Eating Out for 400 Calories or Less: Swiss Chalet

We don’t eat out at Swiss Chalet that often but now and again it’s a really nice change. I have to admit, that I cheated with my meal there. It’s over 400 calories. But not by much. And aside from being a little high in sodium I think it’s a pretty solid meal so I don’t mind spending a little extra calories.

Was it good? Was it satisfying? It’s a pretty simple meal, but it was more food than I could eat which is nice for a change.

Special Instructions:White meat chicken
Subtractions/Additions: You need to not eat the skin if you want to keep the calories down.
Substitutions: I got fresh veggies instead of the fries. I got corn instead of the bun, which put me over on the calories by a little bit (405 with the bun vs 435 with the corn).

Quarter Chicken Dinner (white meat with fresh veggies, corn and chalet sauce): Calories – 435, Carbs – 46 (10g sugar), Fat – 7.9g (sat. – 2.3g, trans – 0.1g), Sodium –1155, Protein – 52.3g, Fibre – 10g.

If you had the dinner roll instead of the corn, the calories would be 405.

Eating Out for Under 400 Calories: Coco Brooks Pizza

  It’s not uncommon for us to stop in at Coco Brooks on a Saturday for some pizza. But up until this visit it was not uncommon for me to eat an entire personal pizza by myself either.

After looking at the nutritional information, this was probably not a great idea for me. The regular crust pizzas are between 200 and 270 calories a slice and the thin crust pizzas are between 133 and 236 calories a slice. They only serve personal size pizzas (4 slices per pizza). The pizzas are really delicious though so I decided to try and see how eating there while sticking to my 400 calorie challenge would be. We ordered 2 thin crust pizzas for the 3 of us so I had a slice of each.

Was it good? Was it satisfying? It was delicious. I definitely wanted more pizza but I did manage to stop after 2 and was surprised to find I wasn’t hungry early.

Special Instructions:None
Substractions: None
Additions: None

Mardi Gras (at the top – spicy cajun sauce, chicken pineapple, mozzarella): Calories – 171, Carbs – 20 (4g sugar), Fat – 6g (sat. – 3g, trans – 0g), Sodium –297, Protein – 5g, Fibre – 1.

Margherita (at the bottom – sun-ripened tomato sauce, 4 cheese blend, tomatoes, oregano): Calories – 164, Carbs – 18 (1g sugar), Fat – 7g (sat. – 4g, trans – 0g), Sodium –284, Protein – 6g, Fibre – 1.

The Athens pizza is low enough in calories that you can have 3 slices for just under 400 calories. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m definitely going to next time.

Athens (sun-ripened tomato sauce, red onions, black olives, tomatoes, mozzarella): Calories – 133, Carbs – 19 (3g sugar), Fat – 4g (sat. – 1g, trans – 0g), Sodium –252, Protein – 3g, Fibre – 1.

http://www.cocobrooks.com/

Eating Out for 400 Calories or Less: Tim Hortons

If you can manage to stay away from the treats, Tim Hortons actually has a number of pretty reasonable meals. I’ve had the chilli quite a few times, but I have to admit I’ve pretty much always eaten the whole bun. And sometimes now that I know the calorie count, I still might if it was my big meal of the day. Spending some extra calories on some whole wheat bread is not the worst choice I could be making. In this instance though, I ripped the bun in half, putting me right on my 400 calorie target.

Was it good? Was it satisfying? I love chili and Tim Hortons’ chili is actually pretty good. This definitely doesn’t feel like diet food.

Special Instructions:None
Substractions: I only ate half the bun to save 100 calories. The butter is pictured but I didn’t use any.
Additions: None

For a chilli and half a whole wheat bun: Calories – 400, Carbs – 39g (4g sugar), Fat – 19g, Protein 30, Fibre – 6.

Eating Out for 400 Calories or Less–Wendy’s #2

When I was first considering Wendy’s salads they were all 740-580 calories. Recently though they have added a half salad option making them all within reach for my 400 calorie challenge. I ordered a half Baja salad which is the most caloric of the bunch.

Was it good? Was it satisfying?
I love taco salads and that’s basically what the Baja salad is. I would definitely get it again. I found that I was satisfied when I was done, but then there is actual chilli on your salad so that is not much of a shock. I didn’t notice the missing chips at all but if you wanted that crunch using the chips and only half the dressing would only put you over 400 calories by a little bit.

Special Instructions:None
Substractions: I left the chips off to save 80 calories
Additions: None

 

For a half size Baha Salad without the chips: Calories – 390, Carbs – 21g (8g sugar), Fat – 27g(Sat. 9, Trans 0.5), Protein 18, Fibre – 6, Sodium 1100mg.

You would save:
100 calories by not using the dressing or 50 by using half

Eating Out for 400 Calories or Less–Wendy’s

We were picking up food at Wendy’s to eat in the car while we were plane watching. I was going to need to help my handicapped brother in the back seat eat while Gordie was on and off my lap, so I opted to try a wrap instead one of their salads (their new ‘half salad’ options are in the right ballpark calories wise).I love the Wendy’s spicy chicken so I thought I would try out the Spicy Chicken Bacon Wrap. It was really good – but really, it has bacon, cheese and crispy chicken cutlets, how could it not be?
Special Instructions:None
Substitutions: None
Additions: None









For 1 Spicy Chicken Bacon Wrap: Calories – 380, Carbs – 31g (2g sugar), Fat – 21g(Sat. 7, Trans 0.4), Protein 18, Fibre – 2, Sodium 950mg.
You would save:
70 calories by asking for no cheese
30 calories by asking for no bacon
45 calories by asking for no ranch sauce.

Eating Out for 400 Calories or Less–South St. Burger Co.

For my eating out challenge this week while we were at CrossIron Mills we decided to eat at South St. Burger Co. For 359 calories I got a grilled chicken sandwich on a whole wheat bun (not including toppings). So far this is the only fast food restaurant that I’ve found where I actually like eating a grilled chicken sandwich. They are usually so bland I want to cry. The great thing about South St. Burger Co. is you customize your own burger with a large variety of available toppings. So it is easy to have some extra veggies and a sauce that actually has some flavor.

They don’t have nutritional information available for the toppings so my calorie count won’t be perfect but my best internet estimate puts a tablespoon of mango chutney at 35 calories so I should be close.

Special Instructions:Whole Wheat Bun (but they usually ask)
Substitutions: None
Additions: I added pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and mango chutney

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per Chicken sandwich with a whole wheat bun and no toppings: Calories – 359, Carbs – 38g (3g sugar), Fat – 5.1g (8% daily value), Protein 34, Fibre – 4, Sodium 869mg (36% daily value),

Eating Out for 400 Calories or Less–McDonalds

We eat out more than I could like – mostly on the weekends. I’m not particularly tall (5’4”) and I find it difficult to not overeat at fast food restaurants. So I’ve decided to challenge myself to try to find things to eat that I enjoy eating that are 400 calories or less. I’m not going to worry about how much fat, sugar, or salt they have just how many calories (although I will report the nutritional information). I’m also going to try to have things where I don’t have to eat 3/4 of a burger or something in order to make it work.

My first attempt worked out really well. For 360 calories I got a Spicy Thai Chicken Salad with warm grilled chicken. It was really good – spicy and sweet. I found it satisfying and would definitely order it again.

Special Instructions:Grilled Chicken (though they normally ask)
Substitutions: None
Additions: None

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per Salad with all the dressing: Calories – 360, Carbs – 32g (29g sugar), Fat – 12g (18% daily value, 1g Sat. 0g Trans), Protein 25, Fibre – 5, Sodium 940mg (39% daily value), .