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The Cheesecake Factory Calories

I posted this in a couple of my groups when we were talking about the Cheesecake Factory, and it sparked a lot of interest, so just thought I'd share it here too.

And regarding the Cheesecake Factory, in one of my other groups a few weeks ago one of the woman was going to the Cheesecake Factory and emailed them because she wasn't able to get information about the calorie and nutritional content of food. Anyway, they sent her back a very well written letter- but the bottom line was - sorry, we aint tellin ya (because our food is so disgustingly high in calories and fat and we want your money, and we don't give a crap about your health - my poetic liscence there). And to me, that absolutely speaks volumes and sends out the big flashing red light signal - massive incredible amounts of calories ahead!

There is a great website http://www.hungry-girl.com/ that talks about food nutritional values etc, and is entertaining and really useful. Below is some of the info from that site that relates to the Cheesecake Factory for your info. I'm definitely keeping up my boycoutt.

The big unknown in the world of restaurant dining is, of course, The Cheesecake Factory (who keeps their nutritional info under tighter security than our country's nuclear launch codes).

Ha! No need to be scared for your life. I certainly don't blame you, though, for being concerned about eating at The Cheesecake Factory. After all, the popular restaurant chain is notorious for serving up super-high cal menu items. Just how high? Try 1,560 calories and 84g of fat for their carrot cake, and 1080 cal, 71g fat, and 100 carbs for a slice of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake. And those are far from being the only unhealthy items on the menu. Seemingly innocent entrees like salads and sugar free cheesecake can also be calorie-packed diet-wreckers. For example, rumor has it that The Cheesecake Factory's Chinese Chicken Salad clocks in at about 1,600 whopping calories. And the 6 Carb Original Cheesecake has 610 calories and 57g of fat. Yikes! Don't get discouraged, though. There are some things you can do to lighten up your TCF lunch. First off, if you order a salad, ask that any seeds, chow mein noodles, raisins, cheeses, nuts, sour cream, guacamole, etc. is left off, or placed on the side. And make sure you ask for a light or fat free salad dressing. Since the taste of lower fat dressings varies by brands, you may want to ask for your dressing on the side as well. And salad isn't your only option for eating healthfully at TCF. If you're not in a leafy mood, try the herb crusted filet of salmon. Just ask that it be served without the sauce, and with double veggies instead of veggies and a starch. Or go for breakfast (they serve it all day). If you get an omelette or scramble, ask your server to substitute eggbeaters for regular eggs. And, of course, opt for fresh fruit instead of sausage or bacon as your side. "Cheesecake" also serves up a yummy Fire Roasted Artichoke (just be sure to get the vinaigrette on the side). Well, I hope this info can help you relax and enjoy your lunch! Good luck!


Have you heard about the new low carb cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory? Don't get all giddy just yet. A slice may only contain 6 carbs, but it packs in 57 grams of fat (with over 30 grams of saturated fat!) and 610 calories. Believe it or not, that's 8 more fat grams than their original regular cheesecake! This cake upsets us. Please don't even think about eating this fatty wedge if you want to lose weight. Grrrrr!!!


The Cheesecake Factory's Carrot Cake - Anyone who thinks carrot cake is good for you never spent quality time with a piece from the Cheesecake Factory. Each slice contains 1560 calories and 84 grams of fat. What do they do to those poor defenseless carrots? The Cheesecake Factory - Carrot Cake

(Approx: 1,510 calories, 84g fat, 600mg sodium, 179g carbs, 6g fiber, 129g sugars, 18g protein = 36 Points)


Fri. Dec 8, 11:59am

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no offense, but with a name like "The Cheesecake Factory", is there really anything to wonder about? it seems obvious to me that anything you eat here is going to pack in the calories, fat, carbs, and/or sugar.

Friday, December 08, 2006, 12:36 PM

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i don't think restaurants need to tell us the calorie/fat/carb info of their food. choose wisely and you'll be okay. they mention a salad having 1600 calories at the cheesecake factory-well, what's in this salad???? probably cheese, bacon, fatty dressing, fried noodles, nuts and probably some other things to add the calories up if this is even true. YOU can control what you put into your body even if you choose to go out to eat. just because they are not willing to share the information with you does not mean everything on the menu is insanely high in calories. it's the company's right to keep this info private. you wouldn't go to a friend's house and have dinner and ask her to calculate the nutritional info would you? some days you just need to estimate a little. and there is no one in the world who thinks that a slice of cheesecake is low calorie . . . .

