Help - out to Lunch on Sunday at a Pub.

sallyangregory
sallyangregory Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I know it all really depends on the restaurant and how they cook it but..... choices are:

Roast sirloin of BEEF, horseradish on the side with beef dripping roasted potatoes, seasonal vegetables, cauliflower/broccoli cheese, Yorkshire pudding and homemade stock gravy.

or

Pan fried fillet of sea bass with Isle of Man scallops with Fondant potato, parsnip puree and samphire

I've already ruled out the Roast Pheasant, Roast Pork or Beer Battered Fish Chips as not good choices!

Am leaning towards the Sea Bass but any thoughts would be gratefully received!


Best Answers

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,017 Member
    Answer ✓
    Do you eat out every week? If not then why not see it as something special and exceptional that won't really throw you back. Yeah, more salt will make you retain more water (not fat) and eating a bigger portion of food will likely cause another uptick on the same due to more weight in your intestines (also not fat) but if it's once in a while? Why not. Just based on the description I would likely use the fish. It should delicious, and probably includes as much cooking oil as the meat.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,923 Member
    edited January 2024 Answer ✓
    I'd go with the fish, because it:
    - sounds delicious
    - sounds slightly less calorific and lighter for the stomach (based on the sides mentioned)
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,909 Member
    Answer ✓
    As a one-off I wouldn't worry about it at all. Enjoy it. Log it as best you can anyway, even if it's just an approximation of total calories.

    You can always eat a bit less before and after that day, or the day before and after, to make up for it.

    You can also do substitutions, e.g. ask for mashed potato instead of chips with the fish, or tell them not to dish the yorkshire pudding. If there is bread at the meal before, or starters or desserts, ignore those. If a salad is a starter option, be sure to request a low calorie dressing since the restaurant will likely smother it.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,923 Member
    edited January 2024 Answer ✓
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    As a one-off I wouldn't worry about it at all. Enjoy it. Log it as best you can anyway, even if it's just an approximation of total calories.

    You can always eat a bit less before and after that day, or the day before and after, to make up for it.

    You can also do substitutions, e.g. ask for mashed potato instead of chips with the fish, or tell them not to dish the yorkshire pudding. If there is bread at the meal before, or starters or desserts, ignore those. If a salad is a starter option, be sure to request a low calorie dressing since the restaurant will likely smother it.

    I've seen how chefs make mashed potato, apparently the 'ideal' ratio (for taste) is 50% potato, 50% butter :mrgreen: They don't all use that much butter of course, but I definitely wouldn't use mashed potatoes as a lower calorie option in a restaurant.
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,384 Member
    Answer ✓
    Lietchi wrote: »
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    As a one-off I wouldn't worry about it at all. Enjoy it. Log it as best you can anyway, even if it's just an approximation of total calories.

    You can always eat a bit less before and after that day, or the day before and after, to make up for it.

    You can also do substitutions, e.g. ask for mashed potato instead of chips with the fish, or tell them not to dish the yorkshire pudding. If there is bread at the meal before, or starters or desserts, ignore those. If a salad is a starter option, be sure to request a low calorie dressing since the restaurant will likely smother it.

    I've seen how chefs make mashed potato, apparently the 'ideal' ratio (for taste) is 50% potato, 50% butter :mrgreen: They don't all use that much butter of course, but I definitely wouldn't use mashed potatoes as a lower calorie option in a restaurant.

    And cream, there's usually cream and butter both. Mashed potatoes are actually a "never order" for me because the additives can range so wildly.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,909 Member
    Answer ✓
    No doubt places vary. The main time I go with mashed as a sub is with Bush's Chicken takeout, mostly because fries just don't travel well, and partly because of calories. Their website claims the mashed is 100 cals and the fries are 450 cals. With sit down inside restaurants, it's rare enough that I just enjoy the fries there, but if I really felt the need to sub I'd probably request a plain baked potato.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,845 Member
    Answer ✓
    Roast pork is generally a good choice, too?

    I’ve found most cuts of pork to be low cal.

    You may be able to order steamed vegetables, too. A lot of restaurants do that to order.

    But I’m all for enjoying yourself, and if it’s kosher to do so in a pub, you can always take home a doggy bag and have the rest the next day.

Answers

  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,909 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    I've seen how chefs make mashed potato, apparently the 'ideal' ratio (for taste) is 50% potato, 50% butter :mrgreen: They don't all use that much butter of course, but I definitely wouldn't use mashed potatoes as a lower calorie option in a restaurant.
    Really? Damn. So, still cheaper than restaurant fries in calories, but less than I assumed?
  • sallyangregory
    sallyangregory Posts: 4 Member
    Thank you everyone for some great advice! Going to go with the fish as I agree it sounds delicious and I prefer the sides! I'm not sure I particularly fancy the Pheasant and although I love a Roast Dinner, Beef wouldn't be my first choice.

    From the comments above I'm steering clear of mash in restaurants!
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,458 Member
    Did you rule out as "bad choices" any food you'd actually prefer to eat? If so, enjoy them, log them, and move on. If that puts you over, look back over the last few days and see if you were under those days. Does it average out? If not, you could, if you wanted, go under for a couple days ahead. Or just call it a treat and be OK with it. If you don't actually want any of the foods you ruled out, no loss.

    There's a place on the coast that I love. They make a really good fish and chips that they serve with fennel slaw. Oh. So. Good. I always get a salad instead of the fries. They don't make the fries from scratch anyway.

    I always sit at the chef's counter. I go after my monthly dive shift at the aquarium, but not in the summer because it's so crowded even at what would be a very off hour. One day I just went in and thought I'd get a small something. I asked Chef Enrique if I could just have the fish without the fries at all. It used to be a menu item as a side, but it isn't anymore. I knew he'd do it. He looked me in the eye and said, "You want it no fried, right? At first I didn't understand what he said. Ladies and gentlemen, when your chef suggests something that you want, listen! He cooked the fish on the flame grill instead of the flat grill. It was so good. Oh yeah.

    So fast forward a month or two when I was back. My server came up to me and asked if I'd decided. I said, "Yes, but I'm going to be a bit of a trouble-maker. I want the fish and chips, but I want the fish grilled instead of fired, and I want a salad instead of the chips." Joy, my server, smiled and said, "That's no trouble at all. What you want is fish and chips, hold the panko, no fries sub salad. That's what I order when I have lunch here, but I get the kid's portion." The only difference with the kid's portion is they don't get the fennel slaw. Now that's just not an option for @mtaratoot. It's really good. And that's what I often order these days.

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