Restaurants that dont share nutritional info

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gurganuss
gurganuss Posts: 78 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ok so I am a little frustrated. My significant other has decided that we are having Tony Packo's for dinner, and they dont have the nutrional value for most of their menu items. I try to stay very close to my calories and have been known to go over a day here or there, but to just now know. UGH

So what to do when you cannot find the nutritional information and dont know anywhere like them to try a comparison?

Replies

  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    I try to get fairly simple dishes where I can at least have a good guess at what all the ingredients are and their amounts. Then I'll just build the dish up as a recipe here and maybe add some sort of fat source, because restaurants will frequently use higher fat and sodium options that I would at home.
  • htmlgirl
    htmlgirl Posts: 314 Member
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    I will typically "earn" calories beforehand by exercising and try to approximate what I ate.
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    if you know what you will order compare it with resturants that do and use what they have down for that item
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    I just had to do that by using another resturants calories because the one we went to isn't on here. I have a cheat day here and there and yes I gain 1/2 pound but then get right back on track the next day and lose it so I don't stress over it
  • AC417
    AC417 Posts: 56 Member
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    At first glance at the menu, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of healthy choices, but maybe either the veggie or chicken chili isn't too bad? They might be a little high on sodium though.
  • jadedone
    jadedone Posts: 2,449 Member
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    I almost never go to places with online nutrition facts (And I go out to eat at least 2x a week). I find I good portion of dishes are available approximately. Even ethnic foods. I am never sure if it is right, but I get as close as I can. If there is a huge range of the same dish, I take the middle one.

    God luck.
  • Asil02
    Asil02 Posts: 261
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    If this is the place around the Toledo area, I just looked at the menu and there is pretty much NOTHING there I'd eat. Not even a salad that I could see....well except a cucumber salad. Any chance y'all could go somewhere else? I will not eat somewhere that I can't know the nutritional value. I was taken by surprise once when I ordered a salad with a vinaigrette. The vinaigrette had 450 CALORIES!! And of course I didn't find this out until after the fact.
    Good luck!
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Call them and ask where they have their nutritional information available. In the US, restaurants of a certain size have to have the information available. Hopefully, this isn't a small Mom & Pop type place so you can get the info. If they are, however, specifically ask that your meal be prepared in a low fat manner (IE: don't fry your food or saute it in butter) so that you can look it up by the individual ingredients.
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    Looking at the menu I think I would either go with the veggie chili or the chicken paprikas and just go light on eating the dumplings.
  • scloyd
    scloyd Posts: 327 Member
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    I just had to do that by using another resturants calories because the one we went to isn't on here.
    Near our home is a small family owned mexican restaurant where we will eat and I will use a another restaurants nutrional values. I will try to add some extra excercise as well. I figure it's close enough.
  • gurganuss
    gurganuss Posts: 78 Member
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    I tried the let's eat somewhere else. Yes this is the one in Toledo. He has never been there, it is date night and we are going to a ball game across the street. His friends keep telling him that he will love it.

    I might just have to eat light or just blow it and make up for it tomorrow. I just wish that these restaurants were required to share the information, but then people probably wouldnt eat there.
  • gaiareeves
    gaiareeves Posts: 292 Member
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    It's a legal requirement for restaurants to provide you with nutritional info. Simply ask for it before you order - it's nothing to be embarrassed about, restaurants should recognise that they need to have the nutritional values of their meals handy.
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    I tried the let's eat somewhere else. Yes this is the one in Toledo. He has never been there, it is date night and we are going to a ball game across the street. His friends keep telling him that he will love it.

    I might just have to eat light or just blow it and make up for it tomorrow. I just wish that these restaurants were required to share the information, but then people probably wouldnt eat there.

    I wouldn't be so sure. In some cities restaurants are required to put nutrition facts on the menu. I never see the Jack in the Box parking lot anywhere close to empty even though everyone now knows how many calories they're eating :) If it's important to you, suggest it.
  • jadedone
    jadedone Posts: 2,449 Member
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    It's a legal requirement for restaurants to provide you with nutritional info. Simply ask for it before you order - it's nothing to be embarrassed about, restaurants should recognise that they need to have the nutritional values of their meals handy.

    Only for bigger chai restaurants. Small independents have no obligations to give you a calorie count, they only need to post/know any allergen information.

    Where I live, a good portion of cities are anti-chain, so it is a fact of life you will not find nutrition facts for most places. I'd need to go around 20 miles or more to find most of the all-american chains.
  • misty0413
    misty0413 Posts: 212
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    By law nutrional information is required, ask the manager. If they don't have it just try to break down the ingredients.
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
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    No, to the above. Not every state requires a restaurant to produce the NI especially if it is not a national chain.

    I use a comparable restaurant. Or I ask them if they have it, if they don't I go somewhere that does. If enough people do that even the small local places will realize that people do want this and provide it. I know it is a burden to place on small restaurants but it shouldn't be a secret how much sugar, fat and sodium I am eating. To me that is not acceptable so I choose to not eat there. There are so many restaurants that I can certainly go to one I can get this at.
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    Allergen information may be a sort of universal requirement but nutritional data certainly aren't.
  • gurganuss
    gurganuss Posts: 78 Member
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    Thank you everyone. I ate light. Chicken chili with no beans and a hotdog and stayed within my calories for the day, but blew my sodium clear out of the water.

    Always good to know there are people willing to help and give advice.

    The support system here can be a wonderful thing:smile:
  • SweetSammie
    SweetSammie Posts: 391 Member
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    I almost never go to places with online nutrition facts (And I go out to eat at least 2x a week). I find I good portion of dishes are available approximately. Even ethnic foods. I am never sure if it is right, but I get as close as I can. If there is a huge range of the same dish, I take the middle one.

    God luck.

    Exactly this! Sometimes I will pick things that can be deconstructed ... as in, today I had a catfish wrap from a local restaurant. So, I logged the catfish, garlic herb wrap, lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce separately. I had cole slaw for a side - it was not creamy coleslaw, but I logged KFC coleslaw, knowing that in all likelihood, KFC is higher calorie. I also try to leave a few extra calories uneaten to account for inaccuracies.

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