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10 Worst Chain Restaurants for Your Health

  • Antonio Evans
  • May 23, 2011

We splurge on great dining experience once in a while, and when we do, we go all out. We often forget to think about our health when we eat out. Sometimes we think of healthy foods as blunt, dry, or unsatisfactory. While we enjoy sumptuous meals in our favorite restaurants, we don’t really mind the calories until we see some proof that they are really there, that they are health risks involved in these goodies. We don’t normally believe until we see it. We are easily fooled by what we only see on the pictures or how much they market their goodies. I am not a chain restaurant person. The only chain I visit is Rosa Mexicano (their guac is like crack-cocaine). This post is for those who like to hit up their local “casual dining” restaurants. We ranked the top worse chains restaurants on a health scale:

10 Worst Chain Restaurants for Your Health

Romano’s Macaroni Grill

This Italian Mediterranean style restaurant is a danger to your waistline. As opposed to keeping the dishes simple and fresh, each meal contains calories that sum up to more than a thousand calories, not to mention sodium, saturated fat, and carbohydrate contents. On the good side, you can always choose your meals according to your diet plan since each course has its own nutritional information on the sideline.

Worst Menu Item at Romano’s Macaroni Grill: Romano’s Sampler 1360 calories, 1080 mg sodium (2 hours of running at 5 miles per hour burns 1176 calories).

IHOP

With over 1, 500 restaurants all over U.S., IHOP has made a mark in making delicious breakfast meals that are to die for. Famous for their pancakes, omelettes, and French toasts, IHOP is undeniably one of the largest members of chain family restaurants all over. Along with success came controversies like food safety threats arising through the years. Their Harvest Grain €˜n Nut Pancakes might sound healthy but don’t be fooled. With over one thousand calories in a single dish alone, it’s only one of the few goodies they have that pose high health risks in the future.

Worst Menu Item at IHOP: Big Country Breakfast 1790 calories, 3910 mg sodium. (Or 6 hours of light bike riding).

The Cheesecake Factory

Made famous by their mouth-watering treats, from full meals down to their desserts, don’t expect a light-gastronomic experience when you dine at the Cheesecake Factory. Their Chocolate Tower Truffle, weighs three-quarters of a pound and stands over six inches tall, not to mention its 1,670 caloric and 48g of saturated fat content. Talk about being heavy inside, out. Imagine having that on your tummy. Wait till you take on their full meals and other special gastronomic treats. If you’re looking for an alternative,  you can always share.

Worst Menu Item at the Cheesecake Factory: A plate of beef ribs contains 2,300 calories, 1,619 mg of sodium.

Uno Chicago Grill

This pizza house has a lot more to offer than a single serving of thin crust pizza. When I say more, literally bigger, fatter choices of crust and toppings that include stuffing potato skin unto their pizza products. In fact, they faced controversies for false-advertising of their pizza products, claiming that they serve pizzas that are low in fat. From their appetizers to desserts, there’s no multiple choice between fat, fattening, and fatteners.

Worst Menu Item at Uno’s: Deep Dish four cheese pizza 2240 calories. (Or Treadmill – level @ 8mph for 2 hours and 30 minutes).

Outback Steakhouse

Just the thought of having juicy and tender meat makes your mouth water and stomach roar. At Outback Steakhouse; you get the pleasure of pigging out on a rack of Lamb cooked in butter and wine sauce. Butter is also served in meals, from veggies, to meat, and garlic mashed potatoes. Yum-my! But thinking about it, it’s almost like eating a whole cup of butter in one dining experience, not to mention the sodium contents of their products which sum up to 2000+ mg of sodium per serving.

Worst Meal at Outback Steakhouse: Baby Back Ribs – Full rack & Aussie Fries: 1935 calories, 2740 mg sodium (4 hours of boxing).

Ruby Tuesday

Hamburger has brought this chain to fame; but other highly caloric dishes reign supreme: burgers, fries, chicken, pasta, etc. (they’ve got them all). Their house specialty; the Colossal Burger is packed with 1,940 calories and 141 grams of fat; not to mention the fries that come in the platter. That is equal to 5 or more McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. Their Broccoli pasta is also tempting but because of it’s cheesy build up, you wouldn’t have to stuff yourself with a 2000 calorie and 120 g fat meal, would you?

Worst Meal at Ruby Tuesday: Chicken & Broccoli Pasta 1630 calories. (Or 2 hours of Crewing).

Olive Garden

Rich in Italian style cooking, the Olive Garden (aka the OG) gained fame in creating pasta dishes that suited American taste buds. This chain is said to be contributing to America’s obesity rate even when using fresh and organic ingredients, with the combination of the richness of Italian food and large American food servings. Along with their pastas, carbo-loaded neverending breadsticks and dressing-filled salads won’t help you in your diet plans.

Worst Meal at the Olive Garden: Pork Milanese: 1510 calories, 3100 mg sodium (5 hours of walking briskly).

Chilis

Be it baby back ribs or burgers, this chain will make your eyes and your mouth water. But beware; Chili’s serve some of the fattiest and sodium-packed goodies in fast- food chain and restaurants. They’ve got chicken, salads, and the sinful Smokehouse Bacon Triple Cheese Big Mouth Burger. Of course, for the health buffs, they also have the Guiltless Grill menu which only offers, an average of 1,320 mg sodium count with only eight meals to choose from. Still big? There’s always a choice of vegetables or broccoli for you to munch on.

Worst Meal at Chili’s : Shiner Bock BBQ Ribs: 2310 calories, 6340 mg sodium. (3 hours of swimming laps).

California Pizza Kitchen

Don’t be fooled by CPK’s super thin crusts.  Again, it’s all about the size of the portions you eat. Their tricky sizing makes it hard to eat a few portions of their goodies. While you expect to have vegetable-rich selections aside from pies and pizzas, the choices of toppings and condiments are high in sodium and fatty contents which make the €œsupposed healthy€ meal, unhealthy. Multiple choices in the menu also don’t contribute in having a healthy selection of meals.

Worst Meal at California Pizza Chicken: Waldorf Chicken Salad Full with Blue Cheese Dressing. 1561 calories, 1821 sodium (3 hours of stair climbing).

Long John Silvers

To add to the wide array of our choices for the restaurants that create some health issues is Long John Slivers Their main dishes are a bit greasy for their own good, good enough to belong to the fattening category. Known to showcase their seafood meats, this chain goes by its name’s origin that even its side dishes contribute to being an antagonist in the seafood’s nutritional elements. Juicy seafood meat meets greasy cooking methods, very heart-breaking.

10 Worst Chain Restaurants for Your HealthWorst Meal at Long John Silvers: Ultimate Alaskan Pollock Sandwich 530 Calories, 1500 sodium

We all know the truth. Eating out at most of these chain restaurants is probably not the best for our weight or our overall health, but if you lead a healthy lifestyle, a visit once in a while is ok…particularly if you’re there with friends who can split the meals with you.

Looking to save at these restaurants? Check out these fast food chain coupons:

Romano’s Macaroni Grill Coupons

IHOP Coupons

The Cheesecake Factory Coupons

Pizzeria Uno Coupons

Outback Steakhouse Coupons

Ruby Tuesday Coupons

Olive Garden Coupons

Chili’s Coupons

California Pizza Chicken Coupons

Long John Silvers Coupons

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