10 Side dishes to Avoid

[Nightowl]

Side dishes exist to make entreés look more appealing. Picture a skinless baked chicken breast sitting alone on a plate. Boring, right? Now bring in its favorite wingman???a big scoop of barbecue baked beans, cornbread stuffing, or roasted red potatoes. Suddenly, that chicken dinner becomes a perfect meal.
But here???s the problem: Often, your wingman completely overdoes it. In nutritional terms, that???s precisely what???s happening at many of America???s favorite chain restaurants. As sides swell to more than 1,400 calories???yup, you read that right???they???ve begun to calorically upstage the entreés they're supposed to be supporting. That 350-calorie roast beef sandwich is a nutritional charmer until you tack on the 600-calorie side of fries???and that's before drinks and dessert join the party.
Your goal: Choose a side that complements your meal, not one that adds another meal's worth of calories to your waistline. To this end, here are the top 10 side dishes to avoid, from the pages of the new Eat This, Not That! No-Diet Diet!

10 worst side
Boston Market Sweet Potato Casserole
460 calories
16 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
270 mg sodium
Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet, and they???re loaded with fiber, carotenoids, and potassium. That said, restaurants rarely serve them without adding gluttonous loads of fat and sugar. This casserole is a perfect example???you could eat four sweet potatoes before matching the calories in just one serving. That's a pretty hefty portion of spuds for a side dish.
Eat This Instead!
Garlic Dill New Potatoes
140 calories
3 g fat (1 g saturated)
120 mg sodium

9 worst side
Ruby Tuesday???s Loaded Baked Potato
591 calories
29 g fat
545 mg sodium
This potato delivers nearly half the fat you should eat in an entire day, and much of that comes from the load of animal fats perched on top. Ruby Tuesday refuses to release a breakdown of its fat content, but we have to assume that a substantial portion of these 29 grams is saturated.
Eat This Instead!
Fresh Grilled Green Beans
45 calories
2 g fat
385 mg sodium

8 worst side:
IHOP Onion Rings
620 calories
34 g fat (6 g saturated; 0.5 g trans)
550 mg sodium
No, this does not count as a vegetable. Think of the onion as a mere seasoning for the crispy ring of oil-saturated breading wrapped around it. Eat one order of these rings a week, and you???ll add more than nine extra pounds of body fat a year! (Instead, pick up your copy of Eat This, Not That! 2011 and Cook This, Not That! Easy 350-Calorie Meals and watch the pounds melt away fast!)
Eat This Instead!
Seasoned Fries
300 calories
12 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
490 mg sodium

#7 Worst Side
Arby???s Mozzarella Sticks (Large)
660 calories
34 g fat (13 g saturated; 1 g trans)
1,780 mg sodium
These mozzarella sticks have 230 more calories than an Arby???s Bacon Cheddar Roastburger, not to mention more than half your day???s saturated fat and 80 percent of your sodium. Unfortunately, Arby???s doesn???t sell a single non-fried side, so you???ll have to either order a couple small sandwiches or downsize to a small order of Potato Cakes

Eat This Instead!
Potato Cakes (small)
260 calories
15 g fat (2 g saturated)
400 mg sodium

6 Worst Side
TGI Friday???s Loaded Mashed Potatoes
960 calories
Friday???s refuses to release its full nutritional content, and by looking at these potatoes, we can guess why. This thing is supposed to be a side dish, yet it contains more calories than an entire stick of butter. Unless Friday's decides to prove otherwise, you???d be smart to assume that the sodium and saturated fat counts are equally atrocious.
Eat This Instead!
Cole Slaw
100 calories

5 Worst Side
Dairy Queen Chili Cheese Fries
1,020 calories
71 g fat (28 g saturated; 0.5 g trans)
2,360 mg sodium
These numbers on this side dish are unacceptable even by dinner standards. A 170-pound person would have to jog for nearly 2 hours to burn off all 1,020 calories.
Eat This Instead!
Side Salad w/ Fat-Free Italian
40 calories
0 g fat
380 mg sodium

4 Worst Side
A&W Cheese Curds (Large)
1,140 calories
80 g fat (42 g saturated; 2.5 g trans)
2,440 mg sodium
This odious Midwestern creation takes the cheese-stick formula and makes it even more fattening. By trading sticks for curds, there's even more surface area on which to spackle oily breading. And therein lies the true nature of the beloved cheese curd???just one order is the saturated fat equivalent of seven McDonald???s cheeseburgers!
Eat This Instead!
Chili (bowl)
190 calories
6 g fat (2 g saturated)
640 mg sodium

