Highest Calorie Restaurant Foods
 

There are pictures of the foods on a slideshow, so you have to click the link in violation of everything Chiefsplanet stands for if you want to see them.

The article is mildly interesting, but my two questions for the group are:

- Why are baby back ribs so bad? Are all ribs that bad, or is it their sauce? I know that ribs aren't really healthy, but I wouldn't guess them to be terrible. It's just meat and barbecue sauce.

- I'm trying to figure out how that one chicken dish can have more calories than a 12-piece bucket of KFC. They're both chicken, and the KFC is fried.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/16/health...html?hpt=hp_c1

Gut-busting restaurant meals named 'dis-honorees'

(CNN) -- Shrimp pasta, steak and eggs, maybe a bacon cheddar double cheeseburger.

Sound good?

Those dishes, as prepared by restaurant chains, may look and taste good, but they're loaded with calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugar -- enough to earn them the dubious distinction of being named Xtreme Eating "dis-honorees" on this year's list from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, known as the CSPI.

For the last six years, the CSPI has released Xtreme Eating Awards winners in its Nutrition Action Healthletter.

But "we think this year that this is the worst of some of the worst," said Jayne Hurley, CSPI senior nutritionist. "They top the list for being extremely high in calories, saturated fat and salt or sugar."

Hurley, who has been analyzing restaurant foods since 1993, went through the menus of more than 200 chain restaurants looking for nutritional information.

The nine finalists for 2013:

Bistro shrimp pasta from The Cheesecake Factory. This dish of crispy battered shrimp, fresh mushrooms and arugula is tossed with spaghettini in a basil-garlic-lemon cream sauce. It weighs in at 3,120 calories, 89 grams of saturated fat and 1,090 milligrams of sodium, according to CSPI, equal to three lasagna classico entrees and a tiramisu from Olive Garden.

Cheesecake Factory's crispy chicken costoletta was not too far behind. According to the menu, it's a chicken breast lightly breaded and sautéed to a crispy golden brown. It is served with a lemon sauce, mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus.

According to CSPI, it also has 2,610 calories, more than a 12-piece bucket of original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, and 4½ days' worth of saturated fat.

Johnny Rockets bacon cheddar double burger, sweet potato fries and Big Apple shake. This meal packs on 3,500 calories, 88 grams of saturated fat -- that's four days' worth -- 3,720 milligrams of sodium and 15 teaspoons of sugar, according to CSPI.

Country fried steak and eggs at the International House of Pancakes, or IHOP, has 1,760 calories, 23 grams of saturated fat, 3,720 milligrams of salt and 11 teaspoons -- nearly two days' worth -- of sugar, CSPI said.

The veal porterhouse at Maggiano's Little Italy has roasted garlic, caramelized onions and lemon with crispy red potatoes. It also has 2,710 calories, 45 grams of saturated fat and 3,700 milligrams of sodium, the CSPI report said.

Maggiano's chocolate zuccotto cake contains 1,820 calories, 62 grams of saturated fat and 26 teaspoons of sugar, according to CSPI.

Smoothie King's peanut power plus grape smoothie may sound healthy, but the 40-ounce size has 1,460 calories and 22 teaspoons of sugar.

Chili's full rack of baby back ribs with Shiner Bock BBQ sauce comes with homestyle fried and cinnamon apples. It also comes, according to the report, with 2,330 calories, 45 grams of saturated fat and 6,490 milligrams of salt.

And finally, Uno Chicago Grill's deep dish macaroni and three cheese had a day's worth of calories -- 1,980 -- and more than three days' worth of saturated fat, 71 grams. According to CSPI, it also contains 3,110 milligrams of sodium.

"The most surprising one to me was the smoothie," Hurley said. "I think smoothies get this pass that they are better for you than they really are. When you go to Smoothie King looking for a snack and walk out with a 1,500 calorie drink, which is close to a day's worth of calories in a cup, that's shocking.

"I think people need to be warned about that. Smoothies have the illusion of being good for you, which I think is why it's important to warn people that the calories can skyrocket."

