Thought you guys might like this...or be in shock!
From: Eat This Not That!
In spite of the name, French fries are practically an American birthright. Theyre offered as the first choice side dish with nearly every fast-food and sit-down chain meal available. But heres the catch: In a recent study of 7,318 New York City patrons leaving fast food chains during the lunch hour, researchers learned that combo mealsmeaning meals with sidesaveraged 1,100 calories each, which is over half a days allotment. It goes to show: When your regular meals at these restaurants are already pushing the nutritional envelope, adding an extra 300 (or more!) empty calories can make for a dietary disaster.
The authors of the best-selling weight-loss series Eat This, Not That! and Cook This, Not That! have rounded up three of the worst orders of fries available at chain restaurants across the country. Weve also offered up the surprising winner of the fast food French fry cook-offyoull never believe which restaurant chain produces the healthiest fried spuds!
Worst Curly Fries
Arbys Curly Fries (Large)
640 calories
34 g fat (5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,460 mg sodium
Arbys is famous for its curly friestoo bad theyre overloaded with fat, calories and sodium. When one side dish accounts for nearly three-quarters of your daily allotment of salt, you know theres a problem. As fun as these curli-Qs are, stick to the Homefry variety at Arbysdownsizing to a small Curly Fries will still leave you with a 410-calorie side, which is more than many of Arbys sandwiches!
Bonus tip: For full nutrition information for all of your favorite chain restaurants and thousands of foods, download the bestselling Eat This, Not That! iPhone app. Its like having your own personal nutritionist in your pocket at all times, and will help you avoid the caloric calamities and guide you to the best ways to lose your belly fast.
Eat This Instead!
Homestyle Fries (Small)
350 calories
15 g fat (2 g saturated)
720 mg sodium
Worst Wedge Fries
Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Wedges
715 calories
45 g fat (13 g saturated, 1 g trans)
905 mg sodium
It doesnt take a nutritionist to identify the hazards of a grease-soaked, cheese-slathered sack of deep-fried potatoes, but by appearance alone, nobody could guess whats really at stake when you order this side from Jacks. The American Heart Association recommends that people cap their trans fat intake at 1 percent of total calories. For people on a 2,000-calorie diet, thats about 2 grams per day. See the problem? Another issue, of course, is the overload in caloriesabout one-third your daily allotment!
Bonus tip: Cheese fries are clearly an unhealthy choice. But sometimes healthy-seeming options are just as dangerous as the obvious diet-sinkers. For 30 jaw-dropping examples, check out The 30 Worst Sandwiches in America.
Eat This Instead!
Grilled Chicken Strips (4) with Fire Roasted Salsa
185 calories
2 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
805 mg sodium
Worst Fries for Your Blood Pressure
Dairy Queen Chili Cheese Fries
1,240 calories
71 g fat (28 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
2,550 milligrams sodium
This ones a no-brainer: Chili, cheese, fried potatoes. But even a savvy eater couldnt possibly anticipate how bad these 3 ingredients could be when combined by one heavy-handed fast-food company. Theres as much sodium in this side dish as youll find in 15 strips of bacon. Stick with classic ketchup and recapture nearly a days worth of sodium and 930 calories.
Bonus tip: Save calories, time, and money with our free Eat This, Not That! newsletter. Sign up today and youll get the Eat This, Not That! guide to shopping once and eating for a week for free!
Eat This Instead!
French Fries (regular)
310 calories
13 g fat (2 g saturated)
640 mg sodium
Worst Regular Order of Fries
Five Guys Fries (large)
1,464 calories
71 g fat (14 g saturated)
213 mg sodium
Unfortunately, Five Guys doesnt offer anything but fries in the side department. Your safest bet, of course, is to skip the fries altogether (youd be better off adding a second patty to your burger), but if you cant bring yourself to eat a burger sans fries, then split a regular order. That will still add 310 calories to your meal, but it beats surrendering more than 75% of your days calories to a greasy paper bag.
Bonus tip: Sides account for a third of our combo-meal caloriesbut drinks account for a quarter of the total calories we consume each day! Battle the liquid bulge: Avoid all drinks on this shocking list of The Worst Drinks in the Supermarket.
Eat This Instead!
Regular Fries (1/2 serving)
310 calories
15 g fat (3 g saturated)
45 mg sodium
Worst Fries in America
Chilis Texas Cheese Fries w/Jalapeno Ranch
1,920 calories
147 g fat (63 g saturated)
3,580 mg sodium
The only thing that comes close to redeeming this cheesy mound of lard and grease is the fact that its ostensibly meant to be shared with a few friends. Even so, youll collectively be taking in an entire days worth of calories, three days allotment of saturated fat, and a day and a halfs allotment of sodium. Whats even scarier, if you can imagine, is that even if you try to order more sensibly and ask for the half order of Texas Cheese Fries, youll still receive a disastrous dish that packs in 1,400 calories. Theres one French fries side dish at Chilis thats acceptable, although even in its much-reduced form, youd be better off splitting it.
Bonus Tip: See what other Chilis items made our list of The 20 Worst Restaurant Foods in America.
Eat This Instead!
Homestyle Fries
380 calories
23 g fat (4 g saturated)
230 mg sodium
Best Fast Food Fries in America
McDonalds Small French Fries
230 calories
11 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
160 mg sodium
Out of the big three fast food joints (Mickey Ds, Wendys, and BK), youll find the least caloric, least salty fries underneath the golden arches. The key to ordering a smart side dish is portion sizingand McDonalds has that under control.