Sneaky Ways Restaurants Fatten You Up: Part 2
While I may be in the middle of mowing down a large chocolate croissant right now, you guys are in for Part 2 of our Sneaky Ways Restaurants Fatten You Up series. Don’t judge.
On Monday, we went through all the ways meat and meat substitutes can derail your diet. Now, let’s discuss your greens.
Salads:
So you’re all proud of yourself for ordering a salad instead of a sandwich and thinking that you’re avoiding a boatload of carbs. Not so, if it’s drenched in some mystery dressing.
Salad dressings, like sauces and marinades, are often loaded in sugar. Seriously, tons of it.
A good rule of thumb: assume anything that has a fruity or sweet sounding taste (Raspberry Vinaigrette or Asian Sesame) is full or sugar, and anything that is creamy (Ranch, Blue Cheese, Thousand Island) is full of fat.
For example, the White Balsamic Apple Vinaigrette at Panera Bread has 150 calories and 11 grams of sugar per serving.
Your best bet is to use a side of oil and balsamic vinegar. The BF likes to kick his up a notch by adding a dollop of mustard to the mixture.
If you must have your blue cheese though, get it on the side and dip your fork into it before each bite. You’ll likely use about 2/3 less than if you pour it on.
You can also bring your own. I sneak these handy little “dressing holders” into my purse when I know I’m going somewhere without good dressing options. My favorite dressing to smuggle is currently Whole Food’s Carrot Ginger.
Some other salad hazards include: dried cranberries (123 calories a serving and 26 grams of sugar), blue cheese (100 calories and 5 grams saturated fat), and candied nuts (140 calories).
Need some exciting add-ons besides vegetables that aren’t going to destroy your diet? Try slivered almonds, avocado, light feta, whole unsweetened fruit, seeds or even salsa.
My favorites: golden beets, butternut squash, and avo.
Vegetables/Potatoes:
Like your meats, veggies are often sautéed in oil and butter. At Applebees, a small serving of Sauteed Mushrooms to top your steak has 130 calories and 13 grams of fat. Mushrooms on their own are only about 20 calories for a whole cup!
Always ask for your veggies to be steamed, baked, or grilled with little or no oil.
And those sweet potato fries you think are a more health-conscious order than regular fries, they’re not.
Fries are fries are fries. An order of sweet potato fries at Burger King is 390 calories and over 20 grams of fat.
Unless you’re eating at an establishment that specifically says they bake their fries (or make them at home as pictured above), then they are fried. I repeat, your French Fries are fried, big shocker.
Be sure to come back on Friday for the last part of the series where I’ll discuss all the other sneaky little tricks restaurants have to fatten you up, along with how to avoid pissing off your waitress when making all these adjustments.
[…] sure to check out Part 2 & Part 3 where we’ll cover salads, sushi, and everything in […]