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If you’ve ever set foot in The Cheesecake Factory, you know about their monster-sized desserts. But did you also know about their cheeseburger topped with a fried egg that ended up on the latest worst restaurant foods list? By now, I think we can all agree on the fact that menu items like this are ridiculously bad for us. And yet, Americans continue to eat these fat- and calorie-laden foods, and restaurants continue to oblige.
According to the latest report from the Center for Science in Public Interest, that cheeseburger—which is also topped with grilled smoked pork belly, cheddar cheese, onions, lettuce, tomato and mayo in addition to a fried egg—contains a whopping 1,530 calories and 36 grams of fat. (Keep in mind, it is recommended that we take in no more than 2,000 calories and 20 grams of fat per day.) The list of unhealthy items doesn’t stop there though.
Here’s the complete list of America’s seven worst restaurant foods:
- The Cheesecake Factory‘s Fried-Egg Cheeseburger: 1,530 calories and 36 grams of fat
- The Cheesecake Factory‘s Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake (which can weigh close to three-quarters of a pound): 1,540 calories and 59 grams of saturated fat.
- Applebee‘s Provolone-Stuffed Meatballs With Fettuccine: 1,520 calories and 43 grams of saturated fat—plus 3,700 milligrams of sodium (more than two day’s worth of salt)
- Cold Stone Creamery‘s Large Peanut Butter and Chocolate Shake: 2,010 calories and 68 grams of fat
- Denny‘s Fried Cheese Melt (which includes four fried mozzarella sticks and melted American cheese between two slices of sourdough bread): 1,260 calories and 21 grams of saturated fat
- IHOP‘s Bacon ‘N Beef Burger: 1,250 calories and 42 grams of saturated fat, and Morton’s Porterhouse Steak with 1,390 calories plus 36 grams of saturated fat
- Morton’s Porterhouse Steak with 1,390 calories plus 36 grams of saturated fat
It’s not like we don’t know these foods are bad for us just by the description. So why do people continue to eat them? There are many theories here (including laziness, lack of control and ignorance), but the one that comes to my mind is the fact that we don’t pay enough attention to how we feel after we eat. You can’t tell me that indulging in a humongous piece of cheesecake, bacon cheeseburger or milkshake is really going to make us feel good when we’re done. And by good I mean energized, bright and clear-headed. We pay so much attention to how something tastes going in and how entitled we are to indulge, that we don’t give nearly enough attention to the after-effects. Like that bloated, sick, gluttonous, tired feeling after we consume too much of the wrong thing. It’s kind of like exercise, we do it because of how great we feel when we’re done. If we looked at eating the same way, items like these would eventually get taken off the menu because no one would order them. Salad anyone?
Have you ever eaten any of these items? If so, how did you feel afterward?
Photo: Today.com
ok, let’s be real, fried eggs cheeseburgers are heaven on earth.
Well, I’d love to try ALL of these. Just once, at least. I’m British and American junk food is so much more fascinating! Like the KFC Double Down, I’d have one of those. Then wash it down with a chocolate and peanut butter milkshake and never speak of it again :D
You’re so right… My mouth was watering just reading about that red velvet cake. I don’t really know much about it, just saw a picture once, but it looked yummy.
Sure, eating stuff like that every day is bad, but once in a while it’s nice to indulge…
I actually wouldn’t have guessed the provolone stuffed meatballs would be that unhealthy of a dish. That’s a ridiculous amount of sodium in there!
I think the tone of this article is a little elitist, but I agree that too much of a good thing results in feeling poorly and less than virtuous eating habits.
That said, a lot of people CAN and do practice moderation while occasionally indulging in something obscene. You can be a salad M-F girl and then eat a ridiculous cheeseburger on the weekend. I’m not going to judge someone for saying “Wow, a cheeseburger with pork belly on it? Sweet!”
I’ve had a fried egg cheeseburger on occasion. Not at Cheesecake Factory, but at Red Robin and Steak n’ Shake. I’ve also ordered the 500 calorie dinner salad at Applebee’s. If I’m feeling particularly fat one week, I look at my eating and change it until I feel in control again. In full disclosure, I’m probably about 20 pounds overweight. But I’ve had three children in four years, have a busy…life, and my work schedule isn’t ideal for perfect eating habits. I’m working on it. But I’ll still eat something naughty from time to time because I feel I’ve earned it, LOL.
How the hell do they make just an egg and cheeseburger so high in calories? They’re normally not your worst options. Restaurants have no ethics. Would you serve something like that to your mum?
Seriously? A fried egg cheeseburger?
I think you’re right that we don’t pay enough attention to how we feel after eating stuff like this (or even during, really). It all goes into the category of “mindful eating”. And I think there’s also something about a separation of self when eating…kind of forgetting that you and your body are on the same team. You think that you’re rewarding yourself or treating yourself, but you’re actually hurting yourself and it’s easy to ignore/forget that, for some reason. Imagine if you had an arch-enemy (the bitch from 10th grade usually works nicely), the one who might want you to be fat and unhealthy and die early…what would she want you to eat?
Yep, a fried egg cheeseburger.
http://www.savvyhealthguide.com