Americans love to eat out, and that’s okay. But what’s not okay is what we’re eating when we dine out, and how blind and ignorant we are when it comes to restaurant food. A 2006 study in the American Journal of Public Health showed that unhealthy restaurant foods contained an average of 642 calories more than people estimated! That includes those salads you order thinking you’re making a healthy choice, when in reality you would have been better off with a burger. If you eat out more than twice a week, those extra calories could add 23 pounds a year to your waistline! Yikes.
Yes, eating out should be enjoyable, and that often means splurging and ordering something that you may not want to know the calorie count of. But for all those other times, when you think you’re making a smart choice and in reality it contains over 600 calories more than you estimated, well, it’s just not right! So as much as you may not want to see it, it’s for your own good that we share the 2012 Worst Foods in America…
20. Worst Side Dish
TGI Friday’s Loaded Mashed Potatoes – 930 calories. This would be bad enough as an entree alone!
19. Worst Supermarket Meal
Hungry-Man Pub Favorites Classic Fried Chicken – 1,030 calories, 62g fat(14g saturated), 1,610mg sodium.
18. Worst “Healthy Sandwich”
Quizno’s Veggie (large) – 1,090 calories, 61 g fat(19g saturated), 2,540mg sodium. There is NOTHING healthy about this sandwich.
17. Worst Fast Food Breakfast
Burger King’s BK Ultimate Breakfast Platter – 1,310 calories, 72g fat (26 saturated), 2,490 mg sodium. You’d have to run 12 miles to burn off this monster of a breakfast.
16. Worst Frankenfood
Friendly’s Grilled Cheese Burger – 1,540 calories, 92g fat(35 saturated), 2490mg sodium. It’s not just a cheeseburger. It’s a cheeseburger sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches.
15. Worst Salad
California Pizza Kitchen Waldorf Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing – 1,561 calories, N/A Fat(31g saturated), 1821mg sodium. Don’t be fooled!
14. Worst Fast-Food Burger
Sonic Ring Leader Loaded Burger Double Patty – 1660 calories, 120g fat(44 saturated, 10 trans), 1450mg sodium. Half a pound of beef, two slices of cheese, bacon, onion rings and mayo make this burger nearly an entire day’s worth of food.
13. Worst Chinese Entree
PF Chang’s Double Pan-Fried Noodles Combo – 1,820 calories, 84g fat (8 g saturated), 7,692mg sodium. Not only is this one of the worst dishes in America, it’s also the saltiest.
12. Worst Sandwich
The Cheesecake Factory Grilled Shrimp & Bacon Club – 1,890 calories, N/A fat (24 saturated), 2964mg sodium. Another tricky meal that, aside from the bacon, seems innocent and healthy enough. Shame on you Cheesecake Factory.
11. Worst Dessert
Baskin-Robbins Fudge Brownie 31 Degrees Below (large) – 1900 calories, 80 g fat(39 saturated), 225 g sugar. Wow.
10. Worst Fries
Chili’s Texas Cheese Fries with Chili and Ranch – 2,120 calories, 144g fat(69 saturated), 5920 mg sodium
9. Worst Mexican Meal
On the Border Dox XX Fish Tacos – 2,150 calories, 144g fat, 3,740 mg sodium
8. Worst Fish Meal
Culver’s North Atlantic Cod Filet Meal (3 pieces) – 2,156 calories, 140 g fat, 2378 mg sodium. Fish is suppose to be healthy!
7. Worst Burger
Chili’s Jalapeno Smokehouse Bacon Burger with Ranch – 2,210 calories, 144g fat(46 saturated), 6600 mg sodium. Not only does this have more calories than most people should eat in a day, it’s more than 2 days’ worth of saturated fat and as much sodium as you’d find in 6 pounds of McDonald’s french fries.
6. Worst Pizza
Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Deep Dish Pizza (individual) – 2310 calories, 165g fat(54 saturated), 4650 mg sodium. Don’t take the restaurant’s advice, and split this thing at least 3 ways. Better yet, order something else.
5. Worst Appetizer
Applebee’s Appetizer Sampler – 2430 calories, 166g fat, 6,070 mg sodium. Chips and spinach-artichoke dip, fried chicken wings, mozzarella sticks and quesadillas make this sampler a disaster split 2 ways – even as the main course!
4. Worst Breakfast
IHOP Big Country Breakfast with Country Fried Steak & Country Gravy – 2,440 calories, 145g fat, 5,520 mg sodium.
3. Worst Ribs
TGI Friday’s Caribbean Rockin’ Reggae Ribs – 2,450 calories, 52 g Saturated fat, 3810 mg sodium.
2. Worst Chicken Entree
The Cheesecake Factory Chicken and Biscuits – 2,580 calories, 68 g Saturated fat, 2,621 mg sodium. A classic gone wrong. Make it at home on your own with healthy, all natural ingredients for a comfort food that’s isn’t so terrifying.
1. THE WORST FOOD IN AMERICA
Cheesecake Factory Bistro Shrimp Pasta – 2,730 calories, N/A fat (78 saturated), 919 mg sodium.
Well, the Cheesecake Factory does it again, earning the title of America’s Worst Restaurant for the 4th year in a row. Good thing they started a “skinny” menu, so you can’t be tricked into thinking something like shrimp and pasta could have more calories than 3 sticks of butter.
There you have it…the Worst Foods in America. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
For more information on Eat This, Not That’s 2012 Worst Food in America, click here.