[kelly315]

It's my bf's birthday on Saturday, and we're going out to Creole food. Here's the menu: http://www.lesbijouxdemozell.com/czmenu.html

I'm trying to figure out if there's any way I can estimate the number of calories I'm going to eat. I'm okay with it being 1000+ calorie meal- I can take half home- and I want to eat one of the authentic dishes rather than a salad. So I've narrowed it down to Burbon Chicken and Chicken Mozell. There's also one vegetable side and one extra side that comes with it (I'm guessing the Risotto will be the least problematic).

The problem is, I can't hazard a guess as to how many calories might be in these dishes + these sides. If the dinner is 1000 calories and I eat half, then I have to eat significantly more during my other meals. If it's 2000 calories, then I shouldn't. I can't find any of these dishes online.

Anyone care to hazard a guess? It doesn't have to be a perfect guess (because I'm sure there can't be one) but any ideas of where to look?

[kelly315]

I know- tough question, right?

[DietVet]

Just lots of parts!

I think you need to go with basics on this one. Choose the dish that sounds tastiest to you (I vote the one with the crab meat! Yum!), see what they serve you and do your best to keep it within your guestimation of 1000 calories. You can eyeball the portion of grilled chicken and count 40 cals/ounce; cheese, cream and other fats are always about 100 calories per tablespoon. Starches like rice and pasta come in at a little over 100 calories for a half cup. You can probably look at your plate, do some math and figure out how much of it you want to eat. Also, assume that they were fairly free flowing with the cooking fats in the kitchen and add another 100 or 200 to round up!

Re the sides, I'd probably skip the risotto in favor of something else. Risotto is not a specialty of creole cuisine and it is likely to be packed with hidden calories in the form of butter, cream or cheese. Sweet potatoes would be better. (And probably tastier! Who doesn't love sweet potato fries?)

Also, enjoy your celebration and your meal!