American restaurants have a reputation for adding items to their menus that are not just large portion-wise but also in terms of calorie numbers. With all those cream-based sauces and oily dressings, they’ve even figured out how to make something as healthy as lettuce, a vehicle for fat.
According to health experts, the average healthy man needs about 2500 calories a day, while the average healthy woman needs 2000.1 Thanks to restaurants and fast food chains, Americans can now get their entire day’s worth of calorie in just one fatty, high-cholesterol meal. Naturally, it’s not possible to survive eating just one meal a day. So even if you’re sticking to the usual 3 meals-a-day rule, you’re still overriding your calorie count by a large amount just because of that one meal at a restaurant.
Here are 4 examples of restaurant menu items you want to avoid if you’re watching your calories — or even your life expectancy, for that matter.
1. Hamburger-Stuffed Omelette
(Served with a side of buttermilk pancakes and hashbrowns)
Approximate Calorie Content: 1,990 (approximately)
This menu item will give you an entire day’s worth of calories in one sitting, including enough cholesterol for the next 4 days. Most hamburger-stuffed omelets come with chopped, deep-fried hamburger patties snuggled in between layers of mozzarella cheese.
Accompanied by a side of deep-fried potato cakes and a small stack of buttermilk pancakes drizzled with butter and maple syrup, this meal tops the charts of highly calorific foods. And if you’re a stickler for added dressings, let’s not forget the calories and fats from the mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise!
2. Cheesy Meat Pizzadilla
Approximate Calorie Content: 1,970 (approximately)
Restaurant owners decided to treat their customers by combining two fatty-favorites – pizza and quesadilla into one giant caloric meal. This dish entails two varieties of cheese along with chopped bits of pepperoni and sausage, stuffed between layers of dough. And let’s not forget the toppings, which include another two kinds of cheese, namely Parmesan and mozzarella, and additional bits of bacon with a generous helping of marinara sauce.
Agreed, this 12″ pizzadilla is probably meant to be split between a bunch of people, but even one-fourth of this menu item contains enough calories and fat for a full meal.
3. The Traditional Meat Lover’s Pasta
(Served with meatballs)
Approximate Calorie Content: 1,800 calories (approximately)
Of course, it wasn’t enough to combine a pizza and a quesadilla into one item. The next genius plan was to convert a pizza that’s basically every meat lover’s dream into a pasta.
The result is basically a plate heaped with greased pasta carbs, cooked with butter and heavy cream, with bite-sized pieces of pepperoni, Italian sausage, and bacon. Some deep-fried meatballs were also thrown into this mix, just in case, the saturated fat content in this dish wasn’t enough to clog the customer’s arteries. There’s also that generous helping of parmesan cheese shavings and extra sauce that needs a mention.
Here’s hoping that whatever restaurant that’s serving this has a cardiac care unit nearby.
4. Prime Ribs
(Served with a side of mashed sweet potatoes)
Approximate Calorie Content: 1,750 calories (approximately)
The prime rib alone accounts for about 1,500 calories on its own, assuming that they’re serving you the usual one pound. Then you get to dig your spoon into a side of mashed sweet potatoes mixed with a couple of egg yolks, some cheese, and lots of heavy cream to make it extra luscious (and deadly). This adds roughly 300 calories more to your plate.
We’re highly doubtful of whether this meal would even fit in a tray. Maybe a trough would be more apt.
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