Lifestyle

These Are Some of America’s Unhealthiest Dishes

By Ryan Chang at University of California – Berkeley

For many of us, eating out is a treat that we enjoy indulging in every once in a while. However, many restaurant dishes are overloaded with calories, sugars, salt and all the other delicious ingredients that are terrible for us in large portions. After looking through several online rankings, we at Spoon have consolidated a brief list of what we consider to be America’s unhealthiest meals.

1. Cheesecake Factory’s Bruléed French Toast

Their self-proclaimed “Best French Toast Ever!” contains 2,780 calories, 93 grams of saturated fat and a whopping 24 teaspoons of sugar. You’d only need a brief nine hour walk to burn off this meal, so you should definitely go for seconds.

2. Red Robin’s Monster Burger and Bottomless Fries

Yeah buddy! #redrobin #a1peppercorn

A photo posted by Madison Clark (@madmahdee) on Sep 9, 2014 at 9:50pm PDT

While an order of bottomless fries sounds scrumptious (and unhealthy), the fact that this meal is served with a salted caramel milkshake is really what makes the calorie count far exceed the daily suggested range. This meal combo (burger, fries and shake) totals over 3,500 calories and roughly 6,300 milligrams of sodium.

3. Cheesecake Factory’s Bistro Shrimp Pasta

Cheat meals are okay but should not be a habit. You should treat yourself for the hard work. I literally went all out and ordered the bistro shrimp pasta from the Cheesecake Factory. It contains 3,120 calories, 89g of saturated fat, and 1,090mg of sodium. Cheat meals should be geared towards your fitness goals. If you’re trying to gain weight and muscle mass, pack on the carbs and calories! If you are trying to become more lean and cut, make sure you do not have too many cheat meals in your diet. Stick to once, maybe twice a week. #bodybuilding #diet #cheatmeal #gains #fitness #pasta #bistroshrimppasta #protein #jacked #weights

A photo posted by Ryan Maneffa (@fitnessbymaneffa) on Jul 7, 2014 at 5:07pm PDT

Though this entry has a lot to do with portion sizes (3.5 cups of pasta — what a steal!), this pasta dish clocks in at 3,120 calories and 89 grams of saturated fat. This meal is so large that, even if you split it in half, it accounts for over three fourths of your daily calorie intake — now, that’s a great value!

4. Baskin Robbins’ Large Chocolate Oreo Shake

Though most people already know that milkshakes aren’t the healthiest beverage of choice, 2,600 calories for a single chocolate shake is definitely on the heavier end of the scale. Chocolate lovers indulging in this milkshake will satisfy far more than a day’s calorie intake. Yikes.

5. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse’s Signature Deep Dish Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

This delicious deep-dish pizza contains a heavenly mixture of bacon, chicken, and jack and cheddar cheese, topped with a “drizzle of ranch.” All together, this dish totals 2,160 calories and over 4,600 milligrams of sodium.

Click here to read about more unhealthy foods.