3 Worst Side
Cheesecake Factory Macaroni & Cheese (side serving)
1,230 calories
46 g saturated fat
1,439 mg sodium
No matter what food category we explore, Cheesecake Factory consistently finds itself in the running for worst in America. The chain's Mac and Cheese is far and away the worst pasta side dish in the country. To put it into perspective, this dish packs nearly as many calories as two full boxes of Annie???s Macaroni and Cheese. Order it alongside a sandwich and you can be looking at upward of 3,000 calories???for lunch!
Eat This Instead!
Asparagus (side serving)
45 calories
0 g saturated fat
0 mg sodium

2 Worst Side
Baja Fresh Chips and Guacamole
1,340 calories
83 g fat (8 g saturated; 2.5 g trans)
950 mg sodium
Guacamole is loaded with healthy fats, fiber, and phytonutrients, so it should be part of your diet. That said, it's a calorie-dense food in America's restaurants, and eating it by the bucket alongside a mountain of oil-soaked chips is a quick way to pack on flab. A smarter move would be to order a 110-calorie side of guacamole with your meal, and then choose beans for your side.
Eat This Instead!
Pinto Beans
320 calories
1 g fat
840 mg sodium

1 Worst Side
Five Guys Fries (Large)
1,474 calories
71 g fat (14 g saturated)
213 mg sodium
If you ate one large order of these things every week for a year, you would take in more than 8 pounds of pure fat, all of it straight out of Five Guys??? deep fryer. What makes these fries so monumentally unhealthy? The portion???one order clocks in at a staggering 1.25 pounds. (And that doesn't include the extra fries they throw in the bag!) Your best bet is to downsize to a "regular" size and split them with a friend, or order the large and split it with five guys.
Eat This Instead!
Fries (1/2 of a Regular order)
310 calories
15 g fat (3 g saturated)
45 mg sodium

 

[x~factor]

Good stuff!

 

[Nightowl]

20 worst foods in america

20. CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN'S MAC AND CHEESE KIDS DISH
1,038 calories
38 g saturated fat
1,651 mg sodium

Pasta robed in melted cheese will never pass muster with the nutritionist set; nevertheless, there are some versions out there you can feel good about feeding your kid. Bob Evans, TGI Friday???s, and even Burger King all serve reasonable versions of the kiddie staple. CPK decidedly does not. This bowl represents about 70 percent of the calories the average 6-year-old should consume in a day. What???s worse, it delivers as much saturated fat as an adult should consume over the course of 48 hours. Good news is you can dissuade them from ordering the mac by suggesting the pizza instead. We doubt they???ll object.

19:STOUFFER'S CHICKEN POT PIE
1,160 calories
66 g fat (26 g saturated)
1,780 mg sodium
Of all the frozen options that fill out the supermarket aisles, none is more dubious than the pot pie. It sits in the freezer like a leaden bomb, ready to explode waistlines with a troubling mix of oil, cream, butter, and refined carbohydrates. (The package claims it serves two, but really, when have you ever split a pot pie?) The good news is that there are more than a few safe options for those looking for the rich, comforting flavors of a pot pie wi
thout the caloric consequences. This version of chicken à la king from Stouffer???s is our favorite of the bunch.

18: BLIMPIE'S SPECIAL VEGETARIAN SANDWICH
1,180 calories
59 g fat (18 g saturated)
3,540 mg sodium
Goes to show the risk in trusting buzz-terms. A ???vegetarian??? sandwich might sound like a guaranteed lean lunch, but after Blimpie tops it with multiple layers of cheese, an onslaught of sauces, and crushed Doritos (no joke), you???re left with a hunkin??? hoagie that gnaws through nearly your entire day???s fat allotment and more than 1½ days of sodium. You???d be better off with a towering bacon Dagwood (but really, you???d be best to opt for the vegetarian-friendly Mediterranean Ciabatta).

