Captain D’s is one of the most successful restaurant franchises around, with terrific food and reasonable prices. In fact, Entrepreneur ranked the brand as the #1 Seafood franchise in their Franchise Rankings for 2021. It’s great for investors as it is great for the diners.
There is, however, the issue of your weight when it comes to dining at any restaurant. Some people might think that seafood is generally a safer bet for those who are watching their calories, compared to red meat. Yet you still have to be careful.
Don’t Eat Too Much
The most obvious way to avoid gaining too much weight while patronizing Captain D’s is to first make sure you don’t overeat. That starts by acknowledging that the Family Meals in the menu are just that—for families. You’re not supposed to order one of these meals just for your lonesome.
It’s not just bad for your wallet, since you pay nearly $40 for Seafood Feast, for example. Yes, the money does get you lots of great food, including a dozen pieces of the batter-dipped fish and another dozen of the crispy butterfly shrimp. It also includes a dozen hush puppies, 3 seafood stuffed crab shells, and your choice of 2 sides.
Even without the size, the nutritional information doesn’t look too good for a solitary diner. This meal will load you up with 3870 calories, 125g of saturated fat, 16g of trans fat, and almost 8,000 mg of sodium. This is almost the equivalent of 2 days’ worth of food!
Stick to the single orders, please, and then try to minimize the number of dishes. If you’re trying to maintain your weight or even lose a few pounds, less is just better.
Fish Choices
When you’re at Captain D’s, fish is always a popular choice. Your healthiest options here is to go with the Country Style Fish. You’re served 3 white cornmeal breaded fish fillets with hush puppies and your choice of two sides.
The fish fillets only come with 190 calories with 500 mg of sodium, and the hush puppies aren’t so bad with only an extra 80 calories and very little fat. The meal does come with your choice of 2 sides, so you should be careful with those options.
The other options are considerably worse options, since they load you up with up to 3 times the calories or more. If you go with the Batter-Dipped Fish, you get 450 calories. You get 490 calories from the hand-breaded Southern-Style White Fish. The 2-Piece Catfish has 520 calories.
With the Catfish Feast, it goes up to 780 calories. You’re probably better off just avoiding menu items that include the word “Feast”, just to be on the safe side.
Grilled Meals
In general, grilled food is better for you than most deep-fried meat. With this category, all your options aren’t bad at all. The item with the most calories is the Grilled White Fish & Shrimp Skewer, which is served on a bed of rice. It has 280 calories, and that’s actually pretty good when the alternative is eating a double-patty cheeseburger.
The other options here are even better. You get 230 calories from the Wild-Caught Salmon, 210 calories from the tilapia, 200 calories from the Grilled Shrimp Skewers, and 180 calories if you go with the Lemon Pepper White Fish
What Sides to Get
Many of the dishes here come with your choice of 2 sides. You may want to stick to a side of Green Beans, as they’re slow-cooked with country ham and only comes with 70 calories. The steamed Broccoli florets are even better with merely 20 calories.
The other options come with around 200 calories, so that’s like getting another order of the Fish Fillets. The worst option here (at least according to calorie load and not to yumminess) is the Loaded Baked Potato. It really is loaded, with 400 calories.
Avoid the Appetizers and Desserts
The appetizers can really add to the total calories. The mozzarella sticks come with 380 calories, while the order of Jalapeño Poppers has 510 calories. With the 12-piece butterfly shrimp, you get 720 calories.
Of course, it is rather difficult to say “no” to these goodies, especially if you haven’t gone out too often. If you’re really jonesing for a taste of these appetizers, go with a group to Captain D’s and order a single dish for the whole group. That should give you a taste of the good stuff, but minimize the calorie load.
Try to say no to dessert as well. Even the Funnel Cake Stix has 320 calories, and the other options are just worse. With just the grilled food and the sides of Broccoli and Green Beans, you’ll feel full, you’ll enjoy a tasty meal, and you don’t have to load up on too many calories.