CNN reached out to all restaurants on the list. The Cheesecake Factory did not respond to requests for comment.

IHOP noted its menu does offer healthier choices.

"At IHOP, our menu is all about choice and giving our guests a full range of items to choose from that fits their lifestyle," spokesman Craig Hoffman said.

"In addition to offering indulgent classic favorites like country fried steak, our menu also features a complete selection of 'Simple & Fit' items, all of which are under 600 calories and include at least one item in every category," he said. "These also include our recently introduced 'Simple & Fit' whole wheat waffles, pancakes and crepes as well as our new proprietary blend of Quaker Oatmeal."

Rick Hendrie, senior vice president of marketing for Uno's, says the chain is doing its best to make sure people have choices.

"There is no question that particular item is indulgent," he said. "But with every single section on the menu, we have items that are also nutritious and delicious, so that you always have a choice.

"We've really worked hard to make sure that choice is everywhere," he said. "In addition, every single one of our restaurants has a nutrition kiosk which is in the lobby, and all the information about our items, every single one, all the nutritional information about allergens, is available and transparent."
Several restaurants questioned the numbers, telling CNN they had different totals.

"The results included in the CSPI study were significantly higher than our findings," said Maureen Locus, spokeswoman for Brinker International, the parent company of Chili's and Maggiano's.

"While menu item ingredient information is based on standardized product recipes, variations in nutritional content may occur due to in-restaurant preparation, portion size variances and guest customization of menu items, among other factors."

CSPI says it got the nutritional information from company websites.

"Customers choose to dine out for many occasions -- whether it's a lunch outside the office or a special occasion, such as a birthday dinner," said Joy Dubost, director of nutrition and healthy living for the National Restaurant Association, in a statement.

"With this in mind, restaurants provide an array of menu options including a growing selection of healthful menu options. In fact, the National Restaurant Association's 2013 Restaurant Industry Forecast shows that over 85% of adults say there are more healthy options at restaurants than there were two years ago."

The average adult should consume about 2,000 calories a day, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends keeping sodium intake between 2,300 to 1,500 milligrams per day for most people, preferably at the lower end of that scale.
Chain restaurant menus will soon be required to post calorie counts on their menus. FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said the agency is in the process of finalizing regulations for nutrition labeling requirements, but don't have an estimated date for when the final regulations will be issued. The National Restaurant Association advocated for the move, Dubost said.

Hurley's advice in the meantime? "When you're dining out, skip the appetizers and dessert. You're better off just passing them by -- and as far as your entree goes, either split it with somebody or pack up half and take it for lunch tomorrow."

This post contains way too much information.

It's got three times your recommended daily serving of knowledge.

You mean restaurant food has a lot of calories and may not be good for you?

Oh, the horror!



:rolleyes:

From what I understand (and I would quote if I remembered the source), big chain restaurants will research and implement ways to make food easier to chew and swallow (so that you eat more), but intentionally produce food that has no nutritional value that causes you get hungry again quickly. Fat and salt make things taste better, and they are relatively cheap, so they can be injected into cheaper, lower quality foods to make them taste normal. Also, portions at sit down restaurants are bigger so they can justify the steadily rising costs.

NSFW: Language

http://www.theonion.com/video/fda-of...getable,18905/

I saw this on CNN. The smoothy coming in at 1500 calories is insane!

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PRGz9xSP_SA" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe>.

Yes, and the world needs more of it so quit ****ing around on Chiefsplanet and get to inseminatin' some sows.

It's funny they'll point to the 3100 calories and 89 grams of fat in the shrimp pasta thing at cheesecake factory, but they neglect to mention that it also has over 200g of carbs (which are the worst). Ideally, you should be eating less than 100g carbs a day, and a lot more fat than that.

Chili's full rack of baby back ribs with Shiner Bock BBQ sauce comes with homestyle fried and cinnamon apples. It also comes, according to the report, with 2,330 calories, 45 grams of saturated fat and 6,490 milligrams of salt.