Friday, December 08, 2006, 2:02 PM

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Thanks for posting. I don't think there even is a Cheesecake Factory where I live, but my brother and sister-in-law like it and take me there when I visit. Despite the name - it's not just a dessert shop but a full service restaurant and it's kind of wild how hard it is to make reasonable food choices there. Most other full-service restaurants have better options and fewer deceptive practices which allows the health-conscious eater to enjoy a healty meal while their friends and family indulge.

Saturday, December 09, 2006, 9:45 AM

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I agree Sat 9.45am. I'm not going to the Cheesecake Factory, I prefer to support restuarants that are open about the nutritional value (or not!) of their foods. I've worked so hard to lose 30lbs so far, and I want to be supported by places I choose to eat at to select healthy options. It would be very disappointing to me to select some kind of salad, and believe I'd made a healthy choice, but in reality it's blown my WW points allowance for the day.

Saturday, December 09, 2006, 3:17 PM

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I wouldn't go to a friends house and ask nutritional content, but when I'm researching my menu options I think I should be able to research it and find out. I can find that at McDonalds, BK, Subway... heck ANY fast food restaurant. I can find at least some info at Applebees, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Pf Changs. Not that I really want to go to a place called Cheesecake factory because I doubt it would be good, but if someone wanted to go there and drag me along I would hope that I could order a salad even with bacon bits, cheese and oriental noodles and not have it be 1600 calories!!! That is just obsene.

Saturday, December 09, 2006, 9:41 PM

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First a plate at the cheesecake factory is really for 2 sometimes 3. No wonder people in the US just keep getting bigger and bigger. There are still better thing to choose, like chicken dishes without any cream sauces. But really if going there share something healthy.

Sunday, December 10, 2006, 1:48 PM

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Salad with 1600 calories? Its not the salad, its everything in the salad, the dressing alone can be 200 calories (have you've seen the size of those salads) add to that, cheese, bacon, nuts, anything fried you've got a huge amount of cals.

Sunday, December 10, 2006, 1:51 PM

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A healthy option

I enjoy the market salad with vinegar and oil on the side. It's on the "small salads" menu, but it is HUGE. It's could easily be two meals, and it is mainly vegetables:

MARKET SALAD
Fresh Greens, Asparagus, Avocado, Roasted Beets, Tomato, Red and Yellow Peppers and Green Beans. Garnished with Egg, Kalamata
Olives and Our Shallot Vinaigrette

You can also ask for no avocado if you want, but that's a good healthy fat if you want it. I also sometimes add grilled eggplant. I'm sure you could get a grilled chicken breast or salmon or something with it if you wanted.

Sunday, December 10, 2006, 5:19 PM

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I'm personally glad they have a low carb cheesecake since I have gestational diabetes & while I watch my carbs, I don't have to worry about calories or fat! :o) So, bring on the cheesecake! Yummy! Of course, we don't go to TCF that often--it's usually a splurge!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006, 4:44 PM

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Thank you for posting this. Although I knew it wasn't low fat, the 1000 calorie choc chip cookie dough slice you mentioned is exactly what I order and I had no idea it would really be that high. When you consider the amount of time it would take to burn it off it really makes you think! I agree, we need to support places that tell us point blank what the "healthier" options on the menu are (a lot of the chains do that now). My pet peeve is the places that serve salads that are bigger than pasta entrees. I wanted a salad for a reason, I wanted to eat less, I don't need 4 times my usual serving! I applaud places that let me eat an appetizer portion as my meal or let you just get a normal sized salad!

Thursday, December 21, 2006, 12:11 AM

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As annoying as it might be, if you ARE going to a place like the CCKE factory but are thinking about healthy options, order a salad and eat a third of it! I mean, what can you do if you're overserved? Chances are it'd be the same price anyway! Think of it as going to a relative's house and too much food being put on your plate. Or as a chance to eat some and leave the rest (or part of the rest) for lunch the next day)! As for the cheesecake, well- it IS called what it's called, lol. I say eat a max of 3 normal sized bites, put the fork down, and drink some water! We have self-control, who cares what they serve?

Thursday, December 21, 2006, 9:15 AM

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I imagine a lot of people end up having to go to a meal at such places because of social events that someone else planned.
And it can be very difficult to eat a reasonable portion of a giant plate of food, especially if there is a lot of talking and so on (ie, you're not focusing on the food). But I nearly always get half my reastaurant meals boxed to go -- I hope there aren't still people who are embarrassed to do this, it is quite necessary nowadays (either that or waste it all). Also I share a plate with my bf sometimes.
A recent Oprah magazine had a very interesting article about a researcher who studies how the size of the plate you give somebody will determine how much they eat -- we are strongly influenced by these cues despite our best intentions. In fact, I bought some smaller bowls to use at home for this reason.

