Friday, September 17, 2010

The Scariest Food Creations 2010


20. KFC Double Down

540 calories
32 g fat (10 g saturated)
1380 mg sodium

KFC's Double Down is perhaps the most conspicuous sandwich of the restaurant industry's scary-food movement. It consists of bacon and cheese slathered with a dubious-sounding "Colonel's Sauce" and sandwiched beteween two salty pucks of fried chicken. It ought to be served with a shot of Pepto-Bismol on the side.


Eat This Instead!

Grilled Doublicious

380 calories
11 g fat (4 g saturated)
950 mg sodium


19. Burger King Meat Beast Whopper

910 calories
60 g fat (21 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)
1810 mg sodium

If it sounds like this thing poised to attack your waistline, that's because it is. A basic Whopper with Cheese has 720 calories. This burger earns 190 extra calories--plus 16 grams of fat and 570 milligrams of sodium--through the dastardly duo of bacon and pepperoni. Right now it's available only at the Whopper Bar in New York; let's just hope it stays that way.


Eat This Instead!

Whopper Jr. (no mayo) w/ 6-piece Chicken Fries

510 calories
26 g fat (6.5 g saturated)
1280 mg sodium


18. Hardee's Loaded Biscuits and Gravy

1000 calories
75 g fat (20 g saturated)
2350 mg sodium

Essentially what you have here are two open-faced sausage and egg biscuit breakfast sandwiches buried under a deluge of sausage-infused gravy. If you're looking to punish your heart, this is how to do it.


Eat This Instead!

Frisco Breakfast Sandwich

420 calories
18 g fat (7 g saturated)
1250 mg sodium


17. White Castle Surf & Turf Sliders with Cheese (2 sliders)

1080 calories
76 g fat (22 g saturated, 7 g trans)
1980 mg sodium

If the idea of a fishy cheeseburger doesn't gross you out, then perhaps the horrendous trans fat load will.

Eat This Instead!

Double White Castle Sliders (2 sliders)

500 calories
26 g fat (10 g saturated, 2 g trans)
680 mg sodium


16. Houlihan's Spicy Frito Burger

1171 calories
73 g fat (21 g saturated)
2429 mg sodium

Can't find the hamburger patty in this picture? That's becuase it's buried under a pile of Fritos. If you want to put chips on a burger, you better start with one leaner than this one.


Eat This Instead!

Cheddar Roast Beef Sandwich

698 calories
34 g fat (9 g saturated)
1412 mg sodium


15. Blimpie Special Vegetarian (12-inch)

1180 calories
59 g fat (18 g saturated)
3540 mg sodium

Yes, apparently chips as a topping is the emerging trend in sandwich gimmickry. This vegetarian sub is built on a bed of crumbled Dorito's potato chips. That's why it's also referred to simply as the "Dorito's sub." Unfortunatly for vegetarians, none of Blimpie's footlong meat-free subs carry fewer than 900 calories. If you're a part-time vegetarian, go for a lean deli sandwich, instead. But for stricter abstainers, just order a Turkey and Cranberry and ask them to hold the turkey. Oh--and watch your sodium intake for the rest of the day. Blimpie likes the lay it on thick.


Eat This Instead!

Turkey and Cranberry (12-inch)

700 calories
7 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
2440 mg sodium


14. Denny’s Fried Cheese Melt with wavy fries and marinara

1,260 calories
63 g fat (21 g saturated, 1 g trans)
3,010 mg sodium

Apparently, Denny’s deemed the classic grilled cheese too boring for our novelty-seeking taste buds, so they fixed it by driving four deep-fried cheese sticks into the core of the sandwich. So what you end up with are cheese sticks with extra cheese between slabs of buttered bread and a pile of fried potatoes on the side. If Denny’s was serious about improving the grilled cheese, they would have skipped the novelty and brought in big-flavor ingredients like sautéed mushrooms or sliced figs. But, of course, if they did that, they might not be able to sell this entire meal for $4. Here’s to cheap food and expensive health care!


BLT with Hash Browns


730 calories
47 g fat (10.5 g saturated)
1,270 mg sodium


13. IHOP New York Cheesecake Pancakes

1,270 calories

Further blurring the line between dessert and breakfast, IHOP has infused their fluffy flapjacks with gooey hunks of cheesecake. Next thing you know they’ll be serving breakfast with big scoops of ice cream and chocolate syrup. The best breakfast is one with protein and fresh fruit, but if you’re going to go for the carb-heavy indulgence, there’s a better way to do it. Don’t make it a habit, but IHOP’s Chocolate Chip Pancakes will save you 660 calories.


Chocolate Chip Pancakes


610 calories


12. Perkins N'awlins Benedict

1340 calories
66 g fat (24 g saturated)
4110 mg sodium

Offense #1: This meal has more calories than three Double Cheeseburgers from McDonald's. Offense #2: It mashes together a messy blend of ingredients that don't seem to belong together: cajun shrimp, smoked sausage, grilled chicken, and chipotle hollandaise sauce. Urp.


Eat This Instead!

Border Grilled Chicken Omelette

400 calories
8 g fat (2 g saturated)
1290 mg sodium


11. Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad

1390 calories
6 g saturated fat
1672 mg sodium

See those thick tiles slicing through the salad? They're crispy wontons--basically dumpling wrappers that have been flattened out and deep fried. That makes this thing more of a sloppy wonton sandwich than a salad. Eat at your own risk.


Eat This Instead!

