Xtreme Eating Awards: The Losers Are…
January 17, 2013Xtreme Eating Awards: The Losers Are...
Did you know that there is a nonprofit organization called the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)? Well, there is! CSPI is a consumer advocacy organization that was founded in 1971. Its primary focus is on food safety, nutrition and health, and alcohol policy.
For six years, the CSPI has released Xtreme Eating Awards winners better known as dis-honorees. The seventh annual awards were recently announced and the dis-honorees AKA" losers" includes restaurants with high calorie, super-sized, unhealthy dishes which only serve to add to the obesity epidemic and the companies bottom dollar.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, the average adult should consume approximately 2,000 calories a day. The Xtreme Eating Awards should be a wake-up call for consumers as many of these dishes include almost a whole days worth of calories (sometimes more!) than one should consume. Coming in at number one (and a two-time loser this year) is The Cheesecake Factory! The Cheesecake Factory has received eight "awards" in the last few years-more than any other restaurant chain! Talk about a WOW moment...and not the good kind!
Is your favorite dish on the list of award winning losers? You might be surprised! The losers include:
1. The Cheesecake Factory's Bistro Shrimp Pasta. This creamy dish with breaded shrimp has 3,120 calories, 89 grams of saturated fat, and 1,090 milligrams of sodium! That's one artery screaming meal!
2. The Cheesecake Factory's Crispy Chicken Costoletta. It's chicken and lightly breaded and so it shouldn't be that bad right? Wrong! Welcome to 2,610 calories, 89 grams of saturated fat, and 2,720 milligrams of sodium! Oh, but it's served with asparagus and mashed potatoes so what the heck? Well, here's the skinny...this dish has more calories and fat than an entire bucket of KFC Original Recipe Fried Chicken!
3. Johnny Rockets Bacon Cheddar Double. This double trouble burger consists of two one-third-pound beef patties, four slices of cheddar cheese, and four strips of bacon. Oh, did I mention that there is a “special” sauce? The damage to your diet: 1,770 calories, 50 grams of saturated fat, and 2,380 milligrams of sodium. Oh my!
4. Maggiano’s Veal Porterhouse. Drizzled with butter sauce, this yummy dish sets you back with 1,900 calories, 40 grams of saturated fat, and 2,860 milligrams of sodium. If you decide to eat the half a pound of fried, roasted, and garlic-buttered red potatoes served with the veal, you can celebrate 2,710 calories (almost 11⁄2 days’ worth), 45 grams of saturated fat, and 3,700 mg of sodium!
5. Smoothie King's Peanut Power Plus Grape Smoothie. Smoothie's must be healthy right? Not always. Sip this smoothie and you will slurp away 1,460 calories and 22 teaspoons of added sugar!
6. IHOP's Country Fried Steak & Eggs. With breakfast being such an important jump start to your day, this meal does you no favors! An 8 oz. fried beef steak smothered in country gravy and served with two eggs, two buttermilk pancakes, and hash browns will weigh your body down with 1,760 calories, 23 grams of saturated fat, and 3,720 milligrams of sodium. And if you add the typical quarter cup of syrup you can consider that 11 teaspoons of sugar!
7. Uno Chicago Grill's Deep Dish Macaroni & 3-Cheese. Four serious cups of pasta, three cheeses...Cheddar, Parmesan, and Romano compliment an Alfredo sauce made from heavy cream, rendered chicken fat, butter, and a crushed Ritz Cracker topping. 1,980 calories await you, as well as 71 grams of saturated fat, and 3,110 mg of sodium!
Other Xtreme Eating Award winning establishments and dishes include: Johnny Rocket's Big Apple Shake; Chilli's Full Rack of Baby Back Ribs with Shiner Bock BBQ Sauce; and Maggiano’s Chocolate Zuccotto Cake.
"It's as if IHOP, The Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano's Little Italy, and other major restaurant chains are scientifically engineering these extreme meals with the express purpose of promoting obesity, diabetes, and heart disease," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "You'd think that the size of their profits depended on their increasing the size of your pants."
It should be noted that most of these restaurants include healthy menu selections and what you choose to order is exactly that: a choice.
According to the FDA, chain restaurant menus will soon be required to post calorie counts on their menus. Yea!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends keeping sodium intake between 2,300 to 1,500 milligrams per day for most people, preferably at the lower end of that scale.
