Estimating Fat Found in Restaurant Food

You are in a restaurant and your eyes automatically skim the menu for grilled items –  assuming they are low in fat. But are they really low in fat? While a grilled item is a much better choice than an entree with a sauce, such as chicken marsala or shrimp scampi,  you can’t assume there is minimal added fat to your “plain” grilled or broiled entree.  Most chefs will brush the meat/poultry/fish with oil or butter prior to grilling or after cooking. The amount of fat added will depend upon the chef.  So the question remains – how much fat is added to grilled, baked, sautéed or broiled items?

Tips for estimating fat used in restaurant cooking:

–  ½ tsp of fat per ounce of cooked meat/poultry/fish for pan fried without breading, grilled/broiled with fat in marinade or brushed with fat, fat added to dress meats before serving, or roasted or baked meats/poultry fish.       *For example: a 7 ounce piece of broiled fish could contain up to an additional 3.5 tsp of added fat (157 calories and 17 gmfat in addition to the calories/fat in the fish )

–  1 tsp of fat per ounce of cooked meat/poultry/fish that is deep fried with breading or batter.    *For example: a 5 ounce portion of fried calamari (~ 1/2 an appetizer size portion) could contain an additional 5 tsp. of added fat (225 calories and 45 grams of fat in addition to the calories/fat  in the calamari).

–  1 tsp of fat per cup of vegetables that are steamed/boiled/microwaved with fat or fatty meat added to flavor, and vegetables sautéed with limited fat   * For example: an order of sautéed spinach (2 cups) could contain an additional 2 tsp of added fat ( 90 calories and 10 grams of fat) in addition to the calories/fat in the spinach (which isn’t much!)

–  2 tsp of fat per cup of vegetables sautéed with generous fat, steamed/boiled/microwaved with generous fat added   *For example: some restaurants served grilled or sautéed veggies that are quite oily. This would contribute an additional 4 tsp. fat (180 calories and 20 grams of fat) for a 2 cup portion.

–  1 Tbsp of fat per cup of vegetables that are deep fried with breading or batter. No shocker here! We know anything deep fried is loaded with calories and fat.

These guidelines are from the Nutrition Data System for Research. Of course, they are only guidelines. The actual amount of fat added to the food will depend upon the chef!