Have you guys ever heard of the Center for Science in the Public Interest?! Yah either did until yesterday when I read their newest report on extreme eating.
We are just 2 and a half weeks into the new year and a lot of people have new year resolutions to lose weight. Well restaurants and eating out aren’t helping! This report lists the worst places to eat out!
The company says that a typical adult should consume about 2000 calories and no more than 20 grams of saturated fat and 1500 milligrams of sodium per day! They looked at some top restaurants to find out what exactly they have in their meals.
First up IHOP. Their menu a breakfast item: Country Fried Steak & Eggs. That includes a deep-friend steak with gravy, two fried eggs, deep-friend potatoes and two buttermilk pancakes. Well that has 1760 calories, 23 grams of saturated fat, 3720 mg of sodium and 11 teaspoons of added sugar. CSPI says that is like having 5 McDonald’s Egg McMuffins sprinkled with 10 packets of sugar.
Next, Chili’s! A full rack of Baby Back Ribs with Shiner Baby BBQ Sauce has 1660 calories, 39 grams of saturated fat and 5025 milligrams of sugar. Add in fries and cinnamon apples and now you are up to 2,330 calories and 6,490 mg of sodium {that is enough for 4days!}
The only other restaurant on the list that is somewhat close to me is The Cheesecake Factory. {They are actually on it twice} One of their bad for you menu item is Bistro Shrimp Pasta. It has shrimp, mushrooms, tomato and arugula. {doesn’t sound bad right?!} It actually has 3120 calories and 89 grams of saturated fat. The CSPI says it is equivalent of 3 orders of Olive Garden’s Lasagna Classico plus an order of Tiramisu.
The other Crispy Chicken Costoletta. This meal comes with mashed potatoes and asparagus but it actually packs in 2610 calories, 89 grams of saturated fat {enough for almost a full work week} and 2720 milligrams of sodium! This is like eating an entire 12 piece original recipe bucket of chicken from KFC!
REDIC! I seriously can’t believe all of the high numbers! I mean I love eating out sometimes but it just shows how important those less than 600 calorie meals are! Don’t get me wrong sometimes it is okay to indulge. I am a sucker for desserts some others can be a sucker for bad food… once in awhile!
Other Restaurants on the list: Johnny Rockets, Uno Chicago Grill, Smoothie King and Maggiano’s Little Italy.
Questions: Have you ever ate one of these meals? Do you like to eat out? Do you believe in these surveys?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I just heard this on the news this morning. Crazy that the pasta dish that the Cheesecake Factory has over 3,00 calories. And that is before the cheesecake.
Omg. I’m so glad I don’t go to any of those restaurants! Those are scary numbers.
NEVER EVER EVER eaten at any of these places before in my life, well minus the Cheesecake Factory (but I only order their EXTRA HUGE salads with no dressing, cheese, etc)… The question I have for you… Have you ever eaten any of these dishes?
I have not! I feel like I should just once in my life though… or not!
HOLY CRAP CHEESECAKE FACTORY! Oh my my. Thank goodness I severely limited the amount that Travis and I eat out. One a week if even! It’s hard to meet new people and NOT go out to eat in this area…there’s not too much to do!
Crazy how many calories are in restaurant meals. One thing about some of those is that they list the calories on the menu, at least here in CA. So you know what you are getting into and can make healthier choices.