17. WENDY'S TRIPLE BACONATOR
1,350 calories
90 g fat (40 g saturated, 3.5 g trans)
2,780 mg sodium
America has caught bacon fever, making way for a market flooded with bacon-infused chocolates, bacon salts, and yes, even bacon sprays (spritz yourself with the essence of pig!). This profusion of porcine is a trend Wendy???s is taking full advantage of with its line of bacon-buoyed burgers. Consider the recipe here: three quarter-pound beef patties interspersed with nine strips of bacon, three slices of cheese, and a big smear of mayonnaise. It???s fat on top of fat on top of fat, 10 layers in all???a tower of nutritional terror

16. (TWICE IN THE WORST SECTION) LARGE GUY'S lrg. FRIES
1,464 calories
71 g fat (14 g saturated)
184 g carbohydrates
213 mg sodium
Americans consume more French fries than any other single vegetable. Scary stuff, especially when you see just how punishing a side of deep-fried potatoes can really be. The worst part is Five Guys offers no sensible solutions. There are no other sides on the menu, and even if you downgrade to a ???regular??? order, you still wind up with more calories than if you ordered one of Five Guys??? little bacon burgers. You???re better off ordering two ???little??? sandwiches and skipping the fries.

15. DOMINIO'S CHICKEN CARBONARA BREAD PASTA
1,480 calories
56 g fat (24 g saturated)
2,220 mg sodium
Edible bowls just might be the pinnacle of American gluttony. Next thing you know, restaurants will be serving Pepsi from cups made of chocolate. It sounds ridiculous, but the concept is exactly the same: refined carbs (pasta) served inside of refined carbs (white bread). It???s kryptonite for diabetics (and anyone who values self-preservation). The result isn???t just a stratospheric escalation of your blood sugar levels, but also the consumption of more than a day???s worth of saturated fat, 92 percent of your sodium allotment, and a punishing glut of calories. Skip the terrifying Frankenfood and stick to what Domino???s is known for: pizza.

14. WORST FAST-FOOD BREAKFAST HARDEE'S BISCUIT AND GRAVY W/ LARGE HASH ROUNDS
1,530 calories
110 g fat (26 g saturated)
3,020 mg sodium
Biscuits and gravy fall pretty low in the hierarchy of healthy breakfast options, and the two hockey pucks of sausage that Hardee???s throws on top don???t help matters (especially when you consider that the gravy is already studded with sausage). What that amounts to is a full day???s worth of saturated fat before you tack on the side of spuds. If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then this is one of the most important meals in America to avoid.

13. CHEESECAKE FACTORY'S GRILLED SHRIMP SANDWICH AND BACON CLUB:
1,746 calories
28 g saturated fat
2,306 mg sodium
It???s hard to imagine how a grilled-shrimp sandwich, even a triple decker with a hefty load of bacon on top, could possibly pack more calories than three Big Macs, but if the Cheesecake Factory has taught us anything, it???s that its cooks are capable of defying the laws of nutritional science with the dishes they create. Your safest bet is to skip the place entirely. Failing that, pass on the sandwiches and pastas ; instead, look to split a pizza with a friend or take half home in a box.

12. TGIF'S SANTA FE CHOPPED SALAD
1,800 calories
Rumor has it that Hollywood elite turn to the Friday???s salad section when it comes time to gain weight for onscreen roles. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but get too cozy with these leaves and you can expect some dire repercussions. The average entrée-size salad packs a walloping 1,216 calories, making it one of the most dangerous sections of an already-disastrous menu. It comes as no surprise that the Santa Fe emerges as the worst of this sad heap; Mexican- or Southwestern-themed salads???with their abundance of shredded cheese, greasy proteins, and tortilla chips???are the worst species of salad. If those are the flavors you???re after, why not a crunchy taco from Taco Bell? You could have a dozen for the same caloric cost.

11. PF CHANG'S DOUBLE PAN- FRIED NOODLE COMBO (PORK, BEEF, CHICKEN AND SHRIMP)
1,820 calories
84 g fat (8 g saturated, 3.5 g trans)
7,692 mg sodium

The human body needs about 1,500 milligrams of sodium each day to function properly. Anything beyond that is unnecessary, and possibly dangerous. And sure, Chinese food is notorious for its higher-than-usual salt factor, but few dishes we???ve seen come anywhere close to this number. It packs enough of the white stuff to meet your body???s needs for more than 5 days. And the rest of Chang???s menu isn???t much better. Stick with the Hong Kong Beef and plan to avoid the saltshaker for the next couple meals

10. OUTBACK BABY BACK RIBS (FULL RACK)
2,012 calories
160 g fat (59 g saturated)
2,600 mg sodium
Keep in mind that this caloric heft comes without the addition of Aussie Fries, which will invariably adorn most of the plates at Outback. Nor does it take into account the free brown bread and salad that comes with every entrée order. For all that you can factor in an extra 800 calories or so, bringing the total damage dangerously close to the 3,000-calorie threshold. That much energy will add nearly a pound of fat to your body, which means if you start eating this meal once a week, one year from today you???ll have 41 extra pounds of baby-back body fat hanging from your midsection.

