[AnAbsoluteDiva]

I have not had such a hard time finding nutritional information for a restaurant as this one. Finally found a site and learned that Outback LOVES to smear butter on EVERYTHING!

Ended up ordering the chnook sandwich without the bacon, without the swiss cheese, side of vegetables without butter, and asked that they not brush butter on the chicken.

It tasted like something I could have made at home!!!

Which isn't a BAD thing by any means!

I think these restaurants needs to make their nutritional information known, especially the chains that charge such hefty prices for their meals.

Done venting... thanks for listening!

[jillybean720]

I hear ya--restaurants can be very frustrating. I worked for Ruby Tuesday for a couple years, and if most restaurants are like them (and I have a feeling they are, since all those big chains are pretty much the same), then there's butter and/or oil on everything. Even things that are grilled are typically cooked on a flat grill that is covered with oil to prevent sticking.

I understand that they don't do it to purposely make us fat--they do it because it's easier and faster for them to cook that way, and the faster and easier it is for them to cook, the more they can cook in a shorter amount of time, which means more $$ in the end, bottom line.

I also wish restaurants would all publish their nutritional info, but at the same times, I once saw an expose on the news about how grossly inaccurate the nutritional info was even for the ones who DID publish it (they ended up proving that some chains' "healthy" options had literally HUNDREDS of more calories than the published amount stated)

[CLCSC145]

I suspected that about Outback. Everything glistens! I usually get the salmon (no creamy sauce) with "steamed" veggies. Sigh. In my mind I knew they tasted too good to be steamed and plain. Good to know you can order them without butter though!

[SmartButt]

Yes, the clue-in for Outback is if you go to their website and look up "nutritional info". They don't give calories but say, hey, for heart-healthy options, order your steak "without butter". I was like they put BUTTER on STEAK??

Crazy, but true.

[OnePerDecade]

I swear to God, I have lost so much weight because we haven't been able to go out to eat as often as we used to! With an autistic toddler, we don't eat out 4-5 times a week like we did even a year ago...and it shows. First, I know what's going in my mouth because I'm the cook and second, the money we don't spend is mind-boggling.

What has been a huge challenge are the times we have been at the mall -- food courts are a nightmare if you're trying to eat healthy! The one restaurant I will go to in the mall is usually Ruby Tuesday's because of the salad bar & the petite sirloin dinner. The best eating out option in my humble little opinion is either a good sushi bar (but very expensive) or Red Lobster or even Hooter's believe it or not -- our Hooters has fresh oysters on the half shell & who could eat when your waitress is a size 0? *tee hee*

[ennay]

Whenever I guesstimate calories for a restaurant I estimate it based on how it looks and tastes compared to how I would make it at home (i.e. does it look like it has some oil and butter) and then add 4T MORE oil in my fitday log. I swear that when I have later found the nutritional info for most entrees that is about right.