6,490 milligrams of salt That is insane. Do they serve it on a block of salt instead of a plate?

I've had that Bistro pasta thing from Cheesecake Factory. Won't do it again.

Didn't like the taste?

I can't imagine any dish featuring shrimp not tasting amazing.

No. It's 1.5 days of calories for me. Plus cheesecake. Big mistake.

I can't even imagine consuming 3000 calories in just one sitting. Damn.

Ever had a bloomin onion?

nope

Ever had a Tuna melt from Quiznos?

http://www.forgetthebox.net/wp-conte.../tuna-melt.jpg

Oklahoma Joe's has to be up there.

Sounds tasty!

With that said college and NFL lineman everywhere are salivating with these finds.

I want my heart attack heart attack heart attack heart attack CHILIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'S BABYBACK RIIIIIBS!

I eat Chipotle at least once a week; don't even want to know. ..lol

Fatty, Fatty, bo-batty. Banana-fana fo-atty. Fee-fi-mo-matty. Fatty

Chipotle actually has a pretty nice fat calculator:
http://www.chipotle.com/en-us/menu/n...alculator.aspx

This taught me to go for a bowl instead of a burrito – the tortilla takes a nice little 700 calorie/22 fat gram meal into 1000 calories and 31 fat grams.

hmm. that's not nearly as bad as I thought.
My wife and I are not doing fast food this year (with th exception of Chipotle). We did this 1 year a few years back. on the 1 yr anniversary we went to Wendy's, and both of us nearly shit our pants on the drive home lol. Felt like crap.

I have a shitty underbite that makes eating a burrito a no-go. so it's the bowl. lvoe it.

i did get a burrito the other day (first in probably 2 years); good lord I could barely finish it. but I can eat an order of corn tortilla tacos and burrito bowl for dinner. lol. Usually only do this if I've been slaving in the yard all day etc.

hey cool! thanks for that. I don't go there a whole lot, but when I do I get the chicken burrito bowl. I applied all my options, including guac, and its 740 calories. higher than I'd have guessed. if I drop the corn salsa and guac it plummets to 510...and even for my big ass, there's a lot of food in those burrito bowls.

I've been edumatcated!

extra white rice, black bean, chicken, red tomatillo, corn salsa, sour cream, cheese.
mmmm
820.

and even if I 'double up' and get a bowl and tacos, it toals around 1400.
not bad lol.

A tuna melt? A tuna melt? Do they dip it in lard or something?

holy crap. I never would've imagined.

Some foods that I like from a weight control perspective are:

Minute Maid Light Lemonade - It bugs me that it's got one of those fake sugars in it, but it's 15 calories per glass or some such thing.

Skinny Cow ice cream stuff - It doesn't taste any different than regular ice cream and is low cal.

California Cutie clementines - Fruit can be tasty.

Watermelon - Tasty and good for you, even though it's got more calories than you would expect.

Broccoli and cheese - I steam it and then melt one slice of tillamook cheddar on it. Very nutritious and tasty for about 120 calories.

Anyone else got any favorites?

Water.

Tea.

Fruit.

Vegetables.

Legumes.

Spices & Herbs (cilantro, rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, oregano, etc.)

Ribs are bad because there is a TON of fat on them. You say that it's just meat, but there's really not much meat on them at all. Also, the meat is so tender and juicy and soft because there's so much fat marbled through it. Keep in mind that the calorie totals are if you eat EVERYTHING on the dish. If you peel off or don't eat the obvious fat globs you end up cutting out a significant amount of calories.

I'm guessing all of the sauces in the recipe are heavy in butter as well. Thats alot of calories for just sauce.

Those double-churned ice creams that are made with Splenda instead of sugar are a nice dessert. I discovered last week (while reading the labels in the hospital cafeteria) that sugarfree gelatin also has an impressive nutritional profile for a dessert.

Yeah, the sauces and the dressings are rare a lot of the calories are lurking. Fat has twice as many calories per gram (9) as protein and carbs (4 each).