Salads are always the healthiest thing on the menu, right?
Much like you’d be surprised to discover that restaurants like McDonald’s, Subway, and Chick-Fil-A have secret food items that aren’t on their menu, a bed of lean greens can become calorically obscene really fast. For instance, once you add croutons, bacon bits, tortilla strips, shredded cheddar, and your favorite dressing (I’m a blue cheese girl, myself) to a salad, you can flip a light bed of arugula into a beast brimming with as many as 1,000 calories — while a burger can have as few as 250.
How can that be? Or, more importantly, how do you avoid eating something that looks light but is actually as heavy as ground beef and cheese wrapped in bacon — especially if you live a busy lifestyle and find yourself pulling into a drive-thru or a restaurant parking lot more often than you’d like to admit?
It’s simple.
We’ve compiled a list of the least caloric options at many of your favorite restaurant and fast food joints in order to make everything a lot less confusing — and exciting! You won’t believe some of the things you can actually eat! I’m talking fries, steaks, and much, much more!
Please SHARE so you can help educate all of your friends!
McDonald’s
Best Options:
- Chicken McNuggets (six piece) and apple slices: 295 calories
- Cheeseburger and a Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait: 440 calories
- Grilled Chicken Ranch Snack Wrap with small French fries: 510 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Big Breakfast with Hotcakes: 1090 calories
Pro Tip:
Got a sweet tooth? McDonald’s Vanilla Soft-Serve Cone is only 170 calories while a snack-size Oreo McFlurry is only 340.
Olive Garden
Best Options:
- Center-cut filet mignon and parmesan-garlic broccoli: 360 calories
- Linguine alla Marinara: 430 calories
- Garlic rosemary chicken served with garlic-parmesan mashed potatoes and fresh spinach: 540 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Pork Milanese: 1,510 calories
Pro Tip:
If you have to have an appetizer, avoid the never-ending soup, salad, and breadsticks. It’s designed to make you overeat. Instead, opt for a minestrone soup with the house salad combo.
Chick-Fil-A
Best Options:
- Grilled nuggets with a small Hearty Breast of Chicken Soup and un-sweet tea: 270 calories
- Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap with a fruit cup and bottled water: 390 calories
- Chicken sandwich without butter with a side salad and un-sweet tea: 480 calories
Most Fattening Item:
The Breakfast Chicken Platter wins at 680 calories, but a large order of waffle fries are a whopping 520 calories. That’s 20 calories more than the Chicken Deluxe Sandwich!
Pro Tip:
Stick to grilled chicken, ditch the dressings (opt for half a pack of low-cal Italian when you can’t), and the wraps are your best bet.
Chili's
Best Options:
- Cup of Southwest Chicken Soup (no tortilla strips): 70 calories
- Margarita Grilled Chicken (request no tortilla strips): 400 calories
- Sirloin with grilled avocado (6 oz.): 410 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Southern Smokehouse Burger: 2,290 calories
Pro Tip:
Stick to the “Guiltless Grill” items, but be mindful of the amount of sodium.
Subway
Best Options:
- Turkey Breast (6-inch): 340 calories
- Roast Beef (6-inch): 380 calories
- Oven Roasted Chicken (6-inch): 380 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Chicken & Bacon Ranch Melt (12-inch) 1,140 calories
Pro Tip:
Watch out for sauces that add on hundreds of calories, swap iceberg lettuce for spinach, and load up on veggies but skip the pickles and jalapeños (they’re surprising high in sodium). Also, don’t be fooled by the “6 grams of fat or less” menu, as the nutritional facts don’t include cheese (that’s how they keep the fat content so low).
Cheesecake Factory
Best Options:
- Chicken Lettuce Wrap Tacos: 250 calories (for the entire plate!)
- Seared Tuna Tataki Salad: 440 calories
- Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta: 850 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Pasta Carbonara with Chicken: 2,290 calories…with 81 grams of saturated fat — four times the recommended daily allowance for one dish!
Pro Tip:
Stick to their “SkinnyLicious” menu, but be wary. The dinner salad alone weighs in at 1,510 calories — almost three times as many calories as a Big Mac!
Taco Bell
Best Options:
- Pintos N Cheese: 180 calories
- Taco Bell Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco: 160 calories
- Gordita Supreme steak: 280 calories
- Fresco Steak Burrito Supreme plus black beans: 430 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Beef XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito: 870 calories
Pro Tip:
Stick to their “Fresca” items and skip the sodas. A 40-oz Mountain Dew alone has 550 calories.
TGI Fridays
Best Options:
- Sirloin (six-ounce, without sides): 370 calories
- Spinach Florentine flatbread: 380 calories
- Jack Daniel’s Chicken and Shrimp (without sides): 570 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Jack Daniel’s Ribs & Shrimp: 1,910 calories
(Dis)Honorable mention:
Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad: 1,360 calories
Pro Tip:
A small sirloin is generally a good choice at most restaurants. If you ask the server to skip the butter, you’ll save additional fat and calories.
Panera Bread
Best Options:
- Half-smoked Turkey Breast on Artisan Whole Grain Loaf plus Low-fat Garden Vegetable with Pesto Soup (from the “You Pick Two” Menu): 320 calories
- Half Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich on Sesame Semolina Bread: 350 calories
- Roasted Turkey and Avocado BLT on Sourdough Bread (half portion): 250 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Full Italian Combo on Ciabatta: 980 calories
(Dis)Honorable Mention:
The Full Chopped Steak & Blue Cheese salad: 790 calories
Pro Tip:
Panera has a secret menu with healthy egg-white bowls and a steak lettuce wrap. Ask to order from the “hidden menu” to get all the info.
Outback Steakhouse
Best Options:
- Chicken Artichoke Flatbread: 180 calories
- Simply Grilled Tilapia with fresh seasonal mixed veggies: 320 calories
- Outback Special, Wood-Fire Grilled Sirloin with a side of steamed broccoli and house salad with Tangy Tomato dressing (six-oz): 390 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Aussie Cheese Fries appetizer: 2,140 calories
Pro Tip:
You can have a piece of their delicious brown bread, but try to stick to one slice and, if you can, without the deliciously sweet butter. Also, a baked sweet potato is a guilt-free side option.
Dunkin' Donuts
Best Options:
- Turkey Sausage Wake-Up Wrap: 210 calories
- Egg White Veggie Flatbread: 280 calories
- Brown sugar oatmeal with dried fruit topping: 300 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Chocolate coconut cake doughnut: 550 calories
Pro Tip:
If you’re craving something sweet, opt for a donut over a muffin. A reduced-fat blueberry muffin has 410 calories, while a French cruller has only 220 calories and a plain glazed doughnut has 260 calories.
Red Lobster
Best Options:
- Chilled jumbo shrimp cocktail: 100 calories
- Seafood-stuffed flounder (dinner portion): 450 calories
- Create Your Own Combo: wood-grilled salmon and steamed snow crab legs: 530 calories
Most Fattening Item:
Batter-fried Walleye: 1170 calories
Pro Tip:
One of Red Lobster’s delicious Cheddar Bay Biscuits is 160 calories, the same as an entire bowl of Manhattan clam chowder, so opt for the more filling soup.
If you found this helpful or fascinating, please SHARE with friends!
