How to Find Nutrition Facts on Restaurant Food

Eating out can take its toll on your diet and healthy eating plans, but you can be better prepared by reading the nutrition facts on menu items before you go. Not all chain and local restaurants have nutrition facts readily available at the location, but you can look up most foods and specialty items online, or request information from the company. Here's how to find nutrition facts on restaurant food.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Internet connection
• List of favorite foods
• List of favorite restaurants

1. Call the restaurant before your visit for specific information. Simply asking for nutritional information might lead you to the restaurant's website or another link where the information is available. In some cases, the restaurant can send you a .pdf of their nutritional tables.
2. Visit each restaurant's own nutritional pages. Many are available online, and a complete list of available sites can be found on Consumerist.com (see Resources below).
3. Review nutritional data on Calorie-Count.com (see Resources below). This is the place to track down restaurants, cafes, bistros and even supermarket foods. Everything is listed alphabetically, and you can use the 'Food Browser' section to find specific products.
4. Find updated nutritional counts on Dotti's Weight Loss Zone. This comprehensive site features updates each month with new menu items and complete listings of common restaurant foods. Menu items are listed in a straightforward alphabetical list (see Resources below).
5. Look up fast food nutrition facts on DietFacts.com (see Resources below). Here you'll find hundreds of chain and fast food restaurants with listings of all nutritional information from key menu items.
6. Learn about which restaurants suit your diet.
7. Pick up a calorie counting book or chart. Many books feature reprints of restaurant food charts and nutrition counts, and can be an easy way to find a specific item.

Tips & Warnings

• The FDA requires restaurants to substantiate their claims of 'low fat' and 'heart healthy' with nutritional data.
• Adding condiments or modifying your order can change the nutritional data considerably.