Hidden threats while eating out.

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zero7one
zero7one Posts: 15
in Food and Nutrition
Not too long ago, King County (WA) made it a requirement for restaurants to post the nutritional information of their foods and make them available for customers who were eating there. At first I thought that it was a waste of resources and unnecessary. But now that I am more aware of what I eat, I wish that all restaurants did so.

For example, the other night we went to Famous Daves (BBQ) for a fundraiser for our daughter's school. I tried to do some research before we went so I could make some smarter choices.

When we got there I ordered the Salmon, which came with mashed potatoes, baked beans, and a cornbread muffin. I also opted to drink a water. Thinking that I had made a somewhat good choice with my meal, and asking for the Salmon dry without the glaze, I was comfortable with my choices. I didn't eat the fried onion straws that came with the salmon and I only ate half of the baked beans.

Here is a breakdown of what I ate:

Salmon: 450 calories
Mashed Potatoes: 90 calories
Baked Beans: 75 calories
Corn Bread Muffin: 600 calories!!!

600 calories?!? Really? For a cornbread muffin? When I got home and added that to my diary, I was devistated. 600 calories for a cupcake sized piece of bread? I knew that it wasn't whole grain, but I never would have thought that it would have been 600 calories.

Now more than ever do I wish that I had an app for my blackberry that had this nutritional information plugged in.

We have made some serious changes to our diets, to include rarely eating out. And when we do eat out, we usually try to know what we are getting into when we go.

Has anyone else been trying to be good with what they are eating just to realize the huge impact one piece of food has?

Does anyone know of anything that can be used while on the go, especially a blackberry application?

Replies

  • Skinny100
    Skinny100 Posts: 77
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    Wow - 600 calories for a muffin!!! :noway: That should be illegal, lol! I'd rather enjoy a nice pc of cake!

    Try calorieking.com -they may have a blackberry application. Though I'm not sure.

    Great job on being so pro-active. I know you will lose weight in no time with your attitude. Just think of all the calories we must have been consuming unknowingly!
  • lizzys
    lizzys Posts: 841 Member
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    i think we need calories list to .just using the food journal lets me know i donT have accurate counts on my own
  • zero7one
    zero7one Posts: 15
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    I have the calorie king book, I should take it along with me. I usually use it for pre-planning...but I should just put it in my jacket pocket. I'll check out their webpage to see if they have an app. Thanks for the idea.
  • slimmingmom
    slimmingmom Posts: 297
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    Wow, that's crazy calories!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    Where did you get that info?

    I have been doing this for 1 year and a half and I bet dimes to doughnuts if it was a cupcake sized cornmuffin it was less than 300 calories, and that is if they used buttermilk.

    I big muffin is 570........

    Still, I understand your concern. I hate eating out for this very reason. :flowerforyou:
  • zero7one
    zero7one Posts: 15
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    Where did you get that info?

    From this webpage.... Search "Famous Daves Cornbread"
  • courtney_love2001
    courtney_love2001 Posts: 1,468 Member
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    How could you stuff 600 calories into a muffin? That is so crazy...I dunno how much I believe that actually. If you do search for it you get 600 any site that you go to, but that probably came from one person posting that it was 600 originally. 600 just seems like an awful lot....unless it's made of half lard and covered with bacon grease frosting. :laugh: I would go more with 350 or 400 like what Jeannie said...
  • joann
    joann Posts: 624 Member
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    Maybe Paula Dean made it with 2 lbs of butter per muffin...:happy:
  • zero7one
    zero7one Posts: 15
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    I really hope that it wasn't 600 cal, but I still logged it as it was.

    I apprecitate the fact that users can log in new food, but I wish that there would be some substance behind the entries. The cornbread muffin only has the calories, nothing else.

    I guess I should go to all of the King County (WA) restaurants that I can and get the nutritional information that I can get....directly from the restaurants.
  • CabbageBaggage
    CabbageBaggage Posts: 4
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    I know what you mean...just last night, my boyfriend and I went to Subway thinking we would be able to eat light and cheap lol...I got the buffalo chicken on wheat which has 340 cal and 7 grams of fat, not too bad really, but my boyfriend got the tuna, which wasn't so bad in calories but has 30 grams of fat per 6" on wheat...I felt bad because he felt bad about it and couldn't really enjoy it. Subway does post their nutritional info and also provides booklets that you can keep...he didn't look until after we ordered...but like he said...lesson learned. I just figure that we can't be too hard on ourselves especially when we do so good the rest of the time...but 600 calories for a cornbread muffin is a bit much...just chalk it up to experience : ) good luck with your weight loss and health plan!!
  • kellygirl5538
    kellygirl5538 Posts: 597 Member
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    Yeah eating out is really bad, never know what you are consuming.
  • kellygirl5538
    kellygirl5538 Posts: 597 Member
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    Yeah eating out is really bad, never know what you are consuming.
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    I definitely believe 1 corn muffin could have 600 calories, and that's before the butter I'm always tempted to slather on top of it. My health insurance company sent me a book that compares calories visually and on the corn muffin page it says 1 6oz corn muffin = 530 calories. It suggests you consider alternatives instead like 5 6.5 oz dinner rolls, or 13 slices of light oatmeal bread or 4 english muffins or 4 pitas, all of which also have 530 calories. Just mark it down under "lesson learned." It's just 1 day so don't worry too much about it. :wink:

    And about the buttermilk, it's actually relatively low in calories. I've started using buttermilk in my mashed potatoes and corn muffins and pancakes (etc) because it gives a great rich flavor with far fewer calories than alternatives. A cup of lowfat buttermilk only has about 100 calories which is about the same as 3 tbs of sour cream.
  • C21x
    C21x Posts: 22 Member
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    yes i caved and ordered the chocolate thunder from down under from outback and then when i got back WHAM!!! 1900 calories right from outbacks website!!!!!!! good thing i didnt eat all of it...i have learned to just plan on what to order before i go.....

    i have been told that there is an app for blackberry but i havent found it yet
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
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    I know what you mean...just last night, my boyfriend and I went to Subway thinking we would be able to eat light and cheap lol...I got the buffalo chicken on wheat which has 340 cal and 7 grams of fat, not too bad really, but my boyfriend got the tuna, which wasn't so bad in calories but has 30 grams of fat per 6" on wheat...I felt bad because he felt bad about it and couldn't really enjoy it. Subway does post their nutritional info and also provides booklets that you can keep...he didn't look until after we ordered...but like he said...lesson learned. I just figure that we can't be too hard on ourselves especially when we do so good the rest of the time...but 600 calories for a cornbread muffin is a bit much...just chalk it up to experience : ) good luck with your weight loss and health plan!!

    On the bright side, at least SOME of that fat was the "good" fat with omega-3s and such! Tuna is really a pretty fatty food, but I tend to eat it more than other fish because I struggle to get enough fat a protein and it's packed with those!

    Good luck!
  • JStarnes
    JStarnes Posts: 5,576 Member
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    I take my calorie king book everywhere. :smile: Hubs & friends laugh at me - but at least I'm not eating a whole days worth of calories in one meal like them! :noway:

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