The Worst Food In America
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 4:41PM Is it any wonder that America is the land of the Blimp-People? People that make me look positively anorexic…
The link above takes you to the source but to make it easier for you to digest (sorry) here are the main points.
Parky
1. The Worst Food in America of 2009
2,600 calories
135 g fat (59 g saturated fat, 2.5 g trans fats)
263 g sugars
1,700 mg sodium
We didn't think anything could be worse than Baskin Robbins' 2008 bombshell, the Heath Bar Shake. After all, it had more sugar (266 grams) than 20 bowls of Froot Loops, more calories (2,310) than 11 actual Heath Bars, and more ingredients (73) than you'll find in most chemist labs.
2. Worst Pasta of 2009
2,430 calories
128 g fat
207 g carbs
5,290 mg sodium
With three times your recommended daily intake of saturated fat and two days’ worth of salt, these ain’t your mama’s meatballs (at least we hope not). This dish debuted on last year’s list, but there’s no other pasta that delivers this bad of a blow.
3. Worst Starter of 2009
2,400 calories
155 g fat (50 g saturated)
3,600 mg sodium
This appetizer is like eating a Large Domino’s Hand-Tossed Sausage Pizza! Would you ever think of saying to a waiter: “Why don’t you start us off with a large meat pizza?” If you’re ordering for a party of more than 5 it might be OK, but for smaller groups, it's tilting toward gluttony gone wild. Order the Thai Vegetable Pot Stickers instead—the only item carrying fewer than 800 calories.
4. Worst Pizza of 2009
2,310 calories
162 g fat
123 g carbohydrates
4,470 mg sodium
A horrific 228 percent of your daily allowance of fat and 167 percent of your daily sodium intake.
5. Worst Ribs of 2009
2,260 calories
(no other nutritional information available)
Let’s be honest: Ribs are rarely served alone on a plate. When you add a sweet potato and Outback’s Classic Wedge salad, this meal is a 3,340-calorie blowout.
6. Worst Chicken Entrée of 2009
2,220 calories
148 g fat (53 g saturated fat)
4,440 mg sodium
126 g carbohydrates
“Primo” refers to something that’s the greatest of its kind. Sure, if the ranking is based on the ability to deliver unnecessary calories and fat—this glorified chicken breast is great at that.
7. Worst Sandwich of 2009
2,090 calories
175 g fat (31 g saturated fat, 2.5 g trans fats)
2,190 mg sodium
This sandwich puts tuna’s healthy reputation on the line. A large homemade sandwich would likely provide one-fourth of the calorie
8. Worst Burger of 2009
2,040 calories
150 g fat (53 g saturated)
110 g protein
4,900 mg sodium
You know this burger's in trouble when it takes more than 20 syllables just to identify it. If you think the name’s a mouthful, just wait until the burger hits the table. You’ll be face to face with two-and-a-half day’s worth of fat—a full third of which is saturated. To do that much damage with roasted sirloin, you’d have to eat about eight 6-ounce steaks. It’s nearly three days’ worth of saturated fat.
9. Worst Mexican Entrée of 2009
1,730 calories
117 g fat (31 g saturated fat)
5,690 mg sodium
Here are a few offenders to choke on: fried chicken, Buffalo sauce, blue cheese, ranch dressing, and sour cream. All make this the sodium equivalent of single-handedly downing three and a half baskets of Chili's bottomless tostada chips or eating 3 ½ pounds of salted peanuts. Add rice and beans, and you've just ordered 3 days' worth of sodium and an entire day of calories.
10. Worst Chinese Entrée of 2009
1, 678 calories
93 g fat (17 g saturated fat)
You’d have to eat 42 Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnut Holes to match the fat content in these noodles.
11. Worst Surf and Turf of 2009
1,660 calories
(no other nutritional information available)
Diversity on your plate is usually a good thing, but not with this entrée. It has more calories than three Big Macs. Add variety with healthy sides like a house salad or Friday’s broccoli instead.
12. Worst Dessert of 2009
1,630 calories
74 g fat
33 g saturated fat
1150 mg sodium
223 g carbohydrates
Would you eat a Quarter Pounder for dessert? How about four? That’s how many it takes to match to calorie-load of this decadent dish. It’s the quickest way to ruin what may have been a sensible dinner.
13. Worst Fish Entrée of 2009
1,640 calories
(no other nutritional information available)
Salmon is normally a healthier alternative to loaded burgers and creamy pastas, but this dish—with as many calories as 35 Chicken McNuggets—isn’t one of those substitutes.
14. Worst Breakfast of 2009
1,543 calories
77 g fat (26 g saturated; 9 g trans)
2,259 mg sodium
198 g carbs
109 g sugars
It’s not a good sign when it takes you nearly five seconds to spit out the name of your breakfast. This bad boy packs in more than 75 percent of your calories for the day, along with more sugar and fat than nine glazed Dunkin’ Donuts, and nearly as much sodium as five Bloody Marys. That’s why it’s back on our list of the 20 Worst Foods in America again this year.
15. Worst Salad of 2009
1,360 calories
Fat: unknown (The company refuses to disclose the nutritional content of the food they’re serving you.)
Sodium: unknown
Turns out Friday’s monster salads aren’t much better than their burgers. Six out of the seven we analyzed topped out with more than 900 calories, which means that lunchtime can be the start of something big—namely, your belly.
16. Worst Fast-Food Chicken Meal of 2009
1,270 calories
67 g fat (11 g saturated fat)
2,910 mg sodium
The strips deliver more grams of fat than four DQ Homestyle Burgers, and nearly 300 more calories than a Large Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard.
17. Worst Kids' Meal of 2009
1,110 calories
82 g fat (15 g saturated)
1,980 mg sodium
56 g carbohydrates
Most kids, if given the choice, would live on chicken fingers for the duration of their adolescent lives. If those chicken fingers happened to come from Chili’s, it might be a pretty short life. A moderately active 8-year-old boy should eat around 1,600 calories a day. This single meal plows through 75 percent of that allotment. So unless he plans to eat carrots and celery sticks for the rest of the day (and we know he doesn’t), find a healthier chicken alternative.
18. Worst "Healthy" Sandwich of 2009
1,106 calories
56 g fat (33 g saturated fat)
2,831 mg sodium
96 g carbohydrates
Sure, a Veggie Supreme sandwich sounds healthy, but this foot-long comes with three different kinds of cheese, and it’s drenched in oil.
19. Worst Supermarket Meal of 2009
1,060 calories
64 g fat (24 g saturated fat)
1,440 mg sodium
Marie Callender’s perpetrates the ultimate sleight of hand here: the nutrition information says this medium-size entrée has two servings, but honestly, when have you ever split a potpie? Lard-strewn pastry tops and cream-based fillings are the lowest common denominators of the nutritionally nefarious potpie, and this one, with an ingredient list that reads like an O-Chem final, beats out dozens of horrendous iterations to earn this special place on our list.
20. Worst Breakfast Sandwich of 2009
710 calories
51 g fat (17 g saturated)
2,250 mg sodium
37 g carbohydrates
When they say “Monster,” they mean it. This 700-calorie behemoth should be enough to scare anyone: It contains nearly a full day’s worth of sodium and saturated fat. Instead, try the Sunrise Croissant with Bacon. It’s not exactly diet-friendly, but if you’re stuck at Hardee’s, it’s a way to escape without too much damage.
