Group Warns of 'Extreme' Restaurant Meals
Calories, Fat, and Sodium in Some Restaurant Meals Exceed Healthy Daily Limits
By Todd Zwillich
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD
May 25, 2010 -- The latest list of terrible-for-you restaurant food is out, with consumer groups accusing big national chains of packing huge amounts of calories onto unsuspecting diners.

“Compared to some of the foods we’re seeing in restaurants now, the Big Mac seems downright dainty,” says Michael Jacobson, executive director of the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

The group took aim at half a dozen meals served at popular restaurant chains, noting that many contain far more calories, fat, trans fat, sodium, or sugar in one serving that most adults are supposed to get in a single day. While the recently signed health reform law requires chain restaurants with 20 or more locations to post calorie counts in their menus and on menu boards starting in 2011, Jacobson says restaurants should improve labeling now.

The CSPI highlighted the several items and urged consumers to beware of their big calorie counts. Dietary guidelines suggest most U.S. adults limit their daily intake to about 2,000 calories.

Bob Evans’ Cinnamon Cream Stacked & Packed Stuffed Hotcakes: The CSPI measured the dish at 1,380 calories and 34 grams of fat. The pancakes have 7 grams of trans fat despite claims on Bob Evans’ menu that the restaurant uses no-trans-fat cooking oil, according to the CSPI.
California Pizza Kitchen Tostada Pizza with Grilled Steak: 1,680 calories, 32 grams of saturated fat (50% more than is recommended for U.S. adults), and 3,300 milligrams of sodium.
Five Guys Bacon Cheeseburger: One burger contains 920 calories and 30 grams of saturated fat. But the CSPI says the real calories are in Five Guys fries: one large order of fries contains nearly 1,500 calories.
P.F. Chang’s Double Pan-Fried Noodles Combo: 1,820 calories and 7,690 milligrams of sodium, more than a five-day supply. “The noodles end up hard and crunchy, you end up soft and flabby,” quips Bonnie Liebman, the CSPI's director of nutrition.
Cheesecake Factory Pasta Carbonara with Chicken: 2,500 calories (25% more than an adult should get in a whole day) and 85 grams of saturated fat are hidden in this big plate of pasta with cream sauce, according to the CSPI.
Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake: The “three-quarter-pound slab of cake” has 1,670 calories and 48 grams of saturated fat, the CSPI says. Even dividing it in half would approach half the calories one adult should get in a day, says Jacobson.
The National Restaurant Association says the CSPI’s report “paints a distorted picture of restaurants based on a single menu item.”

“Certainly there are indulgent items on menus, but there are more diet-conscious items on menus than ever before, and our customers know it,” Michael Donohue, the organization’s chief spokesman, says in a statement.

Donohue says restaurants support the new food labeling standards for chains set to take effect in 2011.
http://www.webmd.com/food...rant-meals

Cheesecake Factory is fantastic!

the Pasta Carbonara with Chicken is to die for.

Last time i was there I stood waiting next to a pretty famous person for over 2 hours. (I acted like I had no idea who he was, even when people asked for an autograph a few times I told them " give me a break, we are just trying to have a nice conversation please..." and I always said things like "that was weird" or "that happens to me all the time.")

Cheesecake Factory is some damn good eating . . . .

SUPRMAN said:

i am drooling!

SUPRMAN said:

yes it is

SUPRMAN said:

Honest to God...it is NOT hard to keep a balanced, healthy diet.

Why and how did this become such a mystery to so many people?

meow85 said:

Eating healthy conflicts with what we want, when we want it.
Children don't have to eat a balanced diet if they bitch loud and long enough, so they don't learn that it means anything to them.
Vegetables aren't going to make a person feel good. If it doesn't feel good, why bother?

Hey, people should eat what they want to eat. But seriously, don't pretend not to know that food like that is bad for you.

SUPRMAN said:

I have to ask...

That pasta carbonara sounds obscene... for anyone that has had it.... does it look out of place on the menu? What I mean is, does the menu say something along the lines of "Our super duper pasta piled high and generous and super filling", or is it just another item on the menu?

For those who have had it, is it particularly larger than your average pasta at a restaurant?

I'm just curious because Pasto Carbonara is such a normal thing on menus, and now I wonder how high up there other menu items that I didn't think would be super horrible actually are.

savoirfaire said:

I never understood why there has to be cream in a carbonara.
Italians make it with just some pancetta, olive oil, egg yolk and parmesan cheese. You don't need salt, just some pepper when serving it.

I love a good carbonara but cream in pasta makes me hurl.

MacDaddy said:

I like it better without the cream also.

SUPRMAN said:

...Veggies make me feel pretty awesome. Maybe people aren't cooking them right?

A lot of it, as far as I can tell, stems from habits learned as kids. Teach children how to eat and as adults it won't be much of a task. It's not just a matter of diet on its own though. Being healthy involves every aspect of your lifestyle. Won't do a body much good to eat carrots every day if they never exercise and they smoke.

There's nothing wrong with overeating or eating fats or sugar occasionally, but balance is key.

SUPRMAN said:

i loved theirs. my date and I shared it! I took some home! We had to leave room for cheesecake.