There is nothing better than going out to eat with your best friends to unwind after a long day, or getting all dressed up for a fancy night on the town. It’s perfectly acceptable to occasionally splurge for a meal price-wise, but do you always know how much it’s costing your health? Most of us can probably do some basic comparisons and realize that a salad is healthier than a piece of chocolate cake, but what about a plate of shrimp pasta versus a smoothie? And how often do you think about your breakfast—eggs can’t be that bad…right?
Thank goodness for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. You could almost clog an artery just by reading the statistics of the calorie and fat content from chain restaurants from over the country. To put some things in perspective, at IHOP you can find a breakfast to give you enough energy to start your day…and then some. With 11 teaspoons of added sugar (which is almost two days’ worth!) The Country Fried Steak and Eggs combo from IHOP, you might want to hold off on that cream and sugar part of your coffee routine. Or you could try five of McDonald’s Egg McMuffins for the same amount, as long as you add in another 10 packets of sugar.
The list doesn’t stop here. CSPI compiled a whole list of restaurants where you can find coast to coast, and laid everything out on the table in regards to the amount of calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar that you will find in some of the most popular dishes. Take a look through the list so you know what you might be getting yourself into, next time you sit down for a meal!
Johnny Rockets: True to the classic American style, with this burger meal you have to go big, or go home. The total for a Bacon Cheddar Double, Sweet Potato Fries and a Big Apple shake comes out to a combined force of 3,500 calories, 88 grams of saturated fat, two and a half days’ worth of sodium and 15 teaspoons of added sugar. Too bad this is for a sit down restaurant; you could get this meal to-go, and have some for all day and the next day!
The Cheesecake Factory: Okay, the cheesecakes here might be the main attraction, but we know that these are not on our list for an everyday food item. But how can you go wrong with a simple Shrimp Pasta? Well, you can when with it has a day and a half worth of calories (3,120), almost five days’ worth of saturated fat (89 grams), and 2/3’s of a days’ worth of sodium (1,090 milligrams). And their Crispy Chicken Costoletta? You could have that…or an entire 12-piece chicken bucket from KFC.
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Maggiano’s Little Italy: When in Rome…eat like the Romans! But the 18 oz. Veal Porterhouse from this Little Italy might be worth fighting the temptation to give into a plate of 1,900 calories. Add on the side dish of Crispy Red Potatoes and you can have a whole one and a half days’ worth of calories (2,710). With this dish, how will you have any room for the Chocolate Succotto Cake? This desert might as well be a separate meal (or three), as it has 1,820 calories, all that you need for one day. Of course the 26 teaspoons of sugar don’t help either.
Smoothie King: When I want to have a nice substitute for a meal, that doesn’t include a heavy plate of food, smoothies are a great option. Or so I thought until I saw that the Peanut Power Plus Grape Smoothie has three and a half days’ worth of sugar! To be fair, this is the largest size, but in no way would even close to that amount of sugar make you feel more energetic after a sugar crash. The other smoothies that you can find here aren’t much nicer in terms of their calories and sugar count. Just because you can drink it through a straw doesn’t mean that it will be any better for you.
Chili’s: Known for their famous Baby Back Ribs, it makes sense that a full rack with their tasty BBQ Sauce might be a little high on the calorie count. But when meal (and fries) equals the same amount of calories (2,330) as not one, but two 10 oz. sirloin steak dinners complete with mashed potatoes and broccoli and another steak on top of that…that’s when you know if might be a bit excessive.
Uno Chicago Grill: Cheese is high on my list of foods that I can’t get enough of, and with the Deep Dish Macaroni & 3-Cheese from Uno’s, there would be plenty to go around. The cheese, in addition to the Alfredo sauce and cracker crumbs, it has more calories that all the pizzas on the menu except for one. And that’s 1,980 calories, 71 grams of saturated fat and 3,110 milligrams of sodium all for one person! On the restaurant’s website you can look through options online, divided by categories such as “Less than 500 Calories,” “Less That 750 mg of Sodium,” but you can be sure that you won’t find this menu item here!
Sources:
http://www.cspinet.org/new/201301161.html
http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/extreme_eating_2013.pdf
Photo Sources:
All photos gathered from the Center for Science in the Public Interest