Eating Out American Style On A Diet
Dining at American Restaurants On a Diet: Is It Possible?
Nov 21, 2008
Let's begin the search for low-calorie, low-fat food while dining out in America by ordering from Applebee's soups and appetizers menu:
- onion au gratin soup with reduced-fat cheese and croutons - has only 150 calories, but 8 grams of fat.
- And proving that not everything with the term "low-fat" can be trusted, is another appetizer, tortilla chicken melt with low-fat ranch dressing and tomato salsa. It has 480 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 50 grams of carbohydrate.
Entree Salads
- Asian chicken salad, low fat, has 714 calories, 9 g. fat, and 121 g. carbohydrates.
- Blackened chicken salad, low fat, has 424 calories, 8.5 g. fat, and 39 g. carbohydrates.
Applebee's Entrees
Good Choices
- Grilled tilapia with mango salsa and rice - 320 calories, 6 g. fat, and 27 g. carbs.
- Sizzling chicken skillet with pico de gallo, salsa, dressing, lettuce and tortillas - 360 calories, 4 g. fat, but does have 43 g. carbs.
- Whitefish with mango salsa has more fat that you might guess. It is 437 calories, 9.5 g. fat, and 53.5 g. carbs.
For low-fat and low-calorie foods, take a pass on the pasta dishes, the "crispy" dishes, and the cheesecake desserts
Ruby Tuesday's Has Got To Be Easier Than This!
Ruby Tuesday's operates about 800 U.S. franchise restaurants.
Appetizers to Eat and Enjoy
- Tabouli, 110 calories, 4 g. fat, 18 carbs.
- And here's a healthy choice that will surprise: Sweetpotato fries, 49 calories, 0 g. fat, 11 g. carbs.
- Baked radish chips, a unique treat for only 23 calories, 1 g. fat, 5 g. carbs.
Good Entree Choices at Ruby Tuesdays
- Here's a rarity: A sausage, mushroom and broccoli quiche that comes guilt-free. It only has 142 calories, 4 g. fat, and 6 g. carbs.
- Guilt-free chicken quiche. 142 calories, 4 g. fat and 7 g. carbs.
Ruby Tuesday's may be the place to go. There's more:
- Jill's Beef Barley Stew, 299 calories, 4 g. fat, but 44 g. carbs.
- There's the "lean meatloaf" that really is lean at 179 calories, 5 g. fat, and 10 g. ca
Dieters, Can A Restaurant with Cheesecake in the Title Be Trusted?
Let's move on to The Cheesecake Factory where something says it's going to be a lot thinner pickings for dieters. Up until quite recently their nutritional information was as guarded as a state secret. There was even an offer of a $500 reward posted on the Internet for information leading to the discovery of their nutritional information.
Going directly to the "Weight Management Menu":
- Spicy chicken salad, 490 calories, 14 g. fat, and 61 g. carbs.
- Tuna seafood salad, 521 calories, 22 g. fat, and 39 g. carbs.
- The dietary price of a pear endive salad? It's 501 calories, a whopping 23 g. fat, and 50 g. carbs!
- The California salad is 561 calories, 28 g. fat, and 43 g. carbs.
- Asian chicken salad? As it is posted on the "Weight Management Menu" mind you, 575 calories, 31 huge grams of fat, and 68 g. of carbs.
- Finally, let's try some fish. Salmon seafood salad is 565 calories, 35 g. fat and 39 g. carbs.
The Judge's Verdict On Dining Out for Dieters American Style
Eating out American-style for dieters is like walking through a mine field at Applebee's and The Cheesecake Factory, and not too bad at Ruby Tuesday's. One way to healthier American dining is to use the American Heart Association's Healthy Dining Finder.com. Type in a locale and the Healthy Dining Finder gives a list of nearby restaurants with addresses by price range with nutrition information for each.
