2,000 Calorie Lunch
Recently, I had lunch with a friend at a popular national chain steak restaurant. Thanks to Federal regulations, they list calories for each menu item, but not the amount of sodium. Many food processors and restaurant want to suppress that information due to the high sodium content. Just knowing the number of calories was an eye opener and jaw dropper.
For decades, nutrition facts labels have listed daily percentages based on 2,000 and 2,500 calories diets. Looking over the menu, one would conclude many Americans must eat one meal a day. Even then, it was easy to eat more than 2,500 calories for lunch. Here are the ranges:
| Menu Item | Least Calories | Most Calories |
| Appetizers | 150 | 2,100 |
| Lunch Salads | 750 | 1,300 |
| Sandwiches | 950 | 1,300 |
| Side Dishes | 71 | 650 |
| Entrees | 370 | 1,500 |
| Desserts | 300 | 1,100 |
| Beverages | 0 | 360 per glass |
A steak sandwich with fried potatoes had about 1,100 calories. Add a 12 ounce regular soft drink brings the total to 1,260 calories. Add two free refills raises the total to 1,560 calories. Substituting iced tea with artificial sweetener reduces total calories to 1,100.
An appetiser, entree, beverage and dessert can easily exceed 2,000 calories and 4,000 mg of sodium.
The irony, was a note at the bottom of the menu about dietary guidelines recommend Americans limits saturated fat to 20 grams and sodium to 2,300 mg for a 2,000 calorie diet.
The take away; review the restaurant’s menu and nutritional information to make the healthiest selection. Many restaurants list the information on their website and most are in PDF format so you can print it and take it with you.