9. DENNY'S SMOKIN' Q 3 PACK
2,020 calories
110 g fat (22 g saturated, 3 g trans)
3,570 mg sodium
Okay, technically this is three burgers, but the idea behind the mini-burger is that the restrained vessels will help you knock off some calories from the hulking mothership burger that inspired them. Rarely, though, does it actually work out that way. In fact, after searching high and low, we still haven???t found a single slider or mini-burger safe enough to order. Skip them all, but these especially, which up the caloric ante by crowning the not-so-mini patties with both bacon and onion crispers. They may look harmless, but this trio will knock out your entire day???s caloric allotment.

8. COLD STONE'S MILKSHAKE P B & C 24OZ
2,030 calories
131 g fat (68 g saturated, 2.5 g trans)
153 g sugars
A couple years ago, Baskin-­Robbins??? milk shake line could have easily claimed the top five worst drinks in America, but when it decided to reel in some of the caloric excesses, Cold Stone???s PB&C was left exposed as the biggest bully on the block. And the damage is severe: This blended peanut-butter-cup concoction makes it possible to slurp down a day???s worth of energy with a mere 10-minute straw session. We hope Cold Stone decides to follow Baskins??? lead and downsize this atrocity, but if not, we???re happy to keep doling out the negative publicity.

7. IHOP BIG COUNTRY BREAKFAST
2,040 calories
55 g saturated fat
159 g carbohydrates
4,500 mg sodium
Here???s the anatomy of a breakfast disaster: Take a 12-ounce steak, bread it, fry it, and then cover it with gravy. Then, on the side, drop three eggs and three buttermilk pancakes. Does it not occur to IHOP that this is actually three full meals? And that two of those meals???all but the eggs???are the sort of indulgences that should be eaten only in extreme moderation? If this is the first thing you eat in the morning, don???t even bother getting out of bed.

6. BAJA FRESH CHARBROILDED STEAK NACHOS
2,120 calories
118 g fat (44 g saturated, 4.5 g trans)
2,990 mg sodium
If the full day of calories doesn???t get you, then the 2 days of saturated fat will. If that saturated fat doesn???t bring you to your knees, then the 2 days of trans fat surely will. If the trans fat doesn???t wreak total havoc on your system . . . we could go on like this for days. Is it just us, or is it slightly disturbing that you could eat eight full steak tacos and still take in fewer calories than what???s found in this plate of cheesy chips? Stick to two tacos and save nearly a half pound of body fat in one sitting.

5. OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE KOOKABORA WINGS
2,145 calories
185 g fat (75 g saturated)
3,711 mg sodium
Outside of Outback, a kookaburra is an Australian bird that makes a noise like a chuckling human. Inside Outback, ???kookaburra??? denotes a piece of fried chicken that???s been lacquered with egregious amounts of fat and sodium. Even if you have two other victims to help defray the damage, you???ll still wind up with 715 calories and well over a day???s worth of saturated fat. It would be easier on your gut if you just skipped the appetizer and instead wolfed down a Burger King Whopper on your way to dinner.

4. UNO'S CHICAGE DEEP DISH GRILL CLASSIC (INVIDUAL SIZE)
2,310 calories
165 g fat (54 g saturated)
4,920 mg soidum
In all the years we???ve been putting this list together, this pizza from Uno???s is the only item to never budge from the hyper-caloric countdown. While a number of burgers, salads, and pastas battle it out for the dubious distinction of being America???s worst, there is simply no competition for this nightmarish creation. With a day???s worth of calories, more than 2 days??? worth of sodium, and nearly 3 days??? worth of fat, bread, cheese, and sauce have never been stretched to such extremes.

