Hooters Help...
 

I'm going to Hooters tomorrow afternoon with some people from work to say goodbye to a co-worker who is leaving. Not exactly my first choice, but... I looked over the menu earlier, and it looks like there's absolutely nothing on there that will fit into my diet. I'm trying to keep my calories under 1200 a day, and I want to plan ahead to make sure that I don't go crazy overboard tomorrow.

So, I've checked out every website imaginable to see if anyone has the caloric information for Hooters' menu, and I'm coming up short. Help? Please? Any ideas, short of not going?

They do have an assortment of salads and grilled seafood and chicken. Just stay away from fried foods and the wings. You can always personalize what you eat, just ask the server. Good luck!

They don't release their nutritional information, so you're not going to find specifics. This means you're going to have to resort to general restaurant-eating tips.

1. Watch your portion. Box up or throw away at least half of what you are served. Do this before they serve you, so you aren't tempted to snack after you're full.
2. Watch for menu buzzwords:

GREEN FLAG
(Potentially Good for You)
Baked
Boiled
Broiled
Fat free
Fresh
Grilled
High Fiber
Light
Marinated
Multi-grain
Poached
Red sauce
Reduced
Roasted
Seasoned
Steamed
Stir-Fried
Vegetarian
Vinaigrette
Whole Wheat

RED FLAG
(Probably Bad for You)
Au gratin
Basted
Battered
Bearnaise (or hollandaise)
"Bet you can't finish it"
Bottomless
Braised
Breaded
Buttery / Buttered
Casserole
Cheesy
Country-style
Covered
Creamed / Creamy
Crispy
Crunchy
Escalloped
Fried / Deep fried
Giant
Loaded
Platter
Smothered
Stewed
Stroganoff
Stuffed
Value
Volcano
White Sauce

On the specific Hooters menu - the best option I see would be the steamed shrimp - ask them to ensure they are just STEAMED, not coated in sauce of any kind - a half pound of shrimp (weighed with shells) will cost you only 177 calories if they are truly just steamed. Have some lemon or cocktail sauce with them. With a dinner-size garden salad (have them remove most/all of the fattening extras...cheese, croutons, etc), you have a very filling, high protein meal that (with a nonfat or lowfat dressing...they have a lite italian and a lite ranch on the menu) should come in around 400 calories. For 550 or so, you could have the full lb of shrimp - so much lean protein!

Hmmm, I would probably go for the steamed shrimp or clams and a side salad. They have grilled mushrooms for hamburger toppings, so I would probably ask if I could get a side order of grilled mushrooms.

Thanks for all your suggestions! I was so worried that no one would be able to help, but now I feel like I'll be able to make it through tomorrow without a problem.

I am a hooter veteran, ask them to put the salad dressing on the side otherwise the soak it in dressing and you end up with dressing with some lettuce in it.