What's Left to Eat (Out)?It's been six years since we started making national news with our (mostly depressing) analyses of some of the most popular dishes served at restaurants. Was anyone in the industry listening? Several years ago, we analyzed a sampling of 17 dishes from some of the biggest sit-down dinner-house and family-style chains' "healthy" or "low-fat" menus. While our numbers didn't always match those published by the restaurants, most were in the ballpark. (So were most of the numbers in a later analysis at Auburn University Auburn University, main campus at Auburn, Ala.; land-grant and state supported; opened 1859 as East Alabama Male College, reorganized 1872 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama; became coeducational 1892; renamed Alabama Polytechnic Institute 1899, in Alabama.(1)) So this time around, we simply asked the chains for nutrition numbers ... and we tasted the food. What we found was, for the most part, surprisingly good. In general, you can count on three things: * Less fat. Most "healthy" dishes are lower in total fat, saturated fat saturated fat, any solid fat that is an ester of glycerol and a saturated fatty acid. The molecules of a saturated fat have only single bonds between carbon atoms; if double bonds are present in the fatty acid portion of the molecule, the fat is said to be , and calories--but no lower in sodium--than what's on What's On (Traditional Chinese: 熒幕八爪娛) is a weekly half-hour TV series that airs on Fairchild Television. Format Originally started in 1996, the show is currently the longest-running program in Fairchild Television history. the rest of the menu. * Grilled chicken galore. Restaurants are putting it in "healthy" salads, sandwiches, tortillas, and pasta dishes. But many also offer shrimp or vegetable dishes. * More veggies Veggies of Nottingham, also known as Veggies Catering Campaign, is a campaigning group based in Nottingham, England, promoting ethicalbum alternatives to mainstream fast food. . Most "healthy" menus offer more vegetables--broccoli, corn on the cob, tomato pasta salad, whatever--instead of french fries French fry n. A thin strip of potato fried in deep fat. Often used in the plural. . Less fat and more veggies is a double bargain. But our findings aren't clad in stone. A few cautions: 1. Some companies' nutrition information is incomplete. Only half the chains gave us all the numbers we asked for (see chart on p. 13). 2. Don't expect precision. The "Nutrition Facts" on food labels come from laboratory analyses. But the numbers on restaurant menus can be calculated from recipes. How accurate is that information? How much of the fat from the grill ends up on the chicken, shrimp, or bun BUN blood urea nitrogen; see urea nitrogen. BUN abbr. blood urea nitrogen Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) ? Who knows? 3. Not your restaurant? We looked at the 100 biggest dinner-house sit-down restaurant chains The following is a list of restaurant chains. See also: Fast-food restaurant, Casual dining, List of reference tables. International
Applebee's The Low-Fat and Fabulous menu has six entrees with five to 11 grams of fat. Unfortunately, the 1,100 to 2,500 milligrams of sodium are par for the course when you eat out. Most-innovative is the Low-Fat Veggie Quesadilla--mushrooms, red peppers red pepper: see pepper. , onion, broccoli broccoli (brŏk`əlē) [Ital.,=sprouts], variety of cabbage grown for the edible immature flower panicles. It is the same variety (Brassica oleracea botrytis) as the cauliflower and is similarly cultivated. , carrots, and non-fat melted cheese sandwiched between two whole-wheat tortillas and served with fat-free sour cream. You get eight grams of total fat (11 for the Low-Fat Chicken Fajita fa·ji·ta n. A dish consisting of strips of marinated meat, poultry, or vegetables that are grilled over an open fire and served in a tortilla, usually with spicy condiments. Often used in the plural. Quesadillas) instead of the 40 grams (59 grams with the sour cream and guacamole) in the cheese quesadillas served at typical Mexican restaurants. Add a salad and you've got a meal. But watch out. When the Auburn researchers analyzed two low-fat Chicken Fajita Quesadillas from an Applebee's in Atlanta, each sample had just five grams of fat. But at an Applebee's in Alabama, the fat ranged from 10 grams to 85 grams. (The regular quesadillas had 59 grams.) Note to company headquarters: Your Low-Fat & Fabulous Brownie brownie, in Celtic folklore, household spirit associated with farmsteads. Brownies help with chores, but, if criticized, they will make mischief, such as spoiling crops. If payment other than food is offered a brownie, he vanishes from a farm forever. Sundae