Herb-Crusted Salmon Salad

760 calories
7 g saturated
672 mg sodium


10. Applebee's Quesadilla Burger

1420 calories
97 g fat (46 g saturated)
2910 mg sodium

The problem with this hybrid is simple: Quesadillas and hamburgers are foods of two different sizes. Quesadillas are made on big tortillas; burgers are made on small buns. That's the way it is. So to upscale a hamburger patty to fill an entire tortilla, well, you might as well plan on upscaling your gut, too.


Eat This Instead!

Hamburger

770 calories
46 g fat (15 g saturated)
1170 mg sodium


9. Claim Jumper Widow Maker Burger

1492 calories
29 g saturated fat
2648 mg sodium

There are plenty of egregious burgers out there in burgerland, but this is the only one to carry such a smug title: Widow Maker. Well, at least the shoe fits. Not including the beef, this burger is made with five sources of fat: bacon, onion rings, avocado, mayonnaise, and a double serving of cheese. Better hope your will is up-to-date.


Eat This Instead!

BBQ Chicken Sliders

785 calories
9 g saturated
1741 mg sodium


8. Friendly’s Grilled Cheese BurgerMelt

1,500 calories
97 g fat (38 g saturated)
2,090 mg sodium

Is this a joke? Because it should be. Where a normal hamburger has buns, this one has grilled cheese sandwiches. Yes, that’s two grilled-cheese sandwiches with one hunk of ground beef wedged between them. Other iterations of this sandwich have been dubbed “fatty melts”—for obvious reasons. They have twice as much cheese and bread as a regular cheeseburger.

Eat This Instead!

Grilled Cheese

790 calories
37 g fat (12 g saturated
1,280 mg sodium


7. Uno Chicago Grill Lobster BLT Thin Crust Pizza

1,530 calories
87 g fat (30 g saturated)
3,480 mg sodium

On its own, lobster is sweet, healthy, and loaded with lean protein. Yet, for some reason, restaurants never seem to know what to do with it. Case in point: Lobster BLT Pizza, an amalgam of foods that don’t quite fit together: One is seafood, one is diner grub, and one is an Italian-American hybrid. We're all for trying new things, but not when the cost is 75 percent of your day’s calories and a 1½ day’s worth of sodium and saturated fat.


Eat This Instead!

Lobster Wrap with side of roasted vegetables

570 calories
30.5 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,660 mg sodium


6. Applebee’s Provolone-Stuffed Meatballs with Fettuccine

1,550 calories
97 g fat (46 g saturated)
3,910 mg sodium

Yes, America has a cheese fetish, but this is just excessive. Cheese-filled meatballs? It’s like a beef-based Gusher, a sort of meaty water balloon of fat. Especially problematic is the fact that said meatballs are served on a bed of fettuccine Alfredo, which is basically flat noodles basting in oil, butter, and—yes—cheese. Cut more than a thousand calories by switching dishes. Make a swap like that a couple times a week and you’ll lose about 2½ pounds this month.


Eat This Instead!

Spicy Shrimp Diavolo

500 calories
10 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
1,910 mg sodium


5. Friendly's Caramel Cinnamon Swirl French Toast

2090 calories
57 g fat (28 g saturated)
214 g sugars

It's official: Ice cream is now on the breakfast menu. It was only a matter of time. This meal consists of a cinnamon roll split and stuffed with cream cheese and ice cream and topped off with whiped cream and hot caramel. What's worse, it's only one of several over-the-top desserts at Friendly's. Among the other offenders are the cream-cheese stuffed French toast with ice cream and the ice cream- and caramel-topped pancakes.

Eat This Instead!

Two Pancakes and Two Scrambled Eggs

770 calories
33 g fat (10 g saturated)
1910 mg sodium


4. Perkins Captain's Catch

2410 calorie
144 g fat (30 g saturated)
4940 mg sodium

There are three sea-dwelling creatures on this plate--cod, shrimp, and clams--and every one of them has been breaded and dunked in hot oil. And what has Perkins provided for side dishes? More fried food! Fried onions and french fries. We'd hate to meet the captain who brought in this catch.


Eat This Instead!

Island Tilapia Dinner

450 calories
6 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
1060 mg sodium


3. Burger King New York Pizza Burger

2530 calories
144 g fat (59 g saturated, 3.5 g trans)
3780 mg sodium

This is the newest creation from the Whoper Bar in New York City, and presumably it was created to tap into the latest wave of great-because-they're-disgusting food items. Eat just two slices and you've taken in an entire day's worth of saturated fat.


Eat This Instead!

Double Cheeseburger

460 calories
27 g fat (13 g saturated, 1 g trans)
990 mg sodium


2. Claim Jumper Chocolate Motherlode Cake

2760 calories
55 g saturated
340 g carbohydrates

Cake is what we buy for friends on their birthdays. This cake? This one we buy only for enemies. Its six layers of chocolate carry as many calories as a dozen Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars.

Eat This Instead!

Warm English Toffee Cake

383 calories
9 g saturated fat
54 g carbohydrates


1. Uno Chicago Grill Mega Sized Deep Dish Sundae

2800 calories
136 g fat (72 g saturated)
272 g sugars

Mega? That's an understatement. With three-and-a-half day's worth of saturated fat and more sugar than you'd find in 14 Twinkies, a better name would be The Belt-Breaker. Unless you're about to walk the green mile, don't even think about it.


Eat This Instead!

Mini Hot Chocolate Brownie Sundae

370 calories
16 g fat (8 g saturated)
38 g sugars