I look up calories on everything I eat these days. I’m not going to be a number cruncher for life, that’s just not sustainable — I consider what I’m doing now to be studying. Out of the roughly two dozen restaurants my wife and I frequent within a several month span, I’m finding what foods from those establishments are relatively healthy choices.
Even with common sense on your side, it’s extremely hard to recognize good restaurant food from the bad. I was watching Oprah (at the gym, not at home) and a guest asked the question:
What’s worse, an Arby’s roast beef sandwich covered with melted cheese or an Arby’s turkey sandwich?
Most of you would guess the roast beef slathered with cheese — I did too, it seems like common sense — right? Surprisingly, the Arby’s turkey sandwich has about twice as many calories as the roast beef w/ cheddar. All the calories are hidden in the sandwich’s bread, ready to murder you and your loved ones.
Okay, maybe it’s not that bad.
So, how do you find out the worst restaurant food in terms of calories? Look on their website before you go. Some restaurants post nutritional information, some don’t. Outback doesn’t, for example, yet places like Red Lobster, Applebee’s, Chili’s, and O’Charleys do.
If you can’t find nutritional information on a website, either call the company’s listed phone number or simply search Google. You’ll find a lot of estimates made by nutritionists/internet crazies.
The worst restaurant food I’ve found: Outback’s Aussie Fries. By third party estimates, this appetizer is 2,900 calories — not so bad if you split it with a friend, right? Consider this: if you split the fries with 5 other of your friends, you’d still be eating about 1/4th of your daily caloric intake in one appetizer serving.
I know I said my diet won’t eliminate a dish completely, but I might have to dis-invite this one to the office Christmas party.