Upset with Applebee's [rant]

Is it just my local restaurant, or did ALL Applebee's take away the calorie and fat nutrition on their menu's?? They still have the Weight Watcher's selections (albeit extremely limited), but they used to have the numbers on it as well. This REALLY bothers me because I don't do WW, and I have no idea how many calories = how many points. And I'm sure a majority of dieters are calorie counters, so it would be USEFUL to include both. Ugh. I can't eat it unless I know the count, now the WW section of the menu is no longer safe for me unless I do research ahead of time, which is not always convenient.

I dislike paying $5 for a salad I could make at home for less than $3... and with more ingredients. (and better lettuce lmao)

That stinks.

Here's what I usually use when looking up a restaurant's nutririon info:

http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calori es/food/applebees

By the way, I agree about their lettuce. =P

or you can try this one too http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-c alories/applebees

Either way, try to check out the menus before you get there so you have some idea of what you want. And Yes, I am surprised that they dropped all the numbers for nutritional value on the menu and just use the Points System. They may be losing out on people like me and you who would have probably spent more money if we knew what to order!

 

Thanks for that. Although I don't completely trust it either because of the articles I read in the past on restaurants (including Applebee's) being way off in their posted stats. Such a shame that the only safe when you go out is the greens. Even veggies you gotta be careful that their steamed plain and not smothered in butter or oil. Yikes. lol

Yeah, their lettuce is pretty much the same kind my dad buys in a bag for like $1, and I rag on him for it and tell him it's not REAL lettuce. lmao So I buy my own, but I usually use spinach instead. Yummmmers.

IMO, it's usually just better to avoid Applebee's altogether, and not just because of calories.  If I want an unimaginative high calorie menu and a bunch of weird stuff on the wall, there's a TGI Friday's much closer to my house.

That being said, it's usually better to go the simple route than any complicated concoction with sauces and garnishes.  I once had a decent 7 ounce sirloin there (only ate half, brought the rest home), and double portion of steamed veggies.

you can't blame a restaurant (chain or otherwise) for pulling items that customers don't order.  they're a business, not a public service.  it's going to take a major societal shift to convince most westerners that more is not better when it comes to food, and until that happens, the restaurants are just providing what the customers demand.

anyway, i'd rather go less often to a quality restaurant and pay more for a reasonable portion of really good food.  restaurant chains do nothing for me.

This may not be helpful at all because I have no idea if ANY or NO restaurants post calorie counts but the original post stated the writer did not do WW and had no idea "how many calories = how many points". Several years ago when I was a member of WW I checked out literally dozens and dozens of recipes and found that in almost ALL instances about 50 calories equaled 1 point. Hope this helps.

Original Post by cteene:

This may not be helpful at all because I have no idea if ANY or NO restaurants post calorie counts but the original post stated the writer did not do WW and had no idea "how many calories = how many points". Several years ago when I was a member of WW I checked out literally dozens and dozens of recipes and found that in almost ALL instances about 50 calories equaled 1 point. Hope this helps.

That does help a lot, thank you very much for the info! Do you happen to know if there is a website out there that has a converter?

Weight watchers points are based on more than just calories. They take the entire nutritional value of the food into consideration. I'm not sure there's actually a calculator where you can simply go from points to calories. cteene's post about 50cals per point is probably the closest you'll get. 

regardless of the accuracy of the information it's not like you eat there every day, so choose the healthiest option, estimate the calories and move on. you're not going to derail your diet if you're off by 100-200 calories. think long term/big picture. honestly, it's not going to kill you or your diet and i'm saying this to comfort you not to condemn you for caring. if you eat there often then it might be a problem but i doubt that that's the case. so, really, just choose the BEST option, enjoy it, and put it behind you. :)

I served at an applebee's for 2 years. I have only aten there once since I quit and that has been about a year lol. I don't like their food. As a vegetarian I have limited menu. Same with Friday's. I may dislike it more so than Applebee's lol. Only chains I actually like are Chili's, Bravo, Brio, and Cheese Cake Factory. I'd choose awesome local places over a chain any day

I've got to go into a Cheesecake Factory one day. I feel like I'm missin' out. LOL