isn't worth the 420 calories. BENNIGAN'S GRILL & TAVERN tavern: see inn. The most original of the five Health Club entrees is the Club Sandwich, made with low-fat jalapeno cheese and no-fat "mustardaise." Its ten grams of fat beat the 34 grams in a typical turkey club sandwich. The dynamite dynamite, explosive made from nitroglycerin and an inert, porous filler such as wood pulp, sawdust, kieselguhr, or some other absorbent material. The proportions vary in different kinds of dynamite; often ammonium nitrate or sodium nitrate is added. Cookie cookie File or part of a file put on a Web user's hard disk by a Web site. Cookies are used to store registration data, to make it possible to customize information for visitors to a Web site, to target Web advertising, and to keep track of the products a user wishes to Sundae stuffs low-fat ice cream between two chocolate cookies with sliced banana. What makes the dish is its rich, thick, hot, fat-free caramel and chocolate syrup syrup /syr·up/ (sir´up) a concentrated solution of a sugar, such as sucrose, in water or other aqueous liquid, sometimes with a medicinal agent added; usually used as a flavored vehicle for drugs. . Lotsa sugar but just seven grams of fat. CHI-CHI'S The Low-Fat Grilled Chicken Soft Tacos were sauce-less (maybe our servers forgot that they're supposed to come with salsa). And we couldn't find much flavor in the Low-Fat Chicken Enchiladas served at two Chi-Chi's in the Washington, D.C., area. The only bright spot: You can add a decent Dinner Salad (from the regular menu) for just $1.49. chilis GRILL & BAR "Variations on a Theme of Grilled Chicken." That's what Chili's Guiltless guilt·less adj. Free of guilt; innocent. guilt  less·ly adv.guilt Grill menu boils down to. The Chicken Pasta Primavera Pasta primavera is an Italian dish that consists of pasta and fresh vegetables. A meat such as chicken, sausage or shrimp can be added if desired, but the focus of primavera is the vegetables themselves. , Chicken Platter One of the disks in a hard disk drive. Each platter provides a top and bottom recording surface. There may be only one or several platters in a drive with each platter having its own pair of read/write heads. See magnetic disk. , and Pita "Pain in the ass." See digispeak. PITA - Pain in the arse/ass. were the most successful--generous portions of moist, flavorful flavorful - flavour chicken, plenty of vegetables in the Pasta and the Platter, rich-tasting black beans black bean see castanospermum australe, erythrophleumchlorostachys. as a side dish side dish n. A dish served as an accompaniment to the main course. Noun 1. side dish - a dish that is served with, but is subordinate to, a main course entremets, side order , and a spicy Southwest dressing for the Pita. The refreshing Chicken Salad tops its iceberg iceberg, mass of ice that has become detached, or calved, from the edge of an ice sheet or glacier and is floating on the ocean. Because ice is slightly less dense than water about one ninth of the total mass of a berg projects above the water. and green leaf lettuce with those same black beans, plus corn, bell peppers, green onions, and the Southwest dressing (it comes on the side). The dish may not taste like chicken Caesar salad caesar salad n. A tossed salad of greens, anchovies, croutons, and grated cheese with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and a raw or coddled egg. , but its five grams of fat--and 270 calories--look awfully good next to the 46 grams--and 660 calories--in a chicken Caesar (with dressing). (The Auburn researchers found that Chili's numbers were right on target.) The Olive Garden  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . From the vegetable-packed Minestrone to the out-of-this-world Apple Caramellina dessert, the Garden Fare menu is in bloom (and its numbers are reliable, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Auburn researchers). Yes, the Caramellina's baked apple, fat-free vanilla ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1968), better known as Vanilla Ice, is a Grammy Award nominated, American Music Award winning American rapper and actor known mostly for the 1990 single "Ice Ice Baby. cream, and caramel syrup pack 570 calories--about the same as a Garden Fare dinner entree--but a slice of apple pie apple pie typical, wholesome American dessert. [Am. Culture: Flexner, 68] See : America plus a scoop of ice cream at another restaurant could run you 690 calories ... and a day's worth of artery-clogging saturated and trans fat trans fat n. 1. A trans fatty acid. 2. Trans fatty acids considered as a group. trans fat A fat containing trans fatty acids. . Olive Garden offers seven Garden Fare entrees, all with no