Menu Mix-Ups That Could Cost You Up to 550 Calories

Posted Thu, May 08, 2008, 10:30 am PDT

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Think you're ordering a diet-friendly menu item? You could be flat wrong. Check out these similar-sounding options HG found at some popular eateries. If the name of your order's off even slightly, it could cost you TONS more calories and fat grams!

IHOP
Garden Omelette (1,150 calories!)
vs.
Garden Scramble (less than 600 calories and 15g fat)

Okay, we nearly lost our appetite altogether (and that's rare!), when we saw the crazy amount of calories in IHOP's Garden Omelette. 1,150 calories for a veggie-packed egg platter?! And although IHOP hasn't gone public with the fat content of their menu items, we're guessing A LOT of those calories come from fat! Just one little word -- scramble -- makes all the difference. IHOP's Garden Scramble (in the "IHOP For Me" section of their menu) is made with egg substitute, saving you tons of fat and calories. It's also served with two pancakes instead of three (who needs three?!) and low-calorie syrup. So don't forget to say SCRAMBLE!

Ruby Tuesday
Bella Turkey Burger (1,065 calories and 65g fat!)
vs.
Turkey Burger Wrap (564 calories and 20g fat)

So many people assume turkey burgers are a guilt-free option when eating out. But when said T burger is served on a ginormous bun loaded with cheese and oily veggies, it can become a nutritional nightmare. Choosing the wrap version of Ruby's turkey burger (found in the Smart Eating section of the menu) will save you more than 500 calories and 45 fat grams! An even better option? Order the Chicken Wrap without dressing and save another 100 calories and several more grams of fat. HG WARNING: Neither of those turkey burger nutritionals include a pile of greasy fries (those add another 359 calories and 13g fat!). So do yourself a favor and order something else for your side item, such as steamed veggies or a side salad.

Chili's
Monterey Chicken (1,130 calories and 67g fat!)
vs.
Margarita Grilled Chicken (690 calories and 18g fat)

Yikes! Who knew there was such an enormous distance between Monterey and Margaritaville? The Monterey Chicken at Chili's has 400+ extra calories and nearly FOUR times as much fat as the Margarita Grilled Chicken! These entrees may sound alike, and both start off the same (with marinated grilled chicken). But the Monterey dish is slathered in BBQ sauce, topped with bacon and cheese, and served with fatty mashed potatoes. The Margarita one's topped with a little pico de gallo and a lime wedge, and it's served with rice and black beans. Do not confuse these two! Better yet, skip 'em both and opt for the 580-calorie, 9g-of-fat Guiltless Chicken Platter.

Krispy Kreme
12-oz. Oranges & Kreme Chiller (630 calories and 28g fat!) vs.
12-oz. Orange You Glad Chiller (180 calories and no fat)

An orange Chiller is an orange Chiller.... Right? Wrong! One of these citrus slushies has three and a half times as many calories! And while one is fat-free, the other has more than two dozen grams of fat (for a small!). And get this: If you slip up and order the 20-oz. Oranges and Kreme Chiller, prepare to ingest a whopping 970 calories and 40 fat grams. Um, that's more calories than FOUR of their Original Glazed Doughnuts and as much fat as SIXTEEN of their Glazed Chocolate Cake Doughnut Holes! At least the 20-oz. Orange You Glad Chiller has a respectable 300 calories (and still no fat), but we say stick with the 12-ouncer.

For more guilt-free food finds, plus recipes, tips, tricks and more, check out hungry-girl.com and sign up for free daily emails!

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13 Comments

1. Posted by Trish on Thu, May 08, 2008, 11:29 am PDT

WOW! Thanks for the info, we eat at ruby Tuesdays all the time, and now I know NOT to get the T burger.
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2. Posted by NCHoughtons on Fri, May 09, 2008, 1:57 am PDT

I bought the cook book and I ADORE it. Although, I'm not surprised because I LOVE ya'll and the site! Thanks for putting the book out it's great and I can take it with me!!!
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3. Posted by Luna on Fri, May 09, 2008, 6:37 am PDT

I just bought the cook book and it is GREAT! Thank you for putting all those wonderful recipes and fun into book form!
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4. Posted by x16star16x on Fri, May 09, 2008, 9:21 am PDT

I
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5. Posted by CaliKitty on Fri, May 09, 2008, 3:15 pm PDT

Ive had the monteray chicken from chilies, and its not even that good! cant beleive I ate that many calories in one sitting! Dont even tell me whats in Taco Bell...
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6. Posted by glen11fan on Sat, May 10, 2008, 7:47 pm PDT

Great to know what NOT to eat! WOW!!
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7. Posted by anabetty1974 on Sun, May 11, 2008, 6:06 pm PDT

Thanks for the info...if it is not one thing,....it's the other...as long as we eat balaned meals and at least exercise 3 times a week is enough...
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8. Posted by amy_lynn_fletcher on Tue, May 13, 2008, 10:09 am PDT

Is there a website where those of us who don't live in NYC can access the nutritional info for chain restaurants?
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9. Posted by Baby on Tue, May 13, 2008, 12:11 pm PDT

You can look up calories in resturant items at calorieking dot com
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10. Posted by Sassy A. on Tue, Jun 03, 2008, 7:37 am PDT

Wish I had read this earlier. I have eliminated sugar from my