Worst Foods In America 2009

Can an appetizer with the caloric equivalent of 13 Krispy Kreme doughnuts be justified? No. The 2,710-calorie Awesome Blossom has been purged from Chili's menu--maybe the fat-drenched appetizer couldn't withstand the scrutiny of being named one of the worst foods in America last year.

The deep-fried onion wasn't the only thing to withdraw from this year's race--seven other items from 2008's lineup have been removed from menus. Three gut bombs remain, but we found 17 more deplorable dishes worthy of spots on our "worst" list. For now, be sure to avoid them--but here's to hoping these are 20 foods we won't see on restaurant menus next year.


20. Worst Breakfast Sandwich: Hardee's Monster Biscuit


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Hardee's Sunrise Croissant with Bacon

450 calories
29 g fat (12 g saturated)
900 mg sodium
28 g carbs



19. Worst Supermarket Meal: Marie Callender's Creamy Parmesan Chicken Pot Pie


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Marie Callender's Oven Baked Chicken (369 g)

320 calories
12 g fat (3 g saturated)
990 mg sodium



18. Worst "Healthy" Sandwich: Blimpie Veggie Supreme (12")

















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.

Eat This Instead!
Grilled Chicken Sub (6" regular) and Seafood Salad

456 calories
10 g fat (2 g saturated fat)
1,260 mg sodium



17. Worst Kids' Meal: Chili's Pepper Pals Country-Fried Chicken Crispers with Ranch Dressing and Homestyle Fries


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Pepper Pals Grilled Chicken Platter with Cinnamon Apples

350 calories
11 g fat (3 g saturated)
870 mg sodium
38 g carbohydrates



16. Worst Fast-Food Chicken Meal: Dairy Queen 6-Piece Chicken Strip Basket


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Grilled Chicken Salad with Fat-Free Italian Dressing

280 calories
11 g fat (5 g saturated)
1,550 mg sodium



15. Worst Salad: T.G.I. Fridays Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Cobb Salad

590 calories
Fat: unknown (The company refuses to disclose the nutritional content of the food they're serving you.)
Sodium: unknown



14. Worst Breakfast: Bob Evans Stacked and Stuffed Caramel Banana Pecan Hotcakes


















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.

Eat This Instead!
3 Scrambled Egg Beaters with 2 slices of bacon and fresh fruit

314 calories
19.5 g fat (5 g saturated)
700 mg sodium
21 g carbs
18 g sugars



13. Worst Fish Entrée: On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos with Chipotle Sauce and Refried Beans and Rice














2,440 calories
159 g fat (36 g saturated)
184 g carbohydrates
5,390 mg sodium

Fish is normally a wise, lower-calorie meat option than heavy burgers or steaks, but these tacos defy that logic. There's only three of them in this dish, but together they account for the caloric equivalent of 43 Chicken McNuggets. Add the carbohydrate-loaded refried beans and Mexican rice, and you're looking at over a full day's worth of calories in one sitting.

Eat This Instead!
Pica Shrimp Tacos

490 calories
5 g fat (1 g saturated)
78 g carbohydrates
1,650 mg sodium



12. Worst Dessert: Romano's Macaroni Grill Dessert Ravioli


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Italian Sorbetto with Biscotti

330 calories
4 g fat
0 g saturated fat
80 mg sodium
71 g carbohydrates



11. Worst Surf and Turf: T.G.I. Friday's NY Strip & Shrimp


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Half Rack of Ribs

500 calories
18 g fat
650 mg sodium



10. Worst Chinese Entrée: P.F. Chang's Tam's Noodles


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Ginger Chicken and Broccoli

660 calories
26 g fat (3.5 g saturated fat)
45 g carbohydrates



9. Worst Mexican Entrée: Chili's Buffalo Chicken Fajitas with The Works (Ranch Dressing, Guacamole, Sour Cream, Cheese, and Pico de Gallo + 4 tortillas)


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Chicken Fajita Pita

450 calories
17 g fat (3 g saturated fat)
1,750 mg sodium



8. Worst Burger: Chili's Smokehouse Bacon Triple-The-Cheese Big Mouth Burger with Jalapeno Ranch Dressing


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Old Timer Burger on a Whole Wheat Bun

420 calories
27 g fat (10 g saturated fat)
670 mg sodium



7. Worst Sandwich: Quizno's Tuna Melt (large)


















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 calories.

Eat This Instead!
Small Honey Bourbon Chicken on Wheat Bread

310 calories
4 g fat (1 g saturated fat)
920 mg sodium



6. Worst Chicken Entrée: Romano's Macaroni Grill Primo Chicken Parmesan


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Pollo Magro

330 calories
5 g fat (1 g saturated fat)
770 mg sodium



5. Worst Ribs: Outback Steakhouse Baby Back Ribs (full rack)


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Prime Minister's Prime Rib with Fresh Veggies and Sweet Potato

730 calories
39 g fat
65 g carbohydrates



4. Worst Pizza: Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Cheese and Tomato Flatbread Pizza (individual) and a House Side Salad with Fat-Free Vinaigrette

755 calories
30 g fat (17 g saturated fat)
1,815 mg sodium



3. Worst Starter: Uno Chicago Grill Pizza Skins (full order)


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Chicken Lettuce Wraps

390 calories
21 g fat (3 g saturated)
960 mg sodium



2. Worst Pasta: Romano's Macaroni Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat Sauce


















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.

Eat This Instead!
Simple Salmon

590 calories
40 g fat (6 g saturated fat)
1,390 mg sodium



1. The Worst Food in America: Baskin Robbins Large Chocolate Oreo Shake


















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.

Rather than coming to their senses and removing it from the menu, they did themselves one worse and introduced this caloric catastrophe. It's soiled with more than a day's worth of calories and three days worth of saturated fat, and, worst of all, usually takes less than 10 minutes to sip through a straw.

Eat This Instead! (and ask for two spoons)
2-Scoop Hot fudge Sundae, Chocolate and Vanilla

530 calories
29 g fat (19 g saturated fat)
52 g sugars




by Men's Health, from aolhealth.