more than 18 grams of fat (no more than six of them saturated) ... and all delicious. If you love spicy, get the Grilled Chicken Capri. A roasted red pepper sauce complements the chicken, angel hair pasta, fresh spinach spinach, annual plant (Spinacia oleracea) of the family Chenopodiaceae (goosefoot family), probably of Persian origin and known to have been introduced into Europe in the 15th cent. , and sauteed vegetables. Divine. Hint: Whatever entree you choose, limit your unlimited breadsticks to one (and get it plain) and order your salad dressing on the side. Ruby Tuesday Ruby offers just two Fit'n Trim selections (and a terrific salad bar). The tasty Herb-Grilled Chicken Sandwich Noun 1. chicken sandwich - a sandwich made with a filling of sliced chicken sandwich - two (or more) slices of bread with a filling between them comes with a low-fat tomato pasta salad that beats the usual, full-of-trans-fat fries. The seven grams of fat for sandwich-plus-salad clobber (jargon) clobber - To overwrite, usually unintentionally: "I walked off the end of the array and clobbered the stack." Compare mung, scribble, trash, smash the stack. the 20 grams in a McDonald's Grilled Chicken Deluxe sandwich (42 grams if you get it with a large fries). If you've had it with grilled chicken, try the Shrimp & Veggie Pasta. It's unusual to find not-over-cooked broccoli, cauliflower cauliflower (kô`lĭflou'ər, käl`ĭ–), variety of cabbage, with an edible head of condensed flowers and flower stems. Broccoli is the horticultural variety (botrytis); both were cultivated in Roman times. , and snow peas snow pea n. 1. A variety of the common pea (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon) in the pea family, having a soft pod that lacks the fibrous inner lining of the common pea. 2. The edible young pod of this plant. outside of a Chinese restaurant See:
adj. Being or served with a sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spices: spaghetti marinara. n. Marinara sauce. has a kick that's reminiscent of shrimp cocktail and the Parmesan adds flavor without much fat. T.G.I. FRIDAY'S T.G.I. Friday's (often referred to as just "Fridays") is a popular American restaurant chain focusing on casual dining, with over 500 restaurants across the United States, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Australia and the UK, as well as many other countries around the world. The meatless Gardenburger from the More Good Stuff menu is delicious. It's loaded with onion, lettuce, tomato, pickle pickle, general term for fruits or vegetables preserved in vinegar or brine, usually with spices or sugar or both. Vegetables commonly pickled include the beet, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, olive, onion, pepper, and tomato. , and chili (language) CHILI - D.L. Abt. A language for systems programming, based on ALGOL 60 with extensions for structures and type declarations. ["CHILI, An Algorithmic Language for Systems Programming", CHI-1014, Chi Corp, Sep 1975] yogurt sauce. When we tested samples in 1995, we found 19 grams of fat, not the 11 grams that are listed on the menu. The Auburn researchers found 22 grams. Any of those numbers is better than the 36 grams of fat in typical ground beef hamburgers like those from Friday's. And the Gardenburger comes with a heavenly black-eyed pea pea, hardy, annual, climbing leguminous plant (Pisum sativum) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), grown for food by humans at least since the early Bronze Age; no longer known in the wild form. and corn salsa that makes you wonder why other restaurants can't think beyond french fries. The nicely seasoned grilled Pacific Coast Chicken comes with a generous two-cup serving of tender-crisp broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, bell peppers, and squash. (Get the dish with the Oriental vinaigrette instead of the cloying plum sauce Noun 1. plum sauce - for Chinese dishes: plum preserves and chutney sauce - flavorful relish or dressing or topping served as an accompaniment to food , and mix it into your pasta.) HEALTHIER RESTAURANT FARE Here are the "healthy," "low-fat," etc., dishes from the largest sit-down dinner-house restaurant chains. (We skipped family-style chains like Denny's and Shoney's.) Not every dish in the chart is available at each restaurant, and some restaurants may offer dishes that aren't in the chart. Our numbers have been updated by each chain, so they may not match what's on the menus. "For Comparison" items are taken from our ongoing analyses of restaurant food. Within each section, items are ranked from least to most saturated fat, then total fat and sodium. All numbers are from the dinner menus. Salad numbers are for full-size salads.
