Chopped

anewme wrote: »

Sorry but it is, the average portion of dressing whatever it is, when “squirted” into the salad is a lot more than 60ml

60ml is 4 tablespoons. A lot more than 4 tablespoons would be the average dressing

I said olive oil, not dressing. Big difference.
60ml of olive oil is a lot on a salad. If you used that on a salad at home, the calories would be no different. So it's very bizarre to use that to complain about chopped.

60ml is 60ml. No need it convert it to anything.
Most tablespoons hold less than a "tablespoon" (15ml). But it's around two shot glasses of oil.

Mellor wrote: »

I said olive oil, not dressing. Big difference.
60ml of olive oil is a lot on a salad. If you used that on a salad at home, the calories would be no different. So it's very bizarre to use that to complain about chopped.

60ml is 60ml. No need it convert it to anything.
Most tablespoons hold less than a "tablespoon" (15ml). But it's around two shot glasses of oil.

There’s difference of maybe 100 calories.

60 ml of lemon herb dressing is over 400 calories for 60ml. The average serving on a salad in chopped would be considerably more than 60 ml. So people are not aware of how much calories they are consuming in the dressing.

Why do you think that Chopped display their calories for salads but not for dressings.?

Where is the transparency.?

Richmond Ultra wrote: »

What dressing do you want ingredients for and I'll pm it to you tomorrow?

Cheers. Oriental, Piri Piri, Mexican, Cajun Lemon, Lemon Herb.

Thanks again.

anewme wrote: »

There’s difference of maybe 100 calories.

60 ml of lemon herb dressing is over 400 calories for 60ml. The average serving on a salad in chopped would be considerably more than 60 ml. So people are not aware of how much calories they are consuming in the dressing.

Why do you think that Chopped display their calories for salads but not for dressings.?

Where is the transparency.?

Lemon herb is a vinigrette. It's probably 80% olive oil. Of course its similar to plain olive. Dressings that mostly oil are high in calories.

Saying its about 100 cals difference with all dressings is dumb. You own posts contradicts you.

anewme wrote: »

You'd be right in thinking that.

Lemon juice 8 calories.
BBQ zesty 70 calories
Low fat sweet chilli 96 calories
Cajun lemon/ fitzwillam 177 calories
Spiced herb or piri piri 180
Low fat mayo 188 calories
Ceasar 192
Chopped house 196
Honey mustard 225
Balsamic vinaigrette 227
Lemon herb vinaigrette 407
Olive oil 504

Think I left out a couple, Mexican, Greek and Thai are around 182 calories

This is all for 60g dressings in the salads, they put 35,g into the wraps

Not, you said before they put 60g in the salads. But now you are saying 60g is a tiny amount and they put in way more. :rolleyes:

Mellor wrote: »

Lemon herb is a vinigrette. It's probably 80% olive oil. Of course its similar to plain olive. Dressings that mostly oil are high in calories.

Saying its about 100 cals difference with all dressings is dumb. You own posts contradicts you.



Not, you said before they put 60g in the salads. But now you are saying 60g is a tiny amount and they put in way more. :rolleyes:

Your tone is rude and condescending.

I did not say they put 60g of dressing the salads, THEY said it in an email to me.

THEY said THEY put 60g dressing (be it oil/vinegrette or whatever) on a salad and 35g on the wraps.

I think they put a lot more in, as the servers tend to be heavy handed with the squirter and they dont measure. It would be easy to put 80-100g of dressing on one of those salads to coat the leaves and not realise it. 60g is not a huge amount for the amount of leaves.

Other people have also said here that they got salads that were swimming in dressing.

It was Chopped's recommendation to ask for the dressing on the side in the little pot.

Ive been behind a person in the queue to have a server ask them "which dressing would you like, piri piri, mexican or lemon and herb) so people may not realise that its vinigrette.

My point is people are eating Chopped thinking they are healthy as someone else says here, that's the sales pitch, its really fast food.

