"The #1 Worst Menu Option at 40 Popular Restaurants" Review
Just when I thought I couldn't be shocked by another list of ridiculously unhealthy, weight-gaining, belly-popping menu items, I came across the recent article "The #1 Worst Menu Option at 40 Popular Restaurants" on MSN.com. How these dishes are served anywhere astounds me.
Let the drums roll.....Here's your new list of 10 menu options proven to help you GAIN WEIGHT:
1. APPLEBEE’S
Hand-Battered Fish&Chips:
1,490 calories, 100 g fat, 17 g saturated fat, 1 g trans fat, 1,920 mg sodium, 104 g carbs, 10 g fiber, 9 g sugar, 45 g protein
Attack of the beige! Whenever your dinner is monochromatic (in this case, the off-brown hue of deep-fried junk), you know you’re in trouble. Choosing a dish like this is easily one of the 40 Bad Habits That Make You Sick and Fat. Don’t blame the fish—the seafood is packed with lean, muscle-building protein and heart-healthy fats. No, the trouble here, lies with a massively unbalanced fish-to-fat ratio. A coating of crispy batter and a heaping pile of deep-fried potatoes is no way to treat the golden child of nutrition. When it comes to seafood, always abandon ship on fried fish and opt for grilled instead.2. BOB EVANS
Country-Fried Steak & Eggs With Sausage, Grits, Bread:
2,260 calories, 115 g fat, 39 g saturated fat, 1 g trans fat, 3,640 mg sodium, 268 g carbs, 10 g fiber, 114 g sugar, 51 protein
What has more than a day’s worth of calories and salt and more sugar than seven Snicker’s Ice Cream Bars? This sneaky diet-derailing dish. Where all that sugar comes from we may never know, but we can tell you this: This is one breakfast that will offer zero benefit to your day. Stay far, far away—especially if you’ve been trying to cleanse your body of junk!3. BONEFISH GRILL
Large Mussels Josephine:
1,698 calories, 120 g fat, 58 g saturated fat, 3 g trans fat, 4,418 mg sodium, 43 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 6 g sugar, 83 g protein
In their purest form, mussels are one of the lowest calorie proteins in the sea. But despite their innocent appearance, these are not your average mussel. After the chefs at Bonefish doused these guys in a fatty lemon wine sauce, the appetizer became your body’s worst nightmare, serving up more than a day’s worth of trans fat! But that’s not all: Even if you split the entire lot with a friend, you’d still take in nearly an entire day’s worth of salt—and that’s before your entree even arrives! There are much smarter ways to spend your spare cash.4. BUFFALO WILD WINGS
Large Boneless Wings:
2,580 calories, 172 g fat, 53 g saturated fat, 3.5 g trans fat, 10,490 mg, 147 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 27 g sugar, 100 g protein
Each wing on this platter packs 107 calories, 7 grams of fat and a shameful 1,049 milligrams of salt. That means if you eat just two wings before your dinner arrives you’ll have taken in a third of the day’s fat and just under a day’s worth of blood-pressure-spiking sodium! And let’s be honest, who really stops after just two? Wings may be tasty, but there are far better ways to spend your salt allowance than on two tiny pieces of chicken.5. CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN
Thin Crust Meat Cravers Pizza:
1,590 calories, 76 g fat, 32 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 4,620 mg sodium, 132 g carbs, 8 g sugar, 5 g fiber, 94 g protein
You had to have known that anything with the phrase “meat cravers” in the title wasn’t going to be healthy—but we bet you didn’t realize that it would have more salt than 33 slices of bacon and more carbs than what you’d get in eight slices of white bread. If you ate just one of these pies a month, you’d take in enough calories to gain 5 1/2 pounds in a year. Scary stuff, right?6. CARRABBA'S
Cavatappi Franco with Whole Grain Spaghetti:
1,214 calories, 74 g fat, 18 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 2,192 mg sodium, 87 g carbs, 17 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 49 g protein
Grilled chicken! Mushrooms! Sun-dried tomatoes! Broccoli! Oh and let’s not forget that whole grain spaghetti! When you read the list of the ingredients that goes into this dish, it’s hard to imagine it would be such a nutritional nightmare. But this is the restaurant industry we’re talking about here. Would you expect anything less? If you order the dish as pictured above with the tube shaped pasta, you’ll actually save 191 calories and 26 grams of fat. Sub in the healthier sounding whole wheat variety, and you’re actually far worse-off. No, we don’t get it, either—and yes, we double-checked the math. Just keep things simple and steer clear of both versions of this preposterous plate of pasta.7. CHEESECAKE FACTORY
Pasta Carbonara with Chicken:
2,291 calories, N/A fat, 81 saturated fat, N/A trans fat, 1,628 sodium,144 carbs, N/A fiber, N/A sugar, N/A protein
We give the Cheesecake Factory props for rolling out some lighter options as of late, but its menu is still home to some of the most caloric fare in the nation. What’s worse, the Factory insists on keeping its nutritional info under lock and key. When it comes to the question, “Are you trying to hide something?” the answer for this restaurant is “Yes. A million times yes.” This creamy pasta dish, topped with peas, bacon, and chicken, has more than a day’s worth of calories and more saturated fat than 50 eggs! And that’s just according to the nutrition data we could actually get our hands on. The Factory refused to dole out the latest stats when we asked. Take it from us: Shady business is never good news for your body.8. CHILI’S
Beef Bacon Ranch Quesadilla:
1,800 calories, 135 g fat, 46 g saturated fat, 0.5 g trans fat, 3,980 mg sodium, 68 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 80 g protein
With nearly a day’s worth of calories and more fat than 10 hot dogs, this southwestern inspired steak and bacon stuffed quesadilla will pop the button right off of your skinny jeans! Even if you shared it with a friend, you’d be taking in 2.8 times the American Heart Association’s recommended daily intake of saturated fat. Make it a rule to avoid anything with the word quesadilla in the title when you’re at Chili’s (yes, even the salads) none of the options have less than 1,400 calories per serving—not what you should be eating if your goal is to lose belly fat.9. DENNY’S
Slow-Cooked Slow-Cooked Pot Roast:
1,390 calories, 37 g fat, 19 g saturated fat, 1 g trans fat, 4,710 mg sodium, 166 g carbs, 13 g fiber, 12 g sugar, 65 g protein
With nearly two days of salt and half the day’s trans fat, this meal for one should really be split into thirds or quarters. Eat at your own risk!10. FRIENDLY’S
Clamstrips Platter:
1,720 calories, 103 g fat, 16 g saturated fat, 100 mg sodium, 3,340 mg sodium, 171 g carbs, 11 g fiber, 19 g sugar, 28 g protein
Unless you’re stocking up to hibernate for winter, there’s no reason to ever order a menu item that contain the word “platter.” More often than not it’s code for “way too many calories, carbs, and fat.” Don’t believe it? Consider this: This bland bowl of beige serves up more carbs than 19 chocolate chip cookies and more calories than 122 small clams.
What other foods do you think we should avoid?
Picture Credit: Eat This, Not That! - As a personal trainer, I know that it isn't realistic to eat healthy all of the time. Should we ever eat anything with 135 grams of fat, though?
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