By David
Posted July 28, 2009
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If you find yourself eating at a local restaurant in New York or California, you might discover that a new revolution has begun. As of July 1, chain restaurants are required to provide calorie and other nutritional facts on their menus. Sure, we’re used to seeing this type of information on every item in the supermarket, but this information packs a serious punch when being made available in a restaurant. Here’s why:

Many of us are accustomed to checking things like calories, fat, and carbs, of food we purchase at the supermarket. While very helpful, the food manufacturers have become experts in concealing the true content of those listings. They use methods like taking tiny portions of food that you and I would assume is a single serving, and dividing it into multiple servings. So, if that 4oz. bag of chips has 7 grams of fat, it might seem fine to eat. But, if you look carefully, you might discover that the nutritional information is for only one of two servings in the bag, meaning that the tiny bag of chips and its 7 grams of fat is actually doubled of you consume all the chips in the tiny bag, getting 14 grams of fat and double the calories that are listed. Of course, this is common knowledge and many people who are concerned enough to carefully examine nutritional info already know this, but still… It’s tricky.

In restaurants, though, at least so far, the nutritional information applies to the entire portion that is being served, and this produces some very surprising results.

Most people realize that ordering deep fried food is not the way to go if they are concerned with reducing their calorie and fat intake. So, the nutritional information for those items is no big surprise. What is surprising, however, is the amount of calories and fat contained in dishes that should be better choices. Grilled Mexican-style chicken, and several salads have been some of the most unpleasant surprises for me. The grilled chicken I usually order is a fairly modest portion, with a small side of guacamole, rice, black beans, and pico de gallo (chopped tomatoes and onion in salsa), and three flour tortillas. Turns out that the dish, if eaten in its entirety, is about 1,000 calories. Huh?? Before the new law came into effect and the nutritional info became available, I used to estimate it at about half of that.

My favorite Asian-style Salmon and veggies in a ginger-teriyaki sauce, also around 1000 calories. C’mon, It’s fish and veggies…

Salads, too, are a typical choice of mine. Until now, that is. With the new disclosure, I found out that many salads pack upwards of 800 calories. I used to view them as an appetizer, and I used to view myself as a martyr ordering salad instead of the other appetizers I’d really enjoy eating. Sheesh…

So now, with the new laws in place, I’m armed with a little more knowledge and a lot more caution. Grilled Mexican-style chicken? Hold the guacamole, and substitute corn tortillas for flour.

Ginger Salmon? I’ll cut it in half and portion off half of the veggies, too. Great for sharing…

Salads? I’ll take the dressing on the side and dole it out sparingly.

Of course, I hope that at the end of the meal I’m not left hungry. That’s the real problem!