It can be healthy, depending on what you pick, but Chopped not displaying the calories of the dressings alongside the salads is not transparant in helping people make healthier choices.


Anway, I posted the dressings up to help people, that was the question asked, not to be labelled dumb.

anewme wrote: »

[
Anway, I posted the dressings up to help people, that was the question asked, not to be labelled dumb.

I didn't dispute the numbers you put up. I assume that helped people. But saying all dressings are "maybe 100cals" different to olive oil is misleading and incorrect. I also didn't say you were dumb, not sure where you got that.
If somebody is getting olive oil on a salad thinking it's healthy. They need to brush up a bit on the basics.

anewme wrote: »

I think you’ve misinterpreted my post or I was not clear enough in how I said it.

The 100 calories I was referring to was the difference between olive oil and Lemon herb which I mentioned below. Not all dressings.

If I posted that olive oil was 504 calories and balsamic vinegar was 227, I’m well aware that’s not 100 calories as it’s basic maths.

Post is above. I said there's a big difference between oil and dressings - as in all dressing generally.
You said there’s difference of maybe 100 calories. Lemon herb was mentioned after.

So when they ask you if you want (peri piri or Greek ir Thai or lemon and herb) or whatever, many ppl will just go ehhhh I’ll take lemon and herb.

That's fair enough, they might think its lemon juice and herbs. But one meal won't ruin a diet. If they get it once, they'll have an idea it's not the low option next time.

A good few of our office staff get chopped and when we got the calories for the dressings, every single one was surprised and had underestimated all of the calories.

That's believable. Most people have a poor idea of calories. Generally salad dressings are gonna be oil or mayo based.

I think the caloriees should be displayed in the shops to be more transparent and enable customers make more informed choices.

Agree. No reason not to display it if they have it availible.

harr wrote: »

The problem for them displaying the calories is down to the amount of dressing each individual person working in chopped puts in the salad... i have seen workers putting the right amount just for flavour and others who would nearly put a quarter of a bottle in it ? so much so you would only taste the dressing and not the salad.
I think they all should come with the dressing on the side which would make displaying the calories an hell of a lot easier.

That’s actually my point about some people being heavy handed with the squirter. Very easy to add a few hundred calories but at least if the calories were displayed and shown even if indicated as 60g then people can at least steer away from the higher ones, when now there’s no guidance at all.

harr wrote: »

I have seen the little squirt they need to fill those little containers but watching some of them putting the dressing on the salads it’s at least double and sometimes a lot more. Some places are always spot on while others are always a bit more generous.

60 g is small enough is especially as there’s so much leaves. If I was making my own salad at hime id have a lot less leaves and more sides so it’s easier to judge.

Could they get containers made for the servers when they dispense the dressing like bars use to get a pub measure. Like if they press the bottle 60g goes into the chamber and is released. I’m just thinking iof environmental damage if everyone asked for a plastic pot with every salad. Going to stop doing that myself actually.

I think it’s something chopped need to develop on as part of their strategy...how to standardize dressing without adding more plastic.

On a positive note I believe they use Brady Ham and Nolan salmon so I’ll be sticking with salmon and lemon juice I think.

So... lemon juice all the way yeah? Can take as much on the lemon juice as I want?

molly09 wrote: »

I would never have though the balsamic dressing was that high, it’s the one I always get thinking it wS s good option. The house dressing is lower !!

Balsamic vinegar is low cal, it's just vinegar.
Balsamic dressing on the other hand, is mostly oil with some balsamic.

MarkY91 wrote: »

Ah lads so what IS healthy to eat when out and about in town? When even chipped is tricking you into believing you're being healthy

Theyre not tricking anyone and the food isn't unhealthy. It's about the calorie content in their food.

MarkY91 wrote:

They hide the calories of the sauces and squirt too much onto the food. It's been said loads of times on their thread that people had no clue how much extra calories they're consuming in chopped.

They're not "hiding" anything. Honest to God, if people don't realise that oil-based dressings are fattening then it's not really Chopped's fault, is it? Choose your dressing wisely and get it on the side. It's not exactly rocket science.

