I was running errands with a couple of my kids last night and as it got late, rather than go home and fix a meal I asked if they'd like to pick a restaurant. IHOP was close by so they chose that. I haven't been in an IHOP in over a year (I lost 35 pounds in that year, and it's no coincidence).

I asked for the "healthy" menu and everything was gross, eggs substitutes and whatnot and focused on fat grams and carbs with no calorie info, so I switched to the "unhealthy" menu. I couldn't resist the concept of stuffed french toast. The stuffing is some kind of sweetened cheese, and it comes with fruit topping (blueberry, strawberry or cinnamon apple) and whipped cream. I selected the blueberry.

OMG! It was nothing like french toast, more like a huge jelly donut. I felt awful after I finished. I tried looking for nutrition info on the internet, but can't find it at the IHOP website or chowbaby.com which has a pretty comprehensive fast food calorie counter.

Anybody know or care to guess how many calories I consumed for dinner?

When you asked for the "healthy" menu at IHOP, what did you think you might see offered?

It only has 6,500 calories.

Just kidding, I would guess about 1,000 to 1,750.

They only had a few of the IHOP items...and all healthy to boot.

Love this URL because I travel so often and want to find out how I am killing myself....

http://www.dietfacts.com/list.asp?brand=IHOP

good guess, i googled it...found this:

About 1,500 calories and 90 grams of fat delicious - and that's without any lush maple, pecan or raspberry syrup added.

wheeee! eat that and you're done for the day...or the week

One of my favorite vacation dishes anywhere is the "Tonga Toast" they have at the Polynesian Resort hotel in Walt Disney World in Florida. They take a thick slice of (sourdough, I think) bread, probably 1.5 inches or so, stuff it in the middle with sliced bananas, coat the entire outside with brown sugar and cinnamon, and then french toast-ify it up. I'm sure it's in that 1500 calorie range as well--just try not to think about those things on vacation.

And, if sugar, bananas, and cinnamon are not sweet enough as it is...they have the nerve to ask if you want syrup with it! Talk about overkill!

When I saw the title of this thread, I immediately thought of Tonga Toast - Mmmmmmm!

I dunno, the diet version of stuffed french toast? Only 1400 calories?

I guess it was the egg substitutes that didn't thrill me. There aren't that many calories in an egg, so why not skip the butter, oil and syrup and find a way to make a tasty breakfast with 500 calories?

Still, I'm an adult. I made my choice and I have to live with the consequences.

The consequences:

1. I won't go back to IHOP for another 12 months.
2. I won't let the kids pick a restaurant for a while.
3. I'll have to boost the exercise for a while.
4. I'll cut back the extras that have crept into my diet.
5. I'll experiment at home with a tasty lo-cal breakfast.

Well, if you want to look like a Tongan....

Closest similar I found was the fruit-filled pancakes at Denny's which are 909 to 924 calories (depending on the fruit).

If I were trying to calculate this, I would take the regular french toast, add the values for pie-filling and full-fat cream cheese plus at least a tablespoon of sugar) and then add 10% on top of it for good measure.

Ugh... dishes like this and we wonder why we (as a nation) struggle with our weight.

It could also be our portion sizes and our work hard (sitting at a desk 8-15 hrs a day) never excersise/relax attitude towards life..

I probably would have just eaten half of the stuffed french toast rather than finished it. had it tasted good I would have gotten a doggy bag..

Great web site. I love to (need to) keep track of calories and this is the best site i've seen. Thanks.

Tonga Toast is amazing I make a special trip to the Polynesian (from the Grand Floridian) every day just to get that! I would actually guess that it has far less calories than stuffed french toast, seeing as the fat rich ricotta and cream cheese is replaced by bananas. There is no way around the oil or butter, but still... I would think 700-1000 max.

So still not healthy, but your going to burn them off in the nasty FL sun!

IHOP is yummy but fat

I prefer my French Toast simple with syrup. Yes really that simple.