Counting calories at chain restaurants might overheat your calculator
I’m not going to lie to you – every now and then I’ll have dinner with friends at a big chain restaurant. Cheesecake Factory, Macaroni Grill, P.F. Chang’s…been there, done that. (In fact, I did that just last week!)
These restaurants specialize in comfort food, of course, which is usually a far cry from health food. And the calorie totals? Counting them up might overheat your calculator.
HSI researcher Michele Cagan recently sent me an e-mail with this subject line: “The crazy amount of calories in restaurant food.” And her e-mail didn’t disappoint. The numbers are often insane.
As you may know, most of these large chains have websites that offer very specific nutrition information about their menu items. Michele was looking over P.F. Chang’s nutritional information page when she found this rundown for Crispy Honey Shrimp: A single order (4.5 ounces) contains 422 calories per serving.
That’s a little on the high side considering that an average person should consume 2,000 or fewer calories per day. But here’s the catch: An “order” of Crispy Honey Shrimp is not a “serving” of Crispy Honey Shrimp.
For some reason, P.F. Chang seems to think that 4.5 ounces of Crispy Honey Shrimp is five full servings. Total calories for one order: 2,110.
Yikes!
Next time you head out to one of the big chain eateries, check the website first. No only can you avoid caloric landslides, but you can often find specific menu tips for diabetics and those who are gluten-sensitive.
