The Healthiest Menu Items At Cheesecake Factory

Eating healthy when you're out at a restaurant can be tricky — and at the Cheesecake Factory, it may seem impossible. You flip through page after page of the menu, gawking at the impossibly high calorie counts listed next to each item.

The Healthiest Menu Items at Cheesecake Factory Gallery

You might be tempted to throw in the towel and just order something truly indulgent. Shrimp scampi, maybe, or a loaded bacon cheeseburger. Occasionally, it's probably a good idea to order those "unhealthy" items that sound good to you.

If you always deprive yourself from ordering certain foods, you're going to drive yourself crazy. The actual healthiest choice is the choice you want — when you allow yourself the food you crave all of the time, you're actually more likely to make balanced choices in the long run. You're wired to want what you can't have. Only when you can have it all do you really get to tune in to what your body craves.

If you have legitimate health concerns or dietary restrictions prescribed by a doctor, it is of course important to pay attention to related aspects of your diet. Sodium, for instance, and making sure you get enough protein are both worthwhile concerns. Sugar is another relevant concern for diabetics, specifically. But if you're just trying to lose weight, looking at calories on menus might not help you in the long run.

Unfortunately, the only information the Cheesecake Factory makes publically available is their calorie counts. In fact, they print them directly on the menu for you to browse as you choose. They also separate the lower-calorie options to a separate menu: the "Skinnylicious" menu. Many of these menu items made it onto this list; however, the items that were so low-calorie and lacking in sustenance that they would not satiate you for a meal were omitted. Ordering something without enough protein, carbohydrates, and fats to subsist a meal isn't actually healthy at all! With all these things considered, here are the 15 healthiest menu items at the Cheesecake Factory — though we encourage you to order whatever you truly crave.

We also have a list of the unhealthiest menu items at the Cheesecake Factory.