Do you try to eat healthy when you eat out? Scan the menu for the meals that show you how many calories and how much fat you’re getting? Turns out you may be getting way more of both than you think.
Eight TV stations (owned by Scripps) across the country tested diet options from popular restaurants like Chili’s, On the Border, Macaroni Grill, Applebee’s, and the Cheesecake Factory. Their investigation shows far more calories and fat than what was advertised in many meals.
The food samples were ordered off the low-calorie, low-fat menus… then tested by lab technicians who weighed the food, took out the fat and calculated the calories.
23 items were tested – of them, 78 percent had more fat than what was listed on the menu; 69 percent had more calories. Whoa, that’s a lot!
Here are some examples of what the investigation found:
- Chili’s says its guiltless grilled salmon has 480 calories and 14 grams of fat. The tests found 664 calories and 35 grams of fat.
- On the Border lists its “border smart” chicken fajitas at 570 calories and 9 grams of fat. The test showed 654 calories and 26.5 grams of fat.
- Applebee’s Cajun lime tilapia is supposed to have 310 calories and 6 grams of fat. Instead, lab results show it at 399 calories and 12.7 grams of fat.
Yikes! And there’s more. Go here to see the complete results of the investigation. See what they found and how they did the testing.
And tell me, does this change how you think about those “healthy” menu items? Will you still order them?
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Tags: calories, Food & Nutrition, menus, restaurants, Reviews
