become 500. Also for drinks I dont ever drink soda diet or otherwise. I either have unsweetened ice tea (brewed not poder) and normaly the calorie for that is around 0 and for desert i wait to get home and have my skinny cow. For me a 1000cal dinner is not an option since my daily intake is about 1200.
  • kitinboots
    kitinboots Posts: 589 Member
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    I find it can also be wise to have JUST a main, or two starters INSTEAD of a starter + main.
    Also, look for the simplest items as they are both easier to calculate nutritional value, but less likely to have hidden extra calories (surf n turf? Both the prawns and the steak were cooked in oil, whereas steak on it's own would have less oil)

    I look for a big hunk of protein. A steak or filet of fish is good, and I scrape off any sauce so the flavour remains without all the calories. Switch fries gor veggies and avoid the bread basket and any carb loaded sides. You can eat put, have a glass of wine and still go home knowing your dinner was 5-600cal.

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