Eat this Not that
 

There is a new version of the book I just got in the mail today. Its not sold in stores just through their website/women's health magazine.

Some shockers I just found:

Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Rollup: 1,550 calories (without the 400 calorie fries)
Applebee’s Chicken Fajita Rollup: 1,450 calories
Taco Bell Fiesta Taco Salad: 840 calories
TGIF Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad: 1,380 calories

I loved (I say loved because I can never eat them again) the oriental chicken rollup and the TGIF Pecan Crusted Chicken salad. I use to have them once a month or so.

And I wonder why I am fat??:devil:

Wow! I'm rarely shocked by restaurant nutrition info, but the numbers for the roll-ups surprise me... for a wrap that isn't huge or greasy or anything. I guess they are pretty dense, though, and the fried chicken in the Oriental one doesn't help. That thing was tasty though.

Now I get the Oriental chicken salad (I don't know if that's what it's called) since it has most of the same stuff... I get the dressing on the side, and sometimes only get the half size. It's still not something I'd eat regularly, but I only go once every few months (I have a friend who LOVES Applebee's so I go when he visits).

It's not that you can NEVER eat it- just more like once in a blue moon! lol.

Dressing on the side dramatically decreases calories. This one salad I get without the dressing makes it 220 calories! With the dressing it's like 600! I use salsa for dressing instead or a vinegrette which are usually very low cal :)

I never ever go to a restaurant now without nutrition information- if I can help it at least.

I love those books....I have to get the supermarket one. My spouse gets Men's Health and they have a great recipe section (fast, few items) and eat this not that. I wish Women's Health was like that but the magazine does not have the same great columns (Jimmy the Bartender, Law, etc).

What I've been wondering is -- with all the disclosure now of how horribly high calorie so much of this chain food is, are people (generally -- not us who are actively watching) changing their eating habits? Or do they say, "Hey, I'm out to eat. So what if it's got 1600 calories??"

Originally Posted by beerab:
It's not that you can NEVER eat it- just more like once in a blue moon! lol.

Dressing on the side dramatically decreases calories. This one salad I get without the dressing makes it 220 calories! With the dressing it's like 600! I use salsa for dressing instead or a vinegrette which are usually very low cal :)

I never ever go to a restaurant now without nutrition information- if I can help it at least.

Its not that I can't but wouldnt want to eat those items again. I feel like if I order them and it would sit in front of me flashing 1,400 calories in red neon lights over my head...

I wish all states were like what I hear NYC is, where they all have to put the NI on the menu!

It has been discussed many times here before but I have to throw it out there one more time.

I do not trust calorie counts from restaurants. There have been many, many tests on supposed "lower calorie" foods in restaurants. The overwhelmingly vast majority of the outcomes is they are not accurate. As a result, I order very carefully when in a restaurant. Just something FYI.

The book is sold in stores, I've seen it in the bookstore before. I think even Costco had it.

Originally Posted by newleaf123:
What I've been wondering is -- with all the disclosure now of how horribly high calorie so much of this chain food is, are people (generally -- not us who are actively watching) changing their eating habits? Or do they say, "Hey, I'm out to eat. So what if it's got 1600 calories??"

I think people didn't care when we (as a nation) ate out so infrequently - it was more like a treat. We've been trying to eat out less in our home (that goes for take out pizza as well). With busier lifestyles, less planning, and more stress from the world, people are diving into fast food and other goodies. When the market dipped below 7,000, I wanted to throw myself into a box of doughnuts.

I've been trying to point it all out to my kids lately - my ds loves coolattas and I will use it as a treat every couple of weeks during school but I make him get the low fat one (made with skim milk). I am sure its not even remotely healthy but I feel like we are saving some calories (I also nix the whipped cream).

His "Eat this not that" is available for kids and the supermarket as well. The guide in the magazine is an eye opener - particularly with the fast food salads.

I know for me, its a slippery slope - two cookies can turn to 12 very fast. I need to stay on track - I tend to blow it on the weekend with a "its only one meal".

Interestingly enough - my governor nixed putting calories on restaurant menus. She said that you should know a salad has less calories than a cheeseburger and did not want to put the cost burden on local restaurants. I agree with her - deep down inside you know the Alfredo sauce will be higher in calories than a basic marinara. The FF chains list calories on their websites and inside the restaurant (sometimes you have to ask).

Originally Posted by Momofsteel:
She said that you should know a salad has less calories than a cheeseburger and did not want to put the cost burden on local restaurants. I agree with her - deep down inside you know the Alfredo sauce will be higher in calories than a basic marinara. The FF chains list calories on their websites and inside the restaurant (sometimes you have to ask).

The problem with that is a lot of the salads in restaurants AREN'T any better than a cheeseburger. So while you think you're making a better choice, you might not be.

Items you buy in the grocery are required to put nutritional info on them, I don't see why restaurants aren't. I want to know what I'm putting in my mouth. If they can't tell me the ingredients, I don't eat it, and I think it's not unreasonable at all to want to know the calorie/fat/carb/etc content of what I'm paying for and putting in my body.

Originally Posted by bacilli:
The problem with that is a lot of the salads in restaurants AREN'T any better than a cheeseburger. So while you think you're making a better choice, you might not be.

Yes, I got caught out a couple weeks ago with a sudden change of plans and debated turkey/spinach wrap on whole wheat or enormous slice of fully loaded pizza. Seriously enormous. Like if you have ever had a slice of costco pizza at the food court...that big. These were my choices.

Got home and looked it up. The pizza was lower by over 150 calories and I would have enjoyed it far more. DOH! Plus I probably would have eaten only about half the pizza.

