Indulgent. Delicious. Sinful. Essential.
The new season of Scandal? Nope, we’re talking about something even more provocative than Kerry Washington’s trembling lips. We’re talking about fat.
Fat makes healthy food taste great. It slows hunger and speeds nutrients into your body. And in the form of healthy fats from nuts, olives, avocado and fish, it even feeds your brain, protects your heart and trims your waistline.
But too much of a good thing can go terribly wrong. And that’s especially true of dietary fat. Most of what we eat today isn’t the healthy stuff, but the less-healthy saturated and trans fats—fats that come from animals or fats that are chemically altered to make them easier to work with, but harder on our health.
And when it comes to bad-for-you fat, today’s chain restaurants slather it on like an overprotective parent with a bottle of sunscreen. The Centers for Disease Control says that no more than 20 to 35 percent of total calories should come from fat—somewhere between 44 and 78 grams a day. (A gram of fat is worth 9 calories, for those of you keeping score at home.) Yet even a single meal at some chain restaurants can deliver once, twice, three times that amount. What’s truly amazing about the following list of the 10 fattiest foods in America is that half of them are appetizers, and only one is a dessert!
And to discover how healthy fats can make you thin, check out this indispensable list of 8 Fatty Foods That Make You Skinny.
#10 FATTIEST FOOD: Carrabba’s Italian Grill Calamari with Spicy Italian Peppers and Lemon Butter (regular size)
1,506 calories, 126 g fat, 53 g saturated fat, 8 g trans, 2,130 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: 15 McDonald’s Hamburgers!
Wait a minute: Isn’t calamari seafood? Shouldn’t that be lean and healthy? Carrabba’s tortures this squid the way SpongeBob tortures Squidward, rolling it in bread and deep-frying it in trans fats. The American Heart Association wants you to eliminate trans fats altogether, but at the high end, you should have no more than 2 grams in a single day. This appetizer (we repeat: APPETIZER!) delivers triple the total fat and four times the trans fat in an all-out arterial assault.
Eat This Instead:
Arancini
433 calories, 22 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 2,439 mg sodium
#9 FATTIEST FOOD: Uno Pizzeria & Grill Mega-Sized Deep Dish Sundae
2,700 calories, 130 g fat, 76 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 1,820 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: More than 31 pats of butter!
A giant cookie with a giant scoop of ice cream on top, this is an unjust dessert no matter how many people you might share it with. The insane levels of fat are made worse by an even crazier 244 grams of sugar. That’s more than what you’d find in 81 Hershey’s Kisses and nearly 10 times the World Health Organization’s daily recommendation. Satisfy your sweet tooth guilt-free with the definitive Eat This, Not That!
Eat This Instead:
Mini Hot Chocolate Brownie Sundae
320 calories, 16 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 170 mg sodium
#8 FATTIEST FOOD: Uno Pizzeria & Grill Deep Dish Mac & Cheese
1,980 calories, 134 g fat, 71 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 3,110 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: More than 28 thick-cut slices of bacon!
Consider that a serving of neon-orange Kraft Macaroni & Cheese made with milk and margarine is about 400 calories and 19 grams of fat, and you realize that you’d have to eat that for dinner for five straight days just to equal Uno’s fat and calorie counts. (Note: This dish contains three and a half days’ worth of saturated fat.) If you hanker for a hunk of cheese, the Baked Stuffed Spinoccoli is a chicken dish filled with feta, mozzarella, vegetables and flavorful spices that saves you nearly 110 grams of fat.
Eat This Instead:
Baked Stuffed Spinoccoli with Whole Grain Brown Rice and Roasted Seasonal Vegetable Side Dishes
620 calories, 24.5 g fat, 7.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 1,700 mg sodium
#7 FATTIEST FOOD: Chili’s Grill & Bar Bacon Ranch Beef Quesadilla
1,800 calories, 135 g fat, 46 g saturated fat, 0.5 g trans fat, 3,990 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: 54 Kraft 2% Milk American Cheese Slices!
