Hopefully This Isn't a Duplicate

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-03-2005
Hopefully This Isn't a Duplicate
5
Thu, 07-17-2008 - 10:44pm

While perusing the 40+ message board, I stumbles across the following.  It's got some really shocking info in it about eatingout and what the restaurants don't tell us -- until forced to.


By David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding Provided by: Men's Health

Eat This, Not That

Food Facts That Restaurants Hide From You Posted Mon, May 05, 2008, 2:26 pm PDT

85% of users found this article helpful.




What does the restaurant industry have to hide? One of the true issues behind obesity is the fact that many chain restaurants — which provide one-third of all restaurant meals, according to the New York Department of Health — obfuscate the fat and calorie counts of their menu items, and fight any attempt to shed light on what, exactly, is going on between their buns and inside their taco shells.

Through scientific testing, consultations with nutrition experts, and good old-fashioned snooping, we uncovered some of the secrets these mega-restaurateurs have been keeping.

It's no wonder . . .

1) T.G.I. Friday’s

. . . doesn’t want you to know the nutritional impact of any of its dishes, which they have made a policy of not revealing to customers for years, despite the fact that major competitors such as Chili’s and Ruby Tuesday’s do just that. Thankfully, new legislation in New York City forces restaurants with 15 or more branches nationwide to provide calorie counts for all dishes and drinks on their menus.


We popped by T.G.I. Friday’s the day the law went into effect and saw some real shockers: 2,270 calories for Potato Skins, 1,670 calories for Double-Stack Quesadillas, and, most appalling of all, a Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad with 1,360 calories! Now we see why they worked so hard to keep these numbers hidden.

2) Burger King

. . . doesn't want you to know that its French Toast Sticks (which deliver more than 4 grams of fat per stick) share a deep fryer with the pork sausage, pork fritters, Chicken Tenders, Chicken Fries, Big Fish patties, hash browns, onion rings, and Cheesy Tots — and that all of those items contain harmful trans fats.


But there is hope: After the company was sued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest for moving too slowly to remove trans fats from its menu, Burger King promised to phase them out by the end of this year.

3) Red Robin

...doesn't want you to know the nutritional impact of its gourmet burgers. "A gourmet burger starts by being an honest burger," Red Robin's Web site declares. So how come they've refused to provide calorie counts on any of their foods for so many years?


And while we applaud them for finally giving up the data (after being pressured by us and others), why did it take so long in the first place? A quick glimpse of the numbers themselves might hold the answer: An A1 Peppercorn Burger has 1440 calories and 97 grams of fat, more than you would find in 32 strips of bacon!


Add onion rings to that and you've just crossed the calamitous 2000-calorie barrier, more than most people should eat in an entire day.

4 ) Maggiano's Little Italy

. . . doesn't want you to know just how many calories and carbs you're consuming in those massive pasta portions. (As the menu puts it, "Family-style service or individual entrees are available . . . Whichever you choose, you'll have plenty to share or take home.")


In Italy, a standard pasta serving means 4 ounces of noodles with a few tablespoons of sauce. At Maggiano's, a large order of pasta translates into 2 pounds of noodles piled high on a hubcap-size dinner plate (15 1/2 inches in diameter). A Maggiano's PR rep responded to our request for nutritional information a week later: "Sorry for the delay. I had to wait for corporate's approval. Unfortunately, they have declined to participate."

5) Sit-down chains

. . . don't want you to know that their food is actually considerably worse for you than the often-maligned fast-food fare. In fact, our menu analysis of 24 national chains revealed that the average entree at a sit-down restaurant contains 867 calories, compared with 522 calories in the average fast-food entree. And that's before appetizers, sides, or desserts — selections that can easily double your total calorie intake.


For more reasons to insist on nutritional transparency from the food industry, check out these shocking secrets they don’t want you to know.

Have any secrets you’ve uncovered? We need your help in keeping the restaurant industry honest. If you have anything the rest of the country should know about, please let us know in a comment below.

Nancy


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spr/smr 2010 siggy

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-02-2004
Fri, 07-18-2008 - 7:44am

I'm never really surprised by the calorie count in restaurant food. DH once watched on of those 'expose' TV shows where the calories of food was determined from chains who don't post their info publicly. I'd guess a number and was pretty close or over most of the time.

Basically, whenever you eat anything at a restaurant, think of the calorie count of what it "should" be (if you made it at home) and then add 500 to 1000 calories to that number. That's restaurant food.





Lilypie First Birthday tickers
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Fri, 07-18-2008 - 8:29am

The "Mediterranean" diet has always been the norm here in Spain, but unfortunately American influence is changing that. The traditional "coca" (similar to traditional Italian pizza) is a dinner plate-sized round of thin crust and vegetables, no cheese. Traditional desserts are not very sweet, and were served only on special occasions. My friend says the only candy they ever got was almond turrón (nougat) at Christmas.


When I first came here there was maybe half a supermarket aisle of junk, processed food. Now you can find an entire aisle, and more in the

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Fri, 07-18-2008 - 8:34am
I'm not at all surprised.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-03-2005
Fri, 07-18-2008 - 4:47pm

And clicking on the link at the bottom of the article provides even more wonderful information.


It makes me want to learn to like to cook.

Nancy


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spr/smr 2010 siggy

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-05-2006
Sat, 07-19-2008 - 9:43am

DH and I really don't eat out a lot anymore.