If this list doesn't make you hungry, then you're already ahead of most of us.
7 Worst Restaurant Starters
A funny thing has happened to America's restaurant appetizers, starters, and sides: They've started growing bigger than the main meals. It's now common for a diner to wolf down 500 or 600 greasy calories before even starting on the entree, or to find that amount sitting alongside an already-giant burger.
One might wonder where all the calories end up. The answer: our collective belly-fat supplies. Last year, obesity rates stayed constant in only 13 states, while the other 37 states saw an increase. This big fat growth—which stretches over 75 percent of America—is due in no small part to our propensity to eat full meals before we eat full meals. (It's not uncommon anymore to take in two days' worth of calories in a single meal at one of our favorite restaurants.)
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To help you wrap your arms around the problem, the writers of the best-selling Eat This, Not That! series have gathered the most gluttonous starters and side binges in America. If this list doesn't make you hungry, then you're already ahead of most of us.
Worst Seafood Appetizer
Long John Silver’s Breaded Clam Strips
320 calories
19 g fat (4.5 g saturated, 7 g trans fat)
1,190 mg sodium
The restaurant industry began to shift away from frying in partially hydrogenated oil 10 years ago. Now, Long John Silver’s is one of the few places left clinging to their trans-fatty fare. The word that should have set you off was “breaded”—it implies that the dish has been fried in oils, and in this case, those oils are packed with potentially heart-harming trans fats. Who wants to order fried seafood through a squawk box anyway? Luckily, Long John also serves up a number of dishes that boost good cholesterol, none better than the simple grilled fillet of salmon.
Bonus tip: Bad fats boost your cholesterol; too much sodium spikes blood pressure. Eat sparingly the foods on our list of the 30 Saltiest Foods in America.
Eat This Instead!
Lobster Stuffed Crab Cake
170 calories
8 g fat (2 g saturated, 0 g trans)
390 mg sodium
Worst Drive-Thru Side
Arby’s Large Mozzarella Sticks
650 calories
35 g fat (13 g saturated)
2,220 mg sodium
Fried cheese is never a good idea, but as a sandwich sidekick, it spells certain disaster. Anything with as much saturated fat as a Double Whopper should not be called an appetizer or a side. Arby’s menu presents a side dish conundrum, given that their entire roster of “Sides and Sidekickers” receives the deep-fried treatment. Best to skip over this section entirely. If it’s cheese you crave, order the French Dip ’N Swiss or Ham and Swiss Melt instead to save more than 300 calories.
By David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, Men's Health
A funny thing has happened to America's restaurant appetizers, starters, and sides: They've started growing bigger than the main meals. It's now common for a diner to wolf down 500 or 600 greasy calories before even starting on the entree, or to find that amount sitting alongside an already-giant burger.
One might wonder where all the calories end up. The answer: our collective belly-fat supplies. Last year, obesity rates stayed constant in only 13 states, while the other 37 states saw an increase. This big fat growth—which stretches over 75 percent of America—is due in no small part to our propensity to eat full meals before we eat full meals. (It's not uncommon anymore to take in two days' worth of calories in a single meal at one of our favorite restaurants.)
Bing Search: Nutrition
View results for:
To help you wrap your arms around the problem, the writers of the best-selling Eat This, Not That! series have gathered the most gluttonous starters and side binges in America. If this list doesn't make you hungry, then you're already ahead of most of us.
Worst Seafood Appetizer
Long John Silver’s Breaded Clam Strips
320 calories
19 g fat (4.5 g saturated, 7 g trans fat)
1,190 mg sodium
The restaurant industry began to shift away from frying in partially hydrogenated oil 10 years ago. Now, Long John Silver’s is one of the few places left clinging to their trans-fatty fare. The word that should have set you off was “breaded”—it implies that the dish has been fried in oils, and in this case, those oils are packed with potentially heart-harming trans fats. Who wants to order fried seafood through a squawk box anyway? Luckily, Long John also serves up a number of dishes that boost good cholesterol, none better than the simple grilled fillet of salmon.
Bonus tip: Bad fats boost your cholesterol; too much sodium spikes blood pressure. Eat sparingly the foods on our list of the 30 Saltiest Foods in America.
Eat This Instead!
Lobster Stuffed Crab Cake
170 calories
8 g fat (2 g saturated, 0 g trans)
390 mg sodium
Worst Drive-Thru Side
Arby’s Large Mozzarella Sticks
650 calories
35 g fat (13 g saturated)
2,220 mg sodium
Fried cheese is never a good idea, but as a sandwich sidekick, it spells certain disaster. Anything with as much saturated fat as a Double Whopper should not be called an appetizer or a side. Arby’s menu presents a side dish conundrum, given that their entire roster of “Sides and Sidekickers” receives the deep-fried treatment. Best to skip over this section entirely. If it’s cheese you crave, order the French Dip ’N Swiss or Ham and Swiss Melt instead to save more than 300 calories.
By David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, Men's Health
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