This is a Mexican food, but in English, “bacon ranch beef quesadilla” roughly translates to “fatty fat fat-fat.” Bacon and beef are self-explanatory; ranch dressing is fat-based; and quesadillas have a double hit of the stuff, from both the cheese and the flour tortilla. Safer options at Chili’s can be found on their Southwest Pairings menu.
Eat This Instead:
Southwest Pairings Crispy Beef Taco with Rice, Black Beans and a Honey Lime Vinaigrette House Salad
760 calories, 34.5 g fat, 10.5 saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 2,800 mg sodium
#6 FATTIEST FOOD: On the Border Firecracker Stuffed Jalapenos with Salsa Ranch
1,900 calories, 138 g fat, 35 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 5,760 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: 15 scoops of Baskin Robbins Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream!
The results of stuffing anything with a firecracker are self-evident—or will be once you step on a scale. To prevent the explosion, pass up these flying fingers of fat and stick with the heart-healthy guac.
Eat This Instead:
Chips and Salsa with a Side of Guacamole
485 calories, 26 g fat, 3.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 550 mg sodium
#5 FATTIEST FOOD: Houlihan’s Wings & Things Appetizer Combo
2,333 calories, 146 g fat, 51 g saturated fat, 0 trans fat, 4,236 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: Over 4 cups of Tostitos spinach dip!
We’re not sure what the “Things” are, but they’re not good things. This app launches your evening with more than a day’s worth of calories, and more than two day’s worth of fat and sodium. Oh, and you haven’t even ordered dinner yet. (“Things” aren’t the grossest food you may be eating.
Eat This Instead:
Bruschetta
619 calories, 44 g fat, 17 g saturated fat, 0 trans fat, 822 mg sodium
#4 FATTIEST FOOD: On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos
2,240 calories, 155 g fat, 32 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 3,980 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: More Than 3 bottles of Coffee-Mate Girl Scouts Thin Mint creamer!
Run from the Border. Even the World’s Most Interesting Man wouldn’t have the nerve to enjoy Dos XX in the form of these fish tacos. He’d probably opt to save 145 grams of fat by ordering the Chicken Fajitas. Then he’d disappear with your date.
Eat This Instead:
Chicken Fajitas
320 calories, 14 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 770 mg sodium
#3 FATTIEST FOOD: Outback Steakhouse Plain Wings
1,919 calories 155.2 g fat, 53.1 g saturated fat, 3.5 g trans fat, 4,507 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: 13 regular sized Snickers bars!
Pairing this appetizer with a main dish at Outback will likely fill you up with five to six days’ worth of fat. It’s true, Outback says this is an “Aussie-tizer to share,” but there are only half a dozen wings in an order. Even if you split them with your date, you’re still getting more fat than you should eat in a whole day—before dinner comes.
Eat This Instead:
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
481 calories, 43.5 g fat, 23.7 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 871 mg sodium
#2 FATTIEST FOOD: Individual Size Deep Dish Chicago Classic Pizza
2,300 calories, 164 g fat, 53 g saturated fat, 1 g trans fat, 4,910 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: 4 ½ Whoppers!
As a general rule, “personal pies” are like “personal ads”—they’re places you go when you want to get into trouble. Nowhere is that more true than at Uno, where even their “individual” sizes are far better shared.
Eat This Instead:
Roasted Eggplant, Spinach and Feta Traditional Crust Flatbread
880 calories, 32 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 1,500 mg sodium
#1 FATTIEST FOOD: Outback Steakhouse Bloomin Onion with Bloom Sauce
2,097 calories, 176.5 g fat, 50.9 g saturated fat, 3.9 g trans fat, 4,357 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: almost 8 ½ slides of Domino’s Brooklyn-Style Buffalo Chicken pizza!
It should really be called the Wiltin’ Onion for its 2 ½ shotglasses worth of oils, primarily the inflammation-promoting omega-6 type. Even if—even if—you share this meal with three friends, each of you is getting about a day’s worth of fat and nearly as many calories as a Big Mac.
Eat This Instead:
Coconut Shrimp
614 calories, 34.5 g fat 18.3 g saturated fat, 1.6 g trans fat, 1,241 mg sodium
