Chain restaurants are a necessary evil in a busy life.

Long days at work, even longer nights in school, a weekend that feels about a split second long -- all contributors to my occasional trips towards "convenience food."

A few years ago, I transported myself out of New York into New Jersey and discovered one thing -- New Jersey folk love them some chain restaurants. Long forgotten favorites from my youth -- like Red Robins and Fudruckers -- called out to me like a nostalgic beckoning that I just can't resist. I did learn not to seek out trips to these places, but nights do come when the choice is nothing but a trip to a dine-in or a ride to a drive through. This past weekend was filled with just these situations.

Now I know what you're thinking -- "Doesn't every chain restaurant have a plethora of salads to choose from? You should be fine!" Yes, you're correct there are salads, salads galore! But just because the basis of something is crispy lettuce and veggies doesn't mean that it stays low cal when you add in the fried chicken, the cheese and the gallons of dressing. Nope, I'd say you might as well go for the plate of greasy fries by that point. Over the course of this weekend I found myself in three different chain restaurants, pouring over the menu and items with names like "Wallaby Darned" and "Fire Pit Bacon Burger." Aside from rolling my eyes at the ridiculous ploy to make heavy-duty food sound dainty and cute, I was really stuck trying to figure out which moniker translated to "tasty" and "low-fat."

The findings of my accidental chain-restaurant experiment might surprise you. My first stop was Applebees on a super-busy Saturday. With their entire Weight Watchers endorsed menu, I thought I'd be fairly safe. While the food did hold up true to calorie and fat content, what I ordered fell short taste-wise. The sandwich and herbed potatoes ended up being half a piece of chicken with sad looking, boiled potatoes. I was happy that it didn't break the diet bank, but left the place feeling angry and unsatisfied.

That night, I found myself coerced out to drinks and appetizers. Annoyed with my Applebees experience, I requested T.G.I Fridays in hopes that I'd have better luck. There was again a whole range of diet friendly options but here came the tricky part -- with my dining companions munching yum looking burgers and plates of fries, all I want is that. I let myself slide a little and ordered a side salad...with bacon. I left feeling okay, but annoyed that I let myself slip a little.

By Sunday, I was invited to Outback Steakhouse. I was so annoyed with myself for falling prey to the "convenience food" that I complied, even though I was convinced Outback would have NOTHING to offer me being that it's home to one of those salads -- subsequently my favorite one -- that is sheer trickery. (Egg, mayonnaise-y chicken salad, almonds, cheese and bacon -- what's wrong with that? Nothing -- and everything.)

My co-eaters' plates arrived one by one -- cheeseburgers and fries and glorious looking chicken smothered in cheese and bacon. I was scowling by the time my plate came. But surprisingly and luckily for me, "Chicken on the Barbie" translated to a sizeable piece of grilled chicken and tasty looking broccoli -- even a small BBQ sauce for dipping. I left satisfied -- stuffed, even!

So here's what I figured, both Applebees and T.G.I Fridays have special menus for the lowly dieters trying to be good. What comes is sub-par or not comparable to what your friends might be chowing down on. As for Outback, there's no dieting menu the peeps from down under use something else for their dieting dilemmas -- common sense.

I got home and looked up my most satisfying meal of the weekend, the Chicken on the Barbie. Turns out the meal was billed at only 320 calories with 11 grams of fat. I even rounded up a little for the butter that was melted on my broccoli but that maybe pushed the meal to 400 calories. So instead of feeling confined to the meager offerings of the low-cal menu, use a little common sense instead. First step? Your new mantra should be "on the side, please."