Most restaurants post nutritional information on their websites, so I try to plan ahead before eating out. Also, keep in mind portion sizes. I can't believe the sizes of some platters! Are you kidding me? Do people really eat the WHOLE THING?

For example, the Cheesecake Factory. Even the "lunch size" portions are ridiculous. One of my favorites, Thai Chicken Pasta, has 1007 calories, but I am full on less than half of their portion size. Cutting the meal in half makes it only around 500 cals.

I want to get the books.

And on the other subject...I LOVED having the "total calories" right in front of my face in the YELLOW BOARD! The first time scared me to the point that I drove away...I don't eat fast-food regularly but the couple of occasions that I have seen myself in one, having the nutritional information helps me making better choices and being aware of what I'm eating.

I've had that problem too- I get a grilled chicken salad only to find out it's got like 700-1000 calories (depending on the place) and something I would have enjoyed more is comparable in calories!

I'd hope some places would start going hmmm, what can we do to lower our calories and make the food just as yummy?

Originally Posted by bacilli:
The problem with that is a lot of the salads in restaurants AREN'T any better than a cheeseburger. So while you think you're making a better choice, you might not be.

I agree. I was totally shocked after reading about some of the salads at California Pizza Kitchen and how you'd be better off eating one of their whole pizzas!

We're told we need to be accountable for our choices and I totally agree with that, but how can we make those choices without any given information?

I wish that restaurants were required to put accurate information on their menus or to make it available to the public. I cannot tell you how many times I have been shocked (and appalled) to find out what I had really eaten, especially when I chose something I thought was healthier.

Originally Posted by Sirenity:
We're told we need to be accountable for our choices and I totally agree with that, but how can we make those choices without any given information?

Hi, I am new here and I am bumping this thread! =)

What is even more scary is that the normal foods in the grocery store are just as horribly inaccurate as in a restaurant. You mention that we are told to be accountable, and yet even the foods in the grocery stores down right lie to us! We try to make healthier and better choices, but most of the time we are shooting ourselves in the foot, and then we give up because we think it is us. The key is to know exactly what you are looking at, and learning to decipher between the lies and trickery. For example anyone here drink 2% milk because they think it is a healthier choice than whole?

Originally Posted by JenniferNash2010:
Its not that I can't but wouldnt want to eat those items again. I feel like if I order them and it would sit in front of me flashing 1,400 calories in red neon lights over my head...

I wish all states were like what I hear NYC is, where they all have to put the NI on the menu!

Same here but the flashing lights would be the quality of the ingredients that go into making it. I think of my food not on caloric level but rather a quality level. Shortening is a very cheap ingredient and it disgusts me at the thought of it being in my food. However, it is a key ingredient in cornbread which I love, but only have once in a while. Thinking about the quality of stuff that I am putting in my mouth helps me stay on track to lose weight and stay alive for a pretty good while.

The key is to never feel deprived because you know one day youwill have a hankering for it, so go for it and eat it!

I don't want to sound cruel, but this stuff is pretty obvious. Restaurant food is not much healthier than fast food...and in most cases, it's just as bad, if not worse. In many cases, it's because the portions are way too high.

Take the famous 'soup and salad' at the restaurant where I work. Women come in droves for this 'special' (much to the chagrin of the servers, as soup in salad is a pain in the butt to get, since its unlimited, and it's cheap...plus, the people who get it are usually cheap, and so the tip is almost always outrageously too small) and they think they're eating something healthy for them...they're not.

The fact is, the only thing 'healthy' for soup and salad is the minestrone soup. The Zuppa Toscana isn't as bad as the Gnocchi or Fagioli, but it has a ton of carbs. The salad, even with the lowfat dressing, has a ton of calories and fat. Each breadstick is as bad as one snickers bar. Nevermind the women who order Alfredo or meat sauce to dip their bread sticks into.

Our other dishes are just as bad. There are maybe two or three healthy options, and they're marked on the menu.

All restaurants are like this. The reason they only provide the calorie info for low-calorie foods is because they know they would lose business if people saw how many calories were in what they're eating when they finish the plate...but making the entrees healthier would generally make them not taste as good, and so its better for business to simply keep the food artery-busting, while not giving out calorie info.

In the back, at work, we have the entire nutritional information for our menu. Since seeing it, most workers have stopped eating at work, and now bring food in, or make severely modified versions of what's on our menu.

good news, within a year all restaurants with more than 20 locations will be required to print calorie content directly on their menu.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...es-menus_N.htm

Some restaurants are complying early. I <3 Panera for this :)

I work at Outback(which got a F rating in Eat this not that for not disclosing N.I., which is now available on the online menu.) Most resturaunts will make to order most anything you request. We just started a LITE Style option on our menu and essentially it is taking the butter everything is cooked in out using the lowfat dressing and even better if its on the side. Pick a good protein, a plain veggie option and order a salad dressing on the side without any extras like croutons or sugar coated nuts and you can have a good meal. The idea is to stay away from foods that they alter like adding sauces or cheese. then find out how they prepare such items like grilling in butter or soaking in a salty brine. Most servers(that have any common sense) or a manger or cook can help pick healthy options and if it is a quality resturant they wont mind giving you good suggestions. Cause most of us in the back know where those calories are coming from.

Originally Posted by newleaf123:
What I've been wondering is -- with all the disclosure now of how horribly high calorie so much of this chain food is, are people (generally -- not us who are actively watching) changing their eating habits? Or do they say, "Hey, I'm out to eat. So what if it's got 1600 calories??"

I think people really dont care. They talk about wanting to change, and they make small little choices, but when it comes down to it they order what they want and ignore the fact that their one sandwhich has more calories than I consume in a day.