Chili’s has always been one of my favorite restaurants. I worked there throughout college and it also happens to be where I met my husband . 
We still eat there a lot, but that doesn’t mean it’s the healthiest pick of the bunch! You have to come prepared with some knowledge so you don’t order a calorie and fat laden meal that might set you back a month.
For example, as a waitress, I was always amazed by what people considered a “healthy meal”. Some would order the Awesome Blossom (as a meal) because it is “just an onion”, right?
Nope, that appetizer alone had 2710 calories and 203 grams of fat! Can you imagine?! Many people who would come in and eat that all by themselves. (ugh)
Others would order the Black Bean soup because they were vegetarians. I made sure to tell them that all the soups were made from chicken stock (at least when I was an employee, not sure about now) , thus making them non-vegetarian items. Some people thanked me, others did not care.
And any meal that is covered in thick gravy and served with mashed potatoes cannot be considered “light” fare. So many people thought these were healthy items because they came with a side of broccoli. (that was rarely eaten anyway.)
All of these mysteries are out in the open now that Chili’s has posted the nutritional information on their website.
Warning: Read at your own risk if this is a favorite restaurant of yours!
Want a healthy salad?
Try the Quesadilla Explosion salad. It’s only 1260 calories, 76 grams of fat, and 2630 mg of sodium!
or perhaps the Mesquite Chicken Salad. That will set you back 960 calories, 62 grams of fat, and 2680 mg of sodium.
NO THANKS!
Think a sandwich might be a better choice? Even the Smoked Turkey sandwich is loaded with 877 calories, 48 grams of fat, and 2154 mg of sodium.
So what can we choose? Fortunately Chili’s offers their Guiltless Grill items, with most of them being under 400 calories and less fat and sodium. Stick to this section of the menu and you’ll find that less will stick to you!
Most of the restaurants are now putting their nutritional content on the web. Does that make an impact for you? Would you prefer they provide this information either on the menu or inside the restaurant itself?
{ 14 comments }
Zoiks!!!!
We don’t go to Chili’s very often, because there isn’t one near us. But I used to go a lot in college. The food is great, but those are some SCARY stats!!!!
huh. and WOW. and thank goodness there is not a chillis to be found where I live.
please dont tell me anything about IHOP
This is one of our favorite local restaurants. My daughter and I consider it a staple for going out and knowing what we can have. We almost always order from the guiltless grill menu unless we save our calories carefully so that we can have a burger which is a treat. I would love for all menus to have calorie counts. We spend a lot of time searching on line before we go to any restaurant to decide what we could order.
funny that you posted this we just did an in depth lecture on the 20 saltiest foods in america, and the 20 worst foods in america and believe it or not the saltiest “healthy” food in america happened to be Chili’s Guiltless Grill Chicken Platter with 2,780 mg sodium…just thought you’d like to know! And the #1 worst food in america was outback steakhouse’s aussie cheese fries with 2,900 calories, 182 g fat, and 240 carbs…but don’t worry Chili’s awesome blossom was ranked #2
Any information that can help consumers make informed decisions is a good thing. I think it’s great to offer nutrition info on the be web. But it’s likely that most diners won’t look there. Having calories, sodium content, and more listed on the menu might make more of an impact. If it affects diner’s choices, perhaps restaurants will alter their menu to offer more healthy choices.
Chiming in again: I’d like to see maybe a pamphlet or something at the restaurants, but having it in the menu itself could be a trigger for a lot of people. I know for myself, and many folks with a history of EDs (and there are a lot of us, unfortunately), that seeing that info right in front of us can put us right back into that mindset.
Wow..amazing what you think should be healthy or low in cals isnt. I always choose from the guiltless grill menu too.
Why is there so much sodium in all of it? Asking seriously. My favorite Chili’s dish is the Chicken Enchilada soup… not bad in calories, but thru the roof in sodium it looks like! UG!
Jennifer Allwoods last blog post..I found treasures!
Kristin–YIKES! That is crazy! I wonder what corporate Chilis would say in response to the fact that a college course is pointing out one of their “guiltless” items as being not so guiltless after all!?
jennifer–that is a very good question! Maybe our RD in training (Kristin) can answer that for us?
Unfortunately, most low fat/healthier option meals are loaded with sodium to make them taste better! I mean even lean cuisines have a ton of sodium. The new CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) report recommends consuming less than 1500 mg of sodium per day to prevent hypertension or high blood pressure. HTN can lead to heart disease and stroke along with many other diseases and is commonly known as the silent killer. This has drastically decreased from the old recommendation of 2400 mg. Soups in general have a lot of sodium in them. Progresso makes a line of 50% less sodium soups which are better than any other reduced sodium soups. Federal regulations only require a 25% reduction of sodium from original recipe in order to call it reduced sodium. So keep that in mind when reading labels! Progresso doesn’t use MSG or (monosodium glutamate) which is a source of sodium found in MANY soups most likely Chili’s! Just make sure to read labels and think twice when adding that table salt to your foods because 1 tsp of salt is equivalent to 2300 mg of sodium!! Hope this helps
I worked at Chili’s as a manager during the first half of my weight loss. People get the fajitas thinking they are healthy, but they are around 1500 calories with tons o sodium. There are good options, but most people would rather have the Crispers. The guiltless menu is a poor seller there, unfortunately.
theantijareds last blog post..The silence of a loving wife
Hey, how are you? I agree with you on Chili’s. For me, if we are eating out, then, forget it. I consider it a massive cheat meal.
Fit Mommys last blog post..Motivated to Run!
Navigating the nutritional menu at Chili’s | Workout Mommy: fitness and exercise tips for busy moms and dads great article thank you.
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 3 trackbacks }