Thursday, December 21, 2006, 9:24 AM

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Cheesecake Factory

they have delicious food - I ate there yesterday and got a Cobb salad & a slice of Kahlua cheesecake - I brought home half of the salad and 2/3 of the cheesecake. Not only does it save calories, it saves on the food budget. I got a lunch size salad - who knows how big the regular salad is!
I have lost 15 pounds and have 5 to go. I admit I couldn't eat there every day but for a once in a while splurge it's great.

Friday, October 26, 2007, 12:35 PM

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I also get frustrated when big chain restaurants don't provide nutritional information (it is understandable for small family owned restaurants because they don't have the same resources). Red Robin is another restaurant who refuses to disclose nutritional information.

Friday, October 26, 2007, 11:57 PM

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OMG, I went on a bender this weekend and had two pieces of cheesecake. I brought one home for my kids but ending up eating it too!!! UGH! I am dying right now.

Monday, October 29, 2007, 5:49 AM

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5:49 - Been there! It's SO much easier to eat foods you normally wouldn't or to eat more than you normally would when you don't know the calorie content. Yes, you can make the assumption that by ordering something like cheesecake you shouldn't expect to be eating lite - but 1500 calories!!? That's outrageous. And disgusting!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007, 2:44 PM

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Just look at the size of their slices! Figure a normal piece of cheesecake is a lot of calories, and then look at theirs. You know just by looking that one slice of their cheesecake looks like about 5 normal-sized slices. So, 300 cals in a normal slice = 1500 calories in one of their slices! The math is not that difficult.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007, 6:08 PM

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I've been counting calories for years AND I'm good at math, but I still don't expect one dessert to be 1,500 calories or more, 800 maybe. Either way, I KNEW there was a reason I never wanted to go to the Cheese Cake Factory!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007, 4:15 PM

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how about the light salads there?


Thursday, November 01, 2007, 4:48 PM

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I found a very interesting breakdown of common dessert foods and the surprises in them!

Link

Thursday, November 01, 2007, 5:12 PM

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THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY Lite Cheesecake

thx for the link- my favorite:

THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY Lite Cheesecake (580 calories & 29 grams of fat--16 of them saturated).

The Cheesecake Factory specializes in excess. In addition to a complete dinner menu, it offers more than 30 kinds of cheesecake.

The Lite Cheesecake lives up to its promise. It's got about half the fat of The Cheesecake Factory's Original Cheesecake. That's a little like having to pay "only" half of a $500,000 hospital bill.

Down just one slice and you can kiss goodbye almost 600 calories, two-thirds of a day's cholesterol, and three-quarters of a day's sat fat. At that rate, you couldn't stay under a day's quota even if you followed your dietitian's advice to eat cereal with 1% milk for breakfast, cottage cheese and fruit for lunch, and chicken breast with spinach for dinner.

Friday, November 16, 2007, 9:04 PM

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57 grams of fat!!! I can't believe it. Thanks for sharing this. I don't think I'm ever going back there.

Saturday, November 17, 2007, 11:08 AM

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I go to TCF maybe once a year, if that. I love their "Evelyn's Favorite Pasta". Any nutrition info on that menu item?

Sunday, November 18, 2007, 8:18 PM

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I ate there today (was outvoted), but ordered an omelette - asparagus, portabella and artichoke w/ fontina cheese. I ordered it w/ egg whites, and the side was a choice of potatoes or sliced tomatoes. With the tomatoes, that's really not a horrible meal. Can't eat the whole omelette, but it's so huge that who would want to?

Sunday, November 18, 2007, 8:19 PM

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Hey,
Thank you so much for posting that, I was wondering about their nutritional information and actally almost went there the other day. Wow, am I glad I didn't. How does the point system work, I'm new and don't know anything about it.

Monday, November 19, 2007, 11:25 PM

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Low carb Cheesecake

I have been on a low carb diet for years and while the low carb cheesecake might be high in fat and calories. I have maintained my weight and dropped my cholesterol level while still endulging in a piece of this great tasting cheesecake about once a week. The problem with loww carb is most people try to cheat on the diet and it is not meant to cheat on. Its low carb or not at all, just cutting an occassional carb here and there will not work. So allow us true low carb eaters to have an occassional endulgence that was designed for our life style please.