Dial Hard wrote: »

They're not "hiding" anything. Honest to God, if people don't realise that oil-based dressings are fattening then it's not really Chopped's fault, is it? Choose your dressing wisely and get it on the side. It's not exactly rocket science.

The calories for the salads are displayed on the board in the shop but not the calories for the dressings( not even for 60g)

They don’t have the calorie content available at the shop and you have to email head office to get them.

Would not go as far as calling it conspiracy theory, but showing the salad without the dressing shows a lack of transparency.

It’s not about saying people should realise, unfortunately a lot of people don’t, that’s the whole idea of displaying the calories when eating out , be it Chopped or McDonalds or whoever in the first place.

I've only been to Chopped about 5 times, all in the last 6-8 weeks. I like the food, I'll be using it a lot more.

After the first time, I said to the guy "a small squirt" of dressing, he did just that, once I asked for a small bit more. I've also told them about chopping the food half way through that "that's fine", as I like a bit of bite. They were always more than happy to comply.

People should be prepared to open their mouths and adjust the food when it's being prepared rather than complaining afterwards. Admittedly you'll need a couple of visits to get the hang of it, but if you're buying it several times a week then there's no excuse.

I agree it would be helpful to have the dressing calories written down, but if you're calorie counting then you should know roughly what is in dressings calorie wise. If you're worried about calories, then buy a couple of apples or bring your own food, or go to McDonalds where it's all written down and all portioned out to the gramme.

The lemon juice is really nice just a dash over the salad as well. Very refreshing.

Dial Hard wrote: »

Isn't that kind of the entire point of a salad?

Not really..they could put more peppers and tomatoes and stuff in..I dont like paying 8 euro for a bucket of leaves,salad just means mix of vegetables and othetr toppings doesnt have to be 90% lettuce, its annoying how few healthy takeaway options there are in dublin that are tasty as well so if I ever want to eat healthy out I usually do go to chopped..even in other resturants things you think of as healthy like vegetable soup are full of oil and cream and salt!
When I was in vancouver you could get delicious sushi poke bowls for 7 euro and theres enough in them for lunch and a dinner!The base for the fish was nutritious and filling, it had bits like cabbage, brown rice,seaweed, beans,avocado stuff like that , that just felt like it had more substance than iceberg/mixed leaves

CM24 wrote: »

Also, I think that if Chopped did put the total calorie count on their menu, they wouldn’t have been as successful as they have been. They know what they’re doing.

Are the dressings obligatory? If they're an optional extra then Chopped aren't hiding anything by listing the calorie counts of the undressed salads. Yes, it would be nice if they listed the dressing calories in addition, but I still don't think it's their fault if people don't realise they're adding several hundred calories by choosing an oil-based or creamy dressing.

Dial Hard wrote: »

Are the dressings obligatory? If they're an optional extra then Chopped aren't hiding anything by listing the calorie counts of the undressed salads. Yes, it would be nice if they listed the dressing calories in addition, but I still don't think it's their fault if people don't realise they're adding several hundred calories by choosing an oil-based or creamy dressing.

With oil, pesto, vinaigrette, yes but it's not obvious with the likes of "Greek passion", "Oriental", "Thai adventure", "Mexican", "New Orleans".

Any ideas on a recipe for replicating the chopped vinaigrette?

surprised they dont mention anything about chicken being 100% Irish...or not..anyone know?

Had'nt been to Chopped in ages as feel its a bit bland and gimicky.

Went to the Liffey Valley one today and they appear to have totally overhauled the menu. Not sure if that is all the Choppeds?

Theres a lot more choices and the pre-planned salads are much more imaginative.

I got pear, blue cheese, walnut and pomegranate with pomegrante vinegar and it was absolutely gorgeous.

On the downside, the calories have all disappeared from the menu, it says ask.....the other issue is that they were grossly understaffed and people were waiting over a half hour in the queue. Felt sorry for the 2 staff who were struggling, but were trying to keep their chin up.