Total Fat Sat Fat
Applebee's (Low-Fat and Fabulous) Calories (grams) (grams)
Bikini Banana Low-Fat Strawberry
Shortcake 250 2 0
Low-Fat&Fabulous Brownie Sundae 420 2 0
Low-Fat Veggie Quesadilla 340 8 0
Low-Fat Marble Cheesecake 260 2 1
Low-Fat Blackened Chicken Salad
with dressing 410 5 1
Low-Fat Chicken Fajita
Quesadillas 520 11 1
Low-Fat Garlic Chicken Pasta 590 8 2
Low-Fat Asian Chicken Salad
with dressing 620 9 2
Low-Fat Lemon Chicken Pasta 530 11 4
Bennigan's (Health Club)
Grilled Shrimp with rice and
steamed broccoli -- 6 --
Cookie Sundae -- 7 --
chicken Platter (two chicken
breasts with rice
and steamed broccoli) -- 9 --
chicken sandwich with carrot
and celery sticks -- 9 --
Club Sandwich with carrot and
celery sticks -- 10 --
Stir Fry with vegetables -- 10 --
with shrimp -- 10 --
with chicken -- 14 --
Chi-Chi's
Low-Fat Grilled Chicken Soft
Tacos (2) with Spanish rice
and steamed vegetables 690 7 --
Low-Fat Chicken Enchiladas (2)
with Spanish rice and
steamed vegetables 690 19 --
Chili's (Guiltless Grill)
Chicken Salad with dressing 270 5 1
Chicken Sandwich with black
beans and steamed vegetables 530 8 2
Chicken Platter (grilled chicken
breast with rice, corn on the
cob, and steamed vegetables) 560 9 3
Pasta Primavera 680 13 4
Chicken Pasta Primavera 790 15 5
Pita with black beans 600 9 --
Olive Garden (Garden Fare)
Minestrone 100 1 0
Breadstick, plain (1) 140 2 0
Linguine alla Marinara 530 9 1
Apple Caramellina 570 3 2
Chicken Giardino 550 11 4
Capellini Primavera 600 12 4
Grilled Chicken Capri 550 12 4
Capellini Pomodoro 620 16 4
Shrimp Primavera 730 12 5
Capellini Primavera
with Chicken 760 18 6
Ruby Tuesday (Fit'n Trim)
Herb-Grilled Chicken
Sandwich with low-fat
tomato pasta salad 540 7 --
Shrimp & Veggie Pasta 760 9 --
T.G.I. Friday's (More
Good Stuff)
Salad and Baked Potato 280 0 --
Fresh Vegetable Medley
with baked potato 470 7 --
Fresh Vegetable Medley with
rice pilaf 410 8 --
Pacific Coast Chicken (grilled
chicken breast and vegetables
over linguini) 420 8 --
Friday's Gardenburger with
black-eyed pea and corn salsa 650 11 --
FOR COMPARISON
Garlic bread (2 slices) 190 9 2
McDonald's Grilled Chicken
Deluxe sandwich 440 20 3
Spaghetti With marinara sauce 850 17 4
Shrimp in garlic sauce with rice 950 27 4
Grilled chicken dinner with
vegetable and baked
potato with sour cream 640 14 5(*)
Chicken stir-fry with rice 700 23 7(*)
Soft chicken tacos (2) 420 22 8
with beans and rice 1,020 43 15
Turkey club sandwich 740 34 10(*)
Chicken Caesar salad
with dressing 660 46 11(*)
Bacon & cheese grilled
chicken sandwich 650 30 12(*)
with french fries 1,230 61 24(*)
Chicken enchiladas (2) 660 36 12
with beans and rice 1,260 57 19
Hamburger 660 36 17(*)
with french fries 1,240 67 29(*)
Cheese quesadillas 680 40 17
with sour cream and
guacamole 900 59 24
Apple pie with 1 scoop of
vanilla ice cream 690 37 19(*)
Fudge brownie sundae 1,130 57 30(*)
The Cheesecake Factory Original
Cheesecake(1 slice) 710 49 31(*)
Cholesterol Sodium
Applebee's (Low-Fat and Fabulous) (mg) (mg)
Bikini Banana Low-Fat Strawberry
