Tricky!

Restaurants are soooo tricky! As I've been becoming more food conscious and trying to eat healthier, I have realized that sometimes when I think I am eating well, I'm really not. I've been looking at nutritional information before I go to a restaurant, to make sure what I'm choosing is healthy, and you would be SHOCKED to find out how many calories are in some of the dishes. And no, I'm not talking about a burger and fries, or a plate of nachos. I'm talking about the amount of calories in salads, chicken, and fish - foods we all think are healthy for us.

For example: Tonight we are going to dinner with some friends at Gordon Biersch Brewery in Bolingbrook. I thought to myself "I will get a salad" so as to keep my caloric number low for today. Well - when I went to their nutritional information online (found here), I found out that the salad I would normally get (the Gorgonzola and Pear Salad) is 1150 calories! WHAT?! So then I thought, "Well, a hummus and goat cheese salad sounds pretty healthy" and when I checked the calories it was 1490 calories! Is anyone else as appalled by this as I am? People probably go to restaurants every day and order a salad thinking they are being "good" when really it is almost the same amount of calories to get a burger and fries (1540 calories by the way - less than 100 calories more than the salad). Granted, the salad may overall be better for you because it is not fried, it's less carbs, less fat, etc. but I'm speaking specifically about calories. I suspect that if you asked for dressing on the side and added a tiny bit, instead of dousing your salad in it like they do when they prepare it, then that would make for a healthier meal.

Another evil restaurant trick: desserts! Desserts are by far the worst items on the menu. I can't tell you how many times I ordered a dessert somewhere or wasn't hungry so said to the rest of the people in my party "I'll just get a dessert." JUST?? At Champps restaurant, their apple crisp is 1581 calories. That's 200 calories more I'm alloted for a WHOLE DAY. Their Mile High Ice Cream Pie is 1971 calories. I just can't believe it! I mean - I always knew restaurant food was worse than homemade food, but the numbers are very surprising to me.

I would encourage you, if you are trying to be conscious about what you are eating, trying to lose weight, or whatever the case may be, to check a restaurant's nutritional information before going there so you can be aware of what you are eating. I just do a simple google search, type in the restaurant's name, and the phrase "nutritional information" after it. Nine times out of ten, the company has their nutritional information available online.

So back to Gordon Biersch - what will I be ordering tonight? Half of a turkey sandwich and a side salad (770 calories total). That's still a lot of calories for one meal, in my opinion, but much better than some of the alternatives.

Don't get me wrong, I will still eat french fries, burgers, pizza when I go out to eat, but I would like to consider those foods as more of a treat, and not a "this is what I order every single time I go out to eat" kind of meal :)

--T