Best and Worst Choices at Six Restuarant Chains

Kids eat 19% of their meals in cars. You can imagine the food they eating in a car is not a balanced one with the best quality ingredients. It's usually something from a quick stop or drive through. Eating out used to be a treat, now a home cooked meal is a treat. Since convenience is an important factor in today's fast paced society, I understand that even the best thought out plans will still land you at a restaurant from time to time.

Below are some of the "better bad" choices you can make if you find yourself at one of these 6 local restaurants.

From Real Age Food Bites

Best and Worst Choices at Six Restaurant Chains
"Casual dining" chains -- from Chili's to The Cheesecake Factory -- are finally getting on the anti-supersize-me bus. Smart, since nearly half of today's customers say they want to eat more healthfully, according to a recent TGI Friday's survey. Although a few chains -- notably, Applebee's and Ruby Tuesday -- have offered healthier options for several years, the growth in good-for-you choices is great for weight-watching happy-hour goers, vacationers, and weary parents looking for a kid-friendly night out of the kitchen. That said, we're still talking menu extremes. Here are some of the best and worst bets.

Applebee's
Best: They’ve adapted their menu to include a steadily expanding list of Weight Watchers–approved items, which are going strong after 3 years on the menu. Among the newest items:
Steak and Portobellos -- 330 calories, 10 grams fat
Italian Chicken and Portobello Sandwich -- 360 calories, 6 grams fat
Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake -- 230 calories, 3 grams fat

Worst: There's a reason the menu lists only fat and calories for its Weight Watchers items. You don't want to know the sat-fat content of, say, the Grilled Cheese BLT, a double-decker that includes jack, cheddar, and Swiss cheeses; bacon; and mayo.

The Cheesecake Factory
Best: We can't tell you that this popular deli-and-dessert place has managed to create a delicious 50-calorie cheesecake -- or even that it provides much nutrition info -- but it has added a group of new "Weight Management" salads, like the three below. All are slimmed down with low-cal dressings and smaller amounts of cheese, nuts, and avocado, so they come in at around 590 calories each.
Chinese Chicken Salad
California Salad
Seafood Salad

Worst: The name says it all: Outrageous Chocolate Cake -- 1,380 calories a slice.

Chili's
Best: This is the only brave chain to show sodium counts online; unfortunately, the numbers would turn a cardiologist clammy. Even the otherwise-healthy "Guiltless Grill" suggestions below contain staggering amounts of salt: 2,720 mg for the chicken meal and 1,080 mg for the fish dish. But the calories are nicely under control.
Guiltless Chicken Sandwich with steamed veggies and black beans -- 490 calories, 8 grams fat
Guiltless Grill Salmon with similar sides -- 480 calories, 14 grams fat

Worst: At 2,710 calories and an artery-clogging 203 grams of fat, Chili's Awesome Blossom deep-fried onion is a fright.

Red Lobster
Best: Flip the menu to the "Lighthouse Selections" and you'll discover a whole page of appealing choices, including:
A great happy-hour find: a glass of white wine and the Garlic-Grilled Jumbo Shrimp -- 300 calories
Fresh fish dinners: half portions of grilled or broiled tilapia, salmon, or rainbow trout with seasonal vegetables or a garden salad -- 400 calories, tops

Worst: It's hard to make seafood totally bad for you, but some of the battered-and-fried fish entrees on the regular menu top 2,000 calories.

Ruby Tuesday
Best: Kudos to Ruby T for this bit of forward thinking: The restaurant has cooked with trans-fat-free oils since 2003. And there are now several menu options that won't leave you buried in dieter's remorse -- though note that these calorie counts don't include sides or dipping sauces. Still, they'll get you off to a nifty start.
Grilled Chicken Salad -- 380 calories
White Bean Chicken Chili -- 257 calories
Creole Catch -- 312 calories

Worst: You could blow an entire day's calories on the Colossal Burger, which weighs in at 1,943 calories and a shocking 141 grams of fat.

TGI Friday's
Best: Even though the company doesn't give exact nutrition facts, a handful of dishes are flagged low fat/low carb, which means about 10 grams of fat or no more than 17 carbs, and 500 calories a dish.
Dragonfire Chicken
Shrimp Key West
Sizzling Chicken with Vegetables

Worst: Don't even think about old TGIF standards like Stuffed Potato Skins -- or insane new ones like Fried Mac and Cheese(!). Both scream heart attack.
Learn how to slim down portion sizes at restaurants or at your dinner table.

End

The bottom line is that shopping for and preparing your own fresh foods (or having someone do it for you) is the best option. We all enjoy going out to eat, but if your goals are health and to lose excess fat, you have to make the best choices when dining out - especially if you dine out often.

Buon' Appetite!

Your friend in fitness,

Kelli
www.KelliCalabrese.com
www.ArgyleBootCamp.com