3.CHEESECAKE FACTORY CRISPY CHICKEN COSTOLETTO
2,494 calories
85 g saturated fat
1,677 mg sodium
Here???s the secret to stuffing more than a day???s worth of energy???mostly from fat???into a plate of chicken and vegetables: First, pound the chicken until it???s paper thin. That provides the most possible surface area on which to attach oily breading. Then, cover the whole plate with a layer of butter. In this case, Cheesecake uses what they call ???lemon sauce,??? but don???t be fooled. You don???t get 4 days??? worth of saturated fat from lemons. To complete the caper, toss on a few token asparagus spears to make them think they???re eating healthy. Yeah, right. Nice try.

2. UNO'S GRILLED MEGA-SIZED DEEP DISH SUNDAE
2,800 calories
136 g fat (72 g saturated)
272 g sugars
Uno Chicago Grill has a dangerous obsession with deep dishes. Not content merely serving the worst pizza in America from those calorie-collecting troughs, they use the same vessel to dish out the worst dessert in the country, too. The crust is replaced with an enormous cookie, the tomato sauce with a thick river of molten chocolate, and the cheese with a mountain of vanilla ice cream. The only thing keeping this from the bottom slot in our Worst Food countdown is the fact that Uno???s encourages sharing, but even if you split this dessert four ways, you???ll still take in more than twice as many calories as you would with a hot fudge sundae at McDonald???s.

1. CHEESECAKE BISTRO SHRIMP PASTA
2,727 calories
78 g saturated fat
1,737 mg sodium
The troubling truth is this entire list of America???s Worst Foods could be fueled solely by the Cheesecake Factory???s atrocious fare. No restaurant combines elephantine portion sizes with a heavy-handed application of cheap cooking fats more recklessly than the Factory folk, resulting in dishes like the 2,582-calorie Chicken and Biscuits and the 2,455-calorie French Toast Napoleon. But it???s a relatively healthy-sounding plate of shrimp pasta that wears the tainted crown, delivering to your bloodstream more saturated fat than you???d find in three packages of Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon and as many carbs as you???d slurp down from 1½ cases of Amstel Light. Gross.

 

[IronAddict]

2. UNO'S GRILLED MEGA-SIZED DEEP DISH SUNDAE
2,800 calories
136 g fat (72 g saturated)
272 g sugars
Uno Chicago Grill has a dangerous obsession with deep dishes. Not content merely serving the worst pizza in America from those calorie-collecting troughs, they use the same vessel to dish out the worst dessert in the country, too. The crust is replaced with an enormous cookie, the tomato sauce with a thick river of molten chocolate, and the cheese with a mountain of vanilla ice cream. The only thing keeping this from the bottom slot in our Worst Food countdown is the fact that Uno???s encourages sharing, but even if you split this dessert four ways, you???ll still take in more than twice as many calories as you would with a hot fudge sundae at McDonald???s.

OMG! This may taste really good, but it sounds like a heart attack coming up on monday.

 

[Muscle_Girl]

4 Worst Side
A&W Cheese Curds (Large)
1,140 calories
80 g fat (42 g saturated; 2.5 g trans)
2,440 mg sodium
This odious Midwestern creation takes the cheese-stick formula and makes it even more fattening. By trading sticks for curds, there's even more surface area on which to spackle oily breading. And therein lies the true nature of the beloved cheese curd???just one order is the saturated fat equivalent of seven McDonald???s cheeseburgers!
Eat This Instead!
Chili (bowl)
190 calories
6 g fat (2 g saturated)
640 mg sodium

God damn, I wish I could try this. Sounds so awesome. A try would all it would be tho Sometimes Canadians get the shaft from the good stuff

 

[sassy69]

Jeezus. I can honestly say none of those even sound remotely appealing.

 

[Built]

Really? A lot of it sounds great to me!

I wonder why all the hate on saturated animal fat? I love saturated animal fat - it's natural, and your body knows what to do with it. I hate it that it gets lumped in with transfat, which is really more of a plastic than a food.

 

[danzik17]

Really? A lot of it sounds great to me!

I wonder why all the hate on saturated animal fat? I love saturated animal fat - it's natural, and your body knows what to do with it. I hate it that it gets lumped in with transfat, which is really more of a plastic than a food.

Yea, but the amount of sat. fat you're getting really throws the ratio of fat you're getting off, right?

Unless I'm wrong (which at this point wouldn't surprise me), you don't want to eat significantly more sat. than monos frequently.