9 Meals That Are Making Americans Fatter and Fatter

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The temptation is strong to grab a quick bite at a fast-food restaurant when you’re on the go or taking in some of the best of Michigan’s summer offerings.

But should you?

No, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest watchdog group, which just released its list of “Xtreme Eating” meals – high-calorie, high-fat, high-sodium meals at chain restaurants round the country the group says are contributing to America’s obesity epidemic.

To stand out in this crowd, the meals had to come in at around 2,000 calories, an entire day’s worth of food by USDA standards, “but our winners have what it takes – a total disregard for the obesity epidemic and the coming diabetes tsunami,” the watchdog group said.

Red Lobster won the crown for the unhealthiest meal – a generous serving of three shrimp dishes and a signature cocktail that delivers about 3,600 calories and enough saturated and salt to last the eater several days

“Seafood generally is very healthy, but they’ve kind of turned it into this really, really high-calorie platter, high in saturated fat, high in sodium,” said Paige Einstein, a registered dietitian who led the research being published in the June issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action Healthletter.

Here are the meals cited by the group:

IHOP: The Fiesta Omelette is 1,300 calories alone. But it also comes with a choice of three buttermilk pancakes – once considered a heavy breakfast – or hash browns, toast or fruit. All those extras add up. Add four tablespoons of syrup to the pancakes, and your omelette breakfast comes in at 1,900 calories – plus a bonus 42 grams of saturated fat, two or three days’ worth of sodium and cholesterol, and enough refined sugar (12 or so teaspoons) to turn you around in circles.

IHOP’s 1,564 locations include several in Michigan, including restaurants in Bloomfield Hills, Brighton, Dearborn Heights, Royal Oak and Sterling Heights.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit: The chain is expanding along with your waistline, thanks to its popular 3 Meat Plate. It’s just what the name implies, loaded with your choice of Polish sausage, pork ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, barbecued honey ham, spicy cheddar sauce, turkey or chicken breast.

The reviewers chose Polish sausage, pork ribs and beef brisket, with sides of Fried Onion Tanglers and mac and cheese, plus the free roll, pickles, onions, a 32-ounce glass of Miss Ollie Dickey’s Famous Southern Sweet Tea and a half-cup of ice cream and a cone.

The damage: 2,500 calories, 49 grams of saturated fat and 4,700 grams of sodium (two or three days’ worth each), and 29 teaspoons of sugar.

Dickey’s 416 locations include several in Michigan, including restaurants in Rochester Hills, Plymouth, Ferndale, Troy, Clinton Township, Macomb Township and Commerce Township.

Outback Steakhouse: The Herb Roasted Prime Rib Dinner will stick to yours in a big way.

On its own, the 16-ounce prime rib has 1,400 calories, but if you add the dressed baked potato and a classic blue cheese wedge, and eat nearly half a loaf of bread and butter, your total tab will be 2,400 calories, 71 grams of saturated fat (three and one-half days’ worth), and 3,500 mg of sodium (enough for two days).

Outback’s 767 locations include several in Michigan, including restaurants in Brighton, Canton, Livonia, Madison Heights, Novi, Rochester Hills, Shelby Township, Southfield, Southgate and West Bloomfield.

The Cheesecake Factory: There’s so much more here than cheesecake. One of the signature dishes, Louisiana Chicken Pasta, is a Parmesan-crusted chicken served over pasta with mushrooms, peppers and onions in a New Orleans sauce.

It weighs 1½ pounds, and comes topped with four slices of heavily breaded chicken, a butter and heavy cream sauce. The damage: 2,370 calories (more than a day’s worth), 80 grams of saturated fat (four days’ worth) and 2,370 mg of sodium (one and one-half days’ worth).

The Cheesecake Factory was notable on the Xtreme Eating list with two entries. How about dessert?

The cheesecake is fairly innocuous compared with the Warm Apple Crisp, which has a crispy nutty topping, two scoops of ice cream, a small mountain of whipped cream and caramel sauce. Are you ready? You’re looking at a whopping 1,740 calories – more than any cheesecake on the menu – and 48 grams (two and one-half days’ worth) of saturated fat and 32 teaspoons of sugar, much of it added.

The Cheesecake Factory has 167 locations, but only one in Michigan. It’s in Novi.

SONIC: You’ll blast your healthy eating plan into the next universe if you have the Pineapple Upside Down Master Blast, a 32-ounce mixture of vanilla ice cream, pineapple, salted caramel and pie crust pieces topped with several inches of whipped cream.

Are you ready for this? You’re talking 2,020 calories, 61 grams of saturated fat (three days’ worth), 4.5 grams of trans fat (two days’ worth), and 29 teaspoons of added sugar.

SONIC’s 3,522 locations include several in Michigan, including restaurants in Clinton Township, Commerce Township, Royal Oak, Shelby Township, Southgate, Sterling Heights, Troy, Westland and White Lake.

Red Lobster: A selection of three shrimp dishes (Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut, Walt’s Favorite and Linguine Alfredo), a side of French fries, a Caesar salad and a Cheddar Bay Biscuit weighs in at 2,710 calories, 37 grams of saturated fat (two days’ worth) and 6,530 mg of sodium (a four-supply).

Add Red Lobster’s signature drink, a 24-ounce Traditional Lobsterita, and you’ll add another 890 calories and – yikes! – 860 mg of sodium.

Red Lobster’s 679 locations include several in Michigan, including restaurants in Warren, Sterling Heights, Livonia and Flint.

Uno Pizzeria & Grill: if you go for the “one person, two dishes, tons of choices” option and choose Baked Ziti & Sausage Pasta and a small-plate Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza, you’re in for 720 and 1,470 calories, respectively (2,190 calories total).

Also, you’ll get 49 grams of saturated fat (two and one-half days’ worth), 5,420 mg of sodium (three and one-half days’ worth), and enough white flour to roll yourself in.

Uno Pizzeria & Grill’s 131 locations include a handful in Michigan, including one in Sterling Heights.

Steak ‘n Shake: The 7X Steakburger ‘n Fries, available on the “Up All Night” menu, has seven beef patties packs a total of 1,570 calories (all bt 240 of them in the burger), 47 grams of saturated fat and 4,570 mg of sodium.

Add a Chocolate Fudge Brownie Milkshake, and you’re looking at another 960 calories, for a total for the night or early morning of 2,530 calories, 68 grams of sturated fat and 5,060 mg of sodium. Don’t go to sleep on that.

Steak ‘n Shake’s 513 locations include several in Michigan, including restaurants in Auburn Hills, Livonia, Madison Heights and Sterling Heights.

Survival Tips

But as vacation season looms and you’re on the go, you may not be able to avoid chain restaurants. Here are some survival tips from the Center for Science in the Public Interest:

• Order from the “light” menu – for example, IHOP’s Simple & Fit meals (600 calories and lower) or The Cheesecake Factory’s SkinnyLicious meals (590 calories or less.
• Choose grilled chicken, turkey or a veggie burger with a green salad instead of a burger and fries.
• If you’re set on pizza, choose thin crust or flatbread pizza (whole grain is better than multi-grain, and both are better than white flour crusts), ask for less cheese, and choose veggie, seafood or chicken toppings over sausage, beef, bacon, salami or pepperoni.
• Order baked, broiled, grilled or steamed seafood instead of fish that is battered or fried. Eat a salad and leave the bread alone.
• At steakhouses, order a small filet instead of a New York strip, T-bone, porterhouse or ribeye to save both calories and money. Order a side of non-starchy vegetables instead of a potato.

Photo by Tobyotter / Flickr