The Daily Plate

So you know how people say, "Eating out and Fast food is SO unhealthy." Well, it's true. Sadly. I always hear that but I didn't realize JUST how bad until I started looking up the nutritional information.

There is a website thedailyplate.com that tells you what the nutritional information for most restuarants. You have to put the restaurant's name in the search bar and it goes to the Livestrong website, it can be confusing. I've been looking at these before I go out to eat because it makes a difference in what I get. But the weird part is, sometimes the most healthy things are actually more fattening than the other things. Keep in mind, most women shouldn't be eating much more than 1200-1500 in A DAY. Here are some examples: (oh and don't forget if you usually eat the bread before hand, with oil, or french fries, or a side salad drenched in dressing)

Spicy Shrimp And Chicken (Johnny Carino's) Serving Size: 1 (339g); Calories: 937, Total Fat: 58.1g, Carbs: 70.1g, Protein: 37.4g (I would have thought shrimp and chicken was a healthy choice but check out the calories! It's as bad as the chicken fettucini.)

Bowtie Festival (Johnny Carino's) Serving Size: 1 serving; Calories: 1026, Total Fat: 75.9g, Carbs: 58.8g, Protein: 28g (Oops! I always used to get this one!)

Quesadilla Explosion Salad (Chili's Grill and Bar) Calories: 1260, Total Fat: 76g, Carbs: 84g, Protein: 59g (I always got this and thought I was getting a healthy salad! It's enough for one day!)

Fish + Veggies = Healthy, right? NOT HERE!
Fish, veggie tacos (Wahoo's Fish Taco) Serving Size: 1 serving; Calories: 910, Total Fat: 13g, Carbs: 155g

How about the club sandwich at Mimi's? Seems like a healthy choice, right?
Cafe Club (Mimi's Cafe) Serving Size: 1 Sandwich; Calories: 1132, Total Fat: 63g, Carbs: 73g, Protein: 42g

Chicken Scampi (Olive Garden) Serving Size: 1 serving; Calories: 1020

Chicken Skillitini (Johnny Carino's) Serving Size: Dinner Entree; Calories: 1215, Total Fat: 72g, Carbs: 94g, Protein: 47g. This is my parents favorite :( Sorry Mom!

This one tops it off for me. It contains all healthy things, it's grilled not fried, citrus balsamic is supposedly better than some fattening dressing, and salmon. Check it out:
Grilled Citrus Balsamic Salmon (Johnny Carino's) Serving Size: Regular Order; Calories: 1373, Total Fat: 95g, Carbs: 76g, Protein: 49g

I don't mean to ruin the fun, I'm just saying it might be a good idea to check it out before you go. There are lots of other choices, but I just wanted to show that sometimes you choose something because you think it's healthy and find out it's more calories than the chicken alfredo. Might as well get the good stuff if it's enough calories for the entire day, right? It's frustrating to learn that when I was trying to get something healthy, I could have gotten something that I liked much more and it probably would have been the same amount of calories. So before you go out to eat, just glance at the menu. You might be grossed out by something instead.

If there's something you absolutely love, just eat half and put the other half in a doggy bag BEFORE YOU START EATING, or share it with someone. Otherwise, you're just asking, begging for a bigger pant size. I don't eat out nearly as much as I used to once I saw this. Maybe you will too.