Someone linked this article on a message board I visit:
http://men.webmd.com/features/16-secrets-restaurant-industry-doesnt-want-you-know
Feeling confident that I have been eating whole foods when we eat out has been a challenge for me. Although I have been trying to stick with salads for the most part, I am also cognizant that most, is not all, restaurant salad dressings probably don’t fit the whole foods category.
In addition, I feel very self-conscious about asking if the restaurant’s food is made from fresh, whole ingredients. I guess I am afraid of looking like one of “those” people – you know, the high maintenance, demanding type that makes the waitress want to spit in your food. And when I do ask, my questions are usually met with a blank stare. I’ve learned that the blank stare probably means ‘frozen-rama, no fresh food here.’ The places where fresh food is the norm seem to want to enthusiastically share that information with you.
I’ve long suspected that the food served at most chain sit-down restaurants is simply a dressed up version of fast food. And even before starting my whole foods regimen, I have found it very frustrating that restaurants do not provide more nutritional information. I can certainly see where it might be logistically difficult to print all the nutritional info on the menu, but in the internet era, there doesn’t seem to be any good reason why it can’t be posted online.
Several years ago, I religiously entered my food in a nutrition tracker to count calories, carbs, etc. After a visit to Famous Dave’s, I emailed them for the info on my salmon salad. The very nice response (and it was very pleasant) I received was ‘sorry, we don’t have that information available.’ Part of me wonders if the real problem is not that restaurants don’t want to share the nutritional information as much as it is that they don’t want to be bothered to calculate it.
But back to the article above - it’s really disappointing to see that Panera Bread which I always considered to be a rather whole, healthy alternative is not above using artificial coloring in some of its food. The moral of the story: it’s not safe to assume that any restaurant is on the whole foods bandwagon. We don’t have a Chipolte in our area yet, but I hear that one is in the works. I’ll be sure to pay them a visit.
http://men.webmd.com/features/16-secrets-restaurant-industry-doesnt-want-you-know
Feeling confident that I have been eating whole foods when we eat out has been a challenge for me. Although I have been trying to stick with salads for the most part, I am also cognizant that most, is not all, restaurant salad dressings probably don’t fit the whole foods category.
In addition, I feel very self-conscious about asking if the restaurant’s food is made from fresh, whole ingredients. I guess I am afraid of looking like one of “those” people – you know, the high maintenance, demanding type that makes the waitress want to spit in your food. And when I do ask, my questions are usually met with a blank stare. I’ve learned that the blank stare probably means ‘frozen-rama, no fresh food here.’ The places where fresh food is the norm seem to want to enthusiastically share that information with you.
I’ve long suspected that the food served at most chain sit-down restaurants is simply a dressed up version of fast food. And even before starting my whole foods regimen, I have found it very frustrating that restaurants do not provide more nutritional information. I can certainly see where it might be logistically difficult to print all the nutritional info on the menu, but in the internet era, there doesn’t seem to be any good reason why it can’t be posted online.
Several years ago, I religiously entered my food in a nutrition tracker to count calories, carbs, etc. After a visit to Famous Dave’s, I emailed them for the info on my salmon salad. The very nice response (and it was very pleasant) I received was ‘sorry, we don’t have that information available.’ Part of me wonders if the real problem is not that restaurants don’t want to share the nutritional information as much as it is that they don’t want to be bothered to calculate it.
But back to the article above - it’s really disappointing to see that Panera Bread which I always considered to be a rather whole, healthy alternative is not above using artificial coloring in some of its food. The moral of the story: it’s not safe to assume that any restaurant is on the whole foods bandwagon. We don’t have a Chipolte in our area yet, but I hear that one is in the works. I’ll be sure to pay them a visit.
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