I'd say the only one that surprised me was the grilled chicken and avacado sandwhich. The only thing on there I've tried was the Chili's buffalo chicken bites, they're actually aweful (even though I love their regular buffalo chicken sandwhich which I'm sure is very nearly as bad for you). The pasta bowl thing looks kinda good to me. Other than those items, nothing on that list really apeals to me.
I know many find it intrusive, but this is the reason I like the law in nyc & westchester co that forces chains to post the calories on their menus. I don't have to second guess myself, as I've gone out before and still lost weight. Is there anything remotely healthy on Cheesecake Factory's menu. That place is one giant landmine!
Oh yeah, they have a few healthy salads that are less than 600 calories. I got some kind of southwestern salad with the dressing on the side and it was really really tasty.
It actually makes me mad to see the list. Mad because it one more thing that is killing our country and destroying lives. Mad because it is absolutely NEEDLESS. So many super tasty and wonderful choices without doing that kind of damage to a body. Sure, if eating out was only few times a year, sure. But for most people, eating out these days is a too common occurance. Frightening to remember that the calorie/fat counts are only IF some cook is actually careful about what they are doing. What if you get ahold of a cook that is a little too happy with the mayo, butter or ranch?
I agree, Thighs, it is irresponsible and deceptive. I have an expectation of about how many calories are in a chicken and avocado sandwich and that's what I assume I'm eating. If they are 3 times more than that, how would the consumer ever know? It is unnecessary. I can make a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich at home for a normal amount of calories that tastes really good. As a society, we've come down on fast food chains pretty hard, but I think the worst violators are the casual restaurants. It makes it a lot easier to order a salad with grilled chicken sans anything else at a restaurant knowing that what I think might have 800 calories actually has twice that.
I can't believe Applebee's Quesadilla Burger is the worst sit-down burger. I once ordered it thinking maybe it would be healthier than the regular burger, I guess since it didn't have a traditional bun. It was tasty but certainly not worth those numbers. This was at a time I was not dieting so I had not checked into the info. I can honestly say I'll never have it again.
But I just remembered, I only ate half, packaged up the other half, then accidentally left it behind. All for the best apparently!
Last edited by JustSharing83; 02-25-2010 at 04:11 PM.
That actually made me mad, too -- especially the fact that the alfredo is labelled as a kid's meal, with a day's worth of calories for a grown adult, and more than 4 day's worth of sodium for a grown adult!
Honestly, almost every picture looked disgusting to me, except for the stuffed pizza and the french fries. And I do like buffalo chicken as a general rule.
The only thing on that list I've eaten is the Five Guys fries -- last summer on vacation my husband got an order (not a bag, though?!) with his burger. I ate my greek yogurt and flax but also helped myself to 3 of his french fries. Which is a good rule for me when I really want something. I do actually recall that I thought they were very tasty for french fries ... most french fries are not so appealing to me.
Well, I thought I would get through without seeing anything that I would have eaten before. I was wrong - the crispy honey shrimp are pretty good. (and I still stand by that!)
That;s the only thing on that list though that I think I could still eat - I guess my tastes have changed in the past year!
I agree, Thighs, it is irresponsible and deceptive. I have an expectation of about how many calories are in a chicken and avocado sandwich and that's what I assume I'm eating. If they are 3 times more than that, how would the consumer ever know? It is unnecessary. I can make a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich at home for a normal amount of calories that tastes really good. As a society, we've come down on fast food chains pretty hard, but I think the worst violators are the casual restaurants. It makes it a lot easier to order a salad with grilled chicken sans anything else at a restaurant knowing that what I think might have 800 calories actually has twice that.
Well to be honest, the club has grilled chicken breast (an entire chicken breast is 400 calories?), avocado (an entire avocado is 400), bacon (a couple hundred calories?), swiss cheese (a couple hundred calories?) and mayo (again could be a couple hundred calories) and then your bread which I'd expect to be about 400 calories. Overall, it doesn't seem to be deceptive.
I know many find it intrusive, but this is the reason I like the law in nyc & westchester co that forces chains to post the calories on their menus. I don't have to second guess myself, as I've gone out before and still lost weight.
Yep, that was the best thing Mayor Boomberg EVER did !
At the risk of sounding smug, it feels good to know I've never eaten any of those things and would only consider eating one of them (the fries) and only if it was shared with several people. I've actually only eaten at one of those restaurants too, PF Chang's.
Being a strict vegetarian allows me to avoid so many things that just aren't good for anyone!
I must admit I was surprised at some of the numbers---although I knew a lot of this,
I bought the book, though, not so much for me, but in hopes my husband will find it and browse through it. Look, honey, I'm not the only one saying these things.
