Restaurant food choices are laden with shocking calorie counts.
What would we do without our healthy allies David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, who brought us Eat This Not That!? They have done some homework for us on the WORST foods you can eat or even split with another person for 2024. And my friends, it doesn’t look pretty. Get out the smelling salts and sit down as you read on about how nutritionally-offensive some of your favorite restaurant and grocery store eats stack up:
(FYI: This list is in no particular order. It’s all bad news.)
1. Bob Evans’ banana pecan pancakes = 1,543 calories
2. Marie Callender’s Creamy Parmesan Chicken Pot Pie = 1,060 calories
3. Blimpie Veggie Supreme 12″ = 1,106 calories
4. Dairy Queen 6-Piece Chicken Strip Basket = 1,270 calories
5. T.G.I. Friday’s Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad = 1,360 calories
T.G.I. Friday's Pecan-crusted Chicken Salad is a diet disaster.
6. P.F. Chang’s Tam’s Noodles = 1,678 calories
7. Uno Chicago Grill Pizza Skins (full order) = 2,400 calories
8. Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza = 2,310 calories
9. Quizno’s Tuna Melt (large) = 2,090 calories
10. Romano’s Macaroni Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat Sauce = 2,430 calories
That is half of this eye-opening list. That’s probably enough to scare us for now.
So what can you do if you’ve spotted one of your favorite foods on this list? Make some substitutions, opt for no cheese on the tuna melt and/or don’t just split these entrees, but rather portion them out across four meals (part of horror of these numbers comes from the gargantuan portion sizes).
You can also experiment by making your own version of T.G.I. Friday’s Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad at home so that you can control all of the ingredients and cooking techniques.
Also, before you dine out, check out the restaurant’s websites for the nutritional stats of all of their meals. That way, you can decide what you are going to order beforehand and you can feel confident in knowing that your selection fits within your healthy eating goals.