Welcome friends! My
favorite sit-down restaurant is Chili's so it will be the first one
that I cover in my nutrition analysis and recommendations series for
dining out!
To get started,
let's cover the beverage options. I always recommend drinking water
but I know that sometimes we all want something else! Two other good
options at Chili's are their flavored teas. If you have a reasonable
server, ask him or her to make you a half and half tea, get half
unsweet tea and half of a flavored tea. That will cut the calories
and sugar in half. The following recommendations are for the entire
glass of flavored tea, so keep in mind if you are able to get the
half and half tea, your calories and sugar will be half of what I
have listed here.
Beverages:
1- Water
0 calories, 0 sugar
2- Mango Tea
80 calories, 18
grams sugar
3- Blackberry Tea
80 calories, 19
grams sugar
Now let's cover the
appetizers. This is always a difficult category because we tend to
over eat when it comes to appetizers, especially in social settings.
I selected 3 different appetizers for 3 different reasons. One is
low calorie, one is low sodium, and one is low carb/sugar. The
nutrition data I list is for the entire appetizer, so be sure to
divide the values accordingly.
Appetizers:
1- Smoked Wings &
BBQ Sauce
610 calories
2- Spiced Panko
Onion Rings (No Ranch) *This item
is on the 2 for $20 menu!
1770 mg sodium
3- Wings Over
Buffalo + Bleu Cheese
7 g carbs, 3 g sugar
Soup and salads are
usually a good option. For this restaurant, I selected one soup, one
salad, and I would also like to add that I would recommend a cup of
Terlingua Chili. There is only one chili option but the Terlingua
Chili is not a bad option!
Soup & Salad:
1- Southwest Chicken
Soup
2- Santa Fe Chicken
Salad
690 calories, 31
carbs, 39 g protein
Sandwiches are
always a touchy subject. Even though they taste great, they are
usually loaded with carbs. For Chili's, I selected one sandwich that
I would recommend but I also recommend eating only half of it because
of the carb content!
Sandwiches:
1- Grilled Chicken
Sandwich
1090 calories, 106
carbs
Burgers are another
touchy subject because they contain a large amount of carbs, so
again, while I will recommend an option from the burger category, I
highly recommend eating only half of it.
Burgers:
1- Oldtimer with
Cheddar Cheese
1180 calories, 145
mg cholesterol, 3280 mg sodium, 101 carbs, 9 g sugar
The Lighter Choices
category can be tricky. Some restaurants are trying to be sneaky with
their low calorie options but we also need to watch out for carbs,
sugar, and sodium.
Lighter Choices:
1- 6 oz Sirloin with
Grilled Avocado
410 calories, 65 mg
cholesterol, 21 carbs
For the last
categories, I will select at least one option from each that I would
recommend. When I look at the “sides” category, I try to select
as many as I can since that's usually a very diverse category.
Enchiladas:
1- Chicken with
Green Chile Sauce
1040 calories, 13 g
saturated fat, 63 grams protein
Fajitas:
1-
Grilled Steak (for the “choose two” option, this is my first
pick- *choose two option is on the 2 for $20 menu)
15
mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 0 g carb, 0 g sugar
2-
Grilled Chicken (for “choose two”, this is my second pick)
110
cal, 1 g carb, 0 g sugar
3-
Pork Carnitas (for “choose three”, this is my third pick)
24
g protein
4-
Corn Tortillas
180
calories, 100 mg sodium
Fresh Mex Bowls:
*The
Chipotle options have less carbs and sugar!
Top Shelf Tacos:
1-
Grilled Fish Taco (nutrition info listed is for ONE taco)
270
calories, 35 mg cholesterol, 720 mg sodium
Quesadillas:
1-
Smoked Chicken Quesadilla
3090
mg sodium
Baby Back Ribs:
1-
Dr. Pepper BBQ Ribs (half rack)
1950
mg sodium
Steaks:
1-
Classic Sirloin (6 oz, *2 for $20 option)
1870
mg cholesterol, 41 carbs, 3 g sugar
Chicken:
1-
Mango- Chile Chicken (also listed under Lighter Choices on Chili's
menu, *2 for $20 option)
520
calories, 2180 mg sodium, 57 g carbs
Seafood:
1-
Mango-Chile Tilapia (*2 for $20 option)
520
calories, 70 mg cholesterol, 1580 mg sodium
Flatbreads:
1-
California Grilled Chicken (full size)
1450
calories, 2560 mg sodium, 77 g protein
Sides:
1-
Black Beans
6
g fiber, 7 g protein
2-
Garlic Roasted Tomatoes
60
calories, 12 g carbs
3-
Seared Shrimp (half order)
40
calories, 2 g carbs, 6 g protein
4-
Spinach & Garlic Roasted Tomatoes
45
calories, 9 g carbs
5-
Steamed Broccoli
40
calories, 8 g carbs, 4 g fiber
Dessert:
1- Cheesecake (No
sauce)
750 calories, 500 mg
sodium
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