Saturday, March 29, 2008, 4:52 PM

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misslizzi's 2 cents

If I'm looking to lose weight, I don't walk into a place called The Cheesecake Factory...unless I go in their for one of their AWESOME salads. I usually get the lunch portion or the salmon salad, and if there are any extra calories there, well, then I take an extra walk. The great thing is they load them with plenty of lettuce and veggies so I know I'm getting a decent amount of fiber in the bargain. Plus, I fill myself up enough that I DON"T eat cheesecake.

We are all adults, responsible for the food that goes into our mouths. No one at the Cheesecake Factory is trying to trick us into eating anything that we don't want anyway. It's up to the individual to decide if they should eat there or not.

Saturday, March 29, 2008, 7:11 PM

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What a shock!

... to me, anyway. Ya'll gotta know that Ive heard of the chain, but have never gone for probably some obvious reasons. In fact, the lady who helps clean my house has a boyfriend who works there and she says he aways brings goodies home. She also cleans where I get my mani/pedi and sometimes she'll bring in a vegetarian pizza which I must admit I've sampled. Pretty good, but I can't "afford" it (my term for I don't EVEN dare cross that establishment's threshold). My point is she has a gym workout before she comes to my house for an afternoon of hard-core cleaning and I consider her a very active.

Wow. The link I've posted here is very well going to freak you people out, guaranteed. It's late for me tonight so I'll be keeping an eye on this thread because i haven't had time to read each and every post (ignoring the "you oughta know better comments) because obviously, I really didn't know!

Link

Saturday, March 29, 2008, 11:59 PM

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PeerTrainer (Jackie) states: "Have you heard about the new low carb cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory? Don't get all giddy just yet. A slice may only contain 6 carbs, but it packs in 57 grams of fat (with over 30 grams of saturated fat!) and 610 calories. Believe it or not, that's 8 more fat grams than their original regular cheesecake! This cake upsets us. Please don't even think about eating this fatty wedge if you want to lose weight. Grrrrr!!! "


Upsets you Jackie? LOL Funny, but I lost 65 lbs eating high fat, moderate protein and low carb. Furthermore, I'd put my blood work up against any low fat proponent any day... The government and mainstream dietitians have been touting their low fat propaganda for almost 3 decades now. One only needs to look around, does it look like it's working? Enjoy the cheese cake, it's the other high carb crap you're eating that packs on the pounds...

Sunday, October 04, 2009, 12:31 PM

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I'm guessing the 57g of fat is not the 'good' fat that does the body any favors.



Monday, October 05, 2009, 11:22 PM

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It is illegal to with-hold nutritional information from a customer. She should tell them to either put the info on their site, or threaten to take it court because it goes against WHO orders.

Cheers.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009, 1:33 AM

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This is Jackie from PEERtrainer

I never said the comment that has been attributed to me above about the Cheesecake factory. I am completely unfamiliar with the Cheescake Factory low carb option and this has never been said by me or anyone at PEERtrainer. Curious....to the poster above, where was this said or written or stated?

Jackie

Tuesday, October 06, 2009, 11:50 AM

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Jackie from PEERtrainer again

I just reread the entire thread. Now I see. The original poster of this thread posted the first post in their group, and the information about the low carb cheesecake and the comment "this cake upsets up" is from the hungry girl website, not from anyone here at PEERtrainer.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009, 11:57 AM

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i looked up the meals that my boyfriend and I ate there a month ago, and i couldnt find mine, but his was over 1500 calories for a pasta dish.. RIDICULOUS! His was pasta with a chipotle cream sauce. I ordered pasta with tomatoes and basil, served with a little mozzarella, so hopefully it didn't come close to his meal- plus I only ate half of mine.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009, 8:11 AM

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I rarely eat cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory.

Instead I eat their huge and YUMMY salads!!! (with the dressing on the side, of course). It's probably one of the best places I know to get good quality salads consistently.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009, 6:00 PM

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Their carrot cake has the biggest calorie totals- 1600 according to a bartender I talked to their a few days ago. He also said that 60% of all visitors to cheesecake factory order cheesecake, and many people an extra slice home...

Monday, January 17, 2011, 8:27 AM

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I feel like if I even look at that place I will gain weight. The cheesecake is so good and I don't want to go in there for the salad. I used to love going there but now that I care about the way I look, I don't ever go there or when it's suggested, I suggest somewhere else.

Monday, January 17, 2011, 8:37 PM

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