Getting a quick, healthy bite these days is so much easier than it used to be: the classic, unhealthy fast food chains like McDonald's and Burger King have been joined by a more specialized group of eateries also offering quick service, called "fast-casual" restaurants.
Fast-casual dining is defined as "a style of fast food involving healthier, fresher and more varied dishes than traditional fast food, served in more attractive surroundings." While fresh, high-quality ingredients have become a hallmark of fast-casual restaurants, with places like Panera and Chipotle advertising all-natural, non-GMO ingredients, fancy looks can be deceiving. In fact, a study at the University of South Carolina found that the average fast food entree had 560 calories, while the average fast-casual entree had 760 calories.
That said, calories should NOT be the only metric for what defines healthy or unhealthy. In fact, it's possible that certain meals at fast food restaurants have fewer calories than fast-casual meals just because they're smaller.
With a diet of 2,000 calories a day, the 2015 dietary guidelines suggest daily intake amounts for protein, carbs, sugar, sodium, solid fat, saturated fat and trans fat, which vary in some cases between men and women. These are the numbers I'm referencing below when I say "your daily carbs" or "your daily fat."
And don't worry, I was just as disappointed as you to see these results:
1. Chipotle - Sofrita Burrito
To make things clear, I've included the most unhealthy item from each "category" of burrito fillers. Prepare yourselves for a sodium overload. That said, I do have to give props to Chipotle for completely ridding their menu of trans fat.
It makes sense that opting for a bowl—and dropping the flour tortilla—would be the healthier option here. In fact, the tortilla tacks on 300 calories and 46 grams of carbs to your meal. As far as protein options go, the sofritas come out as the least healthy, with the smallest amount of protein (8 g) and largest amount of sodium (55 mg).
The white rice is higher in carbs and sodium than the brown rice, while the bean varieties are fairly interchangeable. When it comes to salsa, the roasted chili-corn salsa has four times the number of carbs than the tomato- and pepper-based options (16 g). The shredded cheese adds 5 grams of unhealthy saturated fat to any dish, and sour cream, while equivalent in calories to the guacamole, is higher in saturated fat.
I feel #blessed right now that guac does not make the "most unhealthy" list, but it's all bad news beyond that. One burrito can easily contain more than half your daily calories and exceeds recommended daily sodium, carb and saturated fat intake.
2. Shake Shack - Double SmokeShack
The Double SmokeShack is as indulgent as it sounds: a double cheeseburger topped with smoked bacon, cherry peppers and the special ShackSauce (the ambiguity here frightens me).
This hunk o' meat contains nearly half your daily calories (925), almost double your daily saturated fat (27 g), nearly all your daily sodium (2068 mg) and a whopping 65 grams of fat.
These calculations are without fries, which is disconcerting because honestly, who gets a burger without fries?
3. Blaze Pizza - Meat Eater Pizza
The Meat Eater Pizza surprisingly doesn't have that much meat on it. Toppings include pepperoni, crumbled meatballs, red onion, mozzarella and red sauce.
Blaze claims to be a low-calorie, healthy pizza option, and the restaurant even coined the "100-calorie slice." But while Blaze's Simple Pie slice—just cheese—may have only 110 calories, no one actually eats just one slice of pizza. Plus, calories, as we've already established, should not be the only metric for what is described as "healthy."
So, let's assume that you practice restraint and eat just 4 of the 6 slices available in a small Meat Eater pie. Calorie-wise, it's not that bad (640), but this meal does contain all your daily saturated fat (13 g), more than half your daily sodium (1580 mg) and nearly half your daily carbs (60 g).
4. Panera - Mac & Cheese
I can't say I'm too surprised by this one. You can tell just by looking at this macaroni and cheese that it tastes delicious, but also that there's no way it can be any good for you.
Panera's Mac & Cheese is extremely high in saturated fat (29 g), has half your daily carbs (67 g), and basically all your daily sodium (2200 mg) despite the fact that, in my opinion, the portion size isn't even that big. And it hurts even more that it clocks in at a whopping 950 calories.
5. Jimmy John's - The J.J. Gargantuan
Prepare for meat overload: the J.J. Gargantuan is stuffed with salami, smoked ham, roast beef, capicola (fancy salami), turkey and provolone cheese. And we can't forget the generous amounts of mayo and Italian dressing slathered on top of it all. But hey, at least there's some lettuce in there somewhere.
Beyond having more than half your daily recommended calories (1134), this sandwich exceeds your daily saturated fat (14.8 g) and packs enough protein (72.4 g) for two full days. Plus, the sodium content (3534 mg) is truly gargantuan.
6. Potbelly - Big PBJ
I was very surprised to discover that the peanut butter and jelly (the Big PBJ) was the worst offender on Potbelly's menu. Worse yet, the sandwich is nothing special—it's made with Skippy peanut butter and Welch's grape jelly—so it's hardly homemade or fresh.
The Big PBJ has by far more sugar than any of the other entrees listed in this article: 116 grams, about 3.5 times the daily recommended intake. It doesn't fare too well in the carb category either at 199 grams.
7. Pei Wei - Chicken Pad Thai
Chicken Pad Thai is a staple among Asian restaurants (fast-casual and otherwise) in the United States. But despite its overwhelming popularity, it may be wise to avoid Pei Wei's take on the classic. The dish includes chicken, tofu, rice noodles, roasted peanuts, egg and cilantro, all tossed in a sodium-rife sweet and sour sauce.
There isn't too much sugar or fat in the dish, but it boasts a hefty 202 grams of carbs (thanks to the large serving of noodles). The most frightening number here, though, is the sodium content: 6110 milligrams, more than 2.5 times the daily recommended amount.
8. Einstein Bros Bagels - Bacon and Spinach Egg Sandwich
Everyone knows that a bagel carries close to zero nutritional value. This sandwich, made with eggs, bacon, Swiss cheese and tomato spread, is served on the restaurant's proprietary Spinach Florentine bagel. While it may seem to cover all the important food groups on the surface, this Einstein's creation is actually far from healthy.
Of particular note are the saturated fat (13 g) and carb content (62 g), the former equal to the daily recommended amount and the latter equal to half the daily recommended amount.
9. Noodles & Co - Bacon Mac and Cheeseburger
As a Japanese Pan Noodle lover, I was delighted to see that it was one of the healthiest menu items. The same cannot be said for Noodles & Co's new Bacon Mac and Cheeseburger. It's the restaurant's classic Wisconsin Mac & Cheese topped with crumbled meatballs, crispy bacon, tomatoes and green onions.
Of course, the dish is high in calories (1340). But far more notable is that the saturated fats (35 g), trans fats (2.5 g), sodium (2050 mg) and carbs (123 g) all exceed or roughly equal the respective daily recommended amounts.
In the best case scenario, not too many of your favorites made it on this list. But if they did, there's still a silver lining: researchers point out that as long as those additional calories from fast-casual splurges are at least contributing to your daily intake of protein, fiber and vitamins, you're doing some good. Essentially, it's a good idea to be mindful of what you're eating, but it's also ok to splurge every once in a while.
Next time you find yourself waiting in the ridiculous line at Chipotle or Noodles or Panera, take a second to glance over the nutritional info provided at nearly all fast-casual chains—and remember to look beyond the calorie count.