It's amazing how deceptive the calories in a restaurant salad are. Applebees, Chili's etc. are all ridiculous! "I'd like a salad, and can you hold the fried chicken, nuts, dried cranberries, ranch dressing, cheese, and bacon please?"
Same thing happened to me at Ruby Tuesdays a few months ago - a freaking Veggie Burger was 610 calories, and it didn't even taste good! It was so bland and squishy, I didn't even finish it.
It honestly makes me feel a little gross. And it makes me mad that stuff like a Ruby Tuesday's turkey burger is there for no other reason than to trick me into thinking it's healthier.
I had a similar experience at Panera Bread. I had the 1/2 sandwich 1/2 cup soup combo, and choose a turkey sandwich w/broccoli cheese soup.
I knew the soup was high in fat, but the turkey sandwich blew me away. A whole sandwich was something insane like 1150 calories. The 1/2 sandwich plus soup (350 calories) made my lunch come in at around 1000 calorie!
I about died when I saw the calorie count. I then resolved to check the nutrition information on the web BEFORE eating out from now on, or ask at the restaurant before ordering.
Really, there ought to be a law!
As soon as I read this thread I thought Panera Bread! I remember thinking the greek salad, even with some dressing - though not all they gave me - and cheese would come out better than one of the sandwiches 'til I looked up the nutritional info. 440 calories, 39 grams of fat. In a salad! My friend and I joked afterward they must spray all their food with fat before serving. For what it's worth, the sandwich she had was about double the calories, but 'only' 27 grams of fat. It's only dressing on the side for me these days.
Lord, Cracker Barrel. Do you know they still cook their vegetables in lard? All of them! When I was a vegetarian I couldn't eat there at all, unless I ate pancakes, which is an awesome choice for a carb-sensitive like myself.
At least they did the last time I was there, which was years ago. I gave up on Cracker Barrel when I realized they *wanted* me to be as unhealthy as possible.
The only safe thing at Panera is their low-fat Chicken Noodle soup, lol! But you're right, salads can be dangerous! I had a Grilled Tuscan Chicken salad at Papa Vino's (a Michigan, Italian restaurant) and I had to ask for everything on the side...the cheese, the pecans, the dressing...just so I could make sure I knew the portion sizes! I had even made and brought my own dressing (yes, I am THAT girl, lol). And I wasn't even full after finishing it! Arg.
But, I've found that the Chili Lime Chicken salad (I think that's the name) at Applebee's is tasty and relatively safe (if you ask for the vinaigrette on the side). Like really tasty. Mmmm, now I'm craving it....
That was some scary stuff!
My friend and I joked afterward they must spray all their food with fat before serving. For what it's worth, the sandwich she had was about double the calories, but 'only' 27 grams of fat. It's only dressing on the side for me these days.