Shortcake 10 220
Low-Fat&Fabulous Brownie Sundae 5 420
Low-Fat Veggie Quesadilla 5 1,140
Low-Fat Marble Cheesecake 10 380
Low-Fat Blackened Chicken Salad
with dressing 80 2,190
Low-Fat Chicken Fajita
Quesadillas 35 2,240
Low-Fat Garlic Chicken Pasta 40 1,550
Low-Fat Asian Chicken Salad
with dressing 75 2,490
Low-Fat Lemon Chicken Pasta 50 2,440
Bennigan's (Health Club)
Grilled Shrimp with rice and
steamed broccoli -- --
Cookie Sundae -- --
chicken Platter (two chicken
breasts with rice
and steamed broccoli) -- --
chicken sandwich with carrot
and celery sticks -- --
Club Sandwich with carrot and
celery sticks -- --
Stir Fry with vegetables -- --
with shrimp -- --
with chicken -- --
Chi-Chi's
Low-Fat Grilled Chicken Soft
Tacos (2) with Spanish rice
and steamed vegetables -- --
Low-Fat Chicken Enchiladas (2)
with Spanish rice and
steamed vegetables -- --
Chili's (Guiltless Grill)
Chicken Salad with dressing 45 1,480
Chicken Sandwich with black
beans and steamed vegetables 45 2,920
Chicken Platter (grilled chicken
breast with rice, corn on the
cob, and steamed vegetables) 60 3,280
Pasta Primavera 125 760
Chicken Pasta Primavera 165 1,200
Pita with black beans 35 2,370
Olive Garden (Garden Fare)
Minestrone 0 650
Breadstick, plain (1) 0 270
Linguine alla Marinara 0 1,100
Apple Caramellina 10 230
Chicken Giardino 85 1,000
Capellini Primavera 10 1,450
Grilled Chicken Capri 70 1,660
Capellini Pomodoro 10 1,620
Shrimp Primavera 255 1,580
Capellini Primavera
with Chicken 50 2,190
Ruby Tuesday (Fit'n Trim)
Herb-Grilled Chicken
Sandwich with low-fat
tomato pasta salad -- 1,320
Shrimp & Veggie Pasta -- 1,680
T.G.I. Friday's (More
Good Stuff)
Salad and Baked Potato 5 --
Fresh Vegetable Medley
with baked potato 25 --
Fresh Vegetable Medley with
rice pilaf 0 --
Pacific Coast Chicken (grilled
chicken breast and vegetables
over linguini) 70 --
Friday's Gardenburger with
black-eyed pea and corn salsa 15 --
FOR COMPARISON
Garlic bread (2 slices) 10 250
McDonald's Grilled Chicken
Deluxe sandwich 60 1,040
Spaghetti With marinara sauce 30 1,450
Shrimp in garlic sauce with rice 305 2,950
Grilled chicken dinner with
vegetable and baked
potato with sour cream 150 820
Chicken stir-fry with rice 15 2,330
Soft chicken tacos (2) 130 1,100
with beans and rice 145 2,700
Turkey club sandwich 105 1,840
Chicken Caesar salad
with dressing 130 1,490
Bacon & cheese grilled
chicken sandwich 145 1,650
with french fries 145 2,110
Chicken enchiladas (2) 170 1,240
with beans and rice 190 2,850
Hamburger 130 810
with french fries 135 1,270
Cheese quesadillas 85 1,100
with sour cream and
guacamole 105 1,630
Apple pie with 1 scoop of
vanilla ice cream 40 475
Fudge brownie sundae 115 400
The Cheesecake Factory Original
Cheesecake(1 slice) 115 --
-- information not available. (*) includes artery-clogging trans fat. Source: Manufacturers and Nutrition Action Healthletter restaurant studies. Chart compiled by Ingrid VanTuinen. (1) J. Amer. Diet. Assoc. 99: 729, 1999.3 |
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