Trying to stay healthy? It can be quite hard when you’re eating on the go. Heck, it can even be difficult when you’re dining at at a restaurant. What’s worse is the deception. I don’t think that menus are purposefully hiding the fact that some of their healthier-looking options are actually worse for you, but it’s happening. It’s sad to say, but gone are the days of blindly believing a salad is the best option when ordering at casual restaurants or fast-food chains.

Dave Zinczenko, Editor In Chief of Men’s Health magazine and author of Eat This, Not That! recently wrote about the “20 Salads Worse Than a Burger King Whopper.”Eat This, Not That!

The “Eat This, Not That!” brand revealed 20 salads that are simply ‘worse’ for you than a Whopper. How can that be you ask? Well, the list includes some of the worst salads at major restaurants and fast-food chains. Each salad is worse than Burger King’s Whopper in regards to calories, fat, or sodium (or any combination thereof). Amazing, many salads on the list fall above the 1,000-calorie mark!

“People often order salads not because it sounds like the most delicious item but because it’s a concerted effort to choose one of the healthier items on the menu… Except, more often than people realize, a salad can be one of the worst offenders.”

The list was put together by analyzing calories from salads around the nation, while also taking into consideration additional nutritional values such as fat, saturated fat, and sodium. Topping the salad terror list is T.G.I. Friday’s Santa Fe Chopped Salad, with a whopping 1,800 calories (more than 2.5 Whoppers).

A Whopper is not the worst thing you can put in your body (670 calories, 40 g fat, 1,020 mg sodium), but it’s certainly not what your average salad orderer is on the hunt for. So, for all you intended healthy eaters; stay away from the following. You’ve been warned.

T.G.I. Friday’s Santa Fe Chopped Salad (1,800 calories)
On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef and Chipotle Honey Mustard (1,690 calories)
Chevy’s Fresh Mex Tostada Salad with Chicken (1,547 calories)
California Pizza Kitchen Waldorf Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing (1,570 calories)
Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad (1,310 calories)

For a full list of the 20 salads and associated nutritional information, see Men’s Health.

-bryan

“Eat This, Not That!” brand was launched in 2007 by Men’s Health Editor-in-Chief David Zinczenko. One of its unique purposes is to identify unhealthy foods in fast-food chains, restaurant chains and grocery stores and offer healthier alternatives. You can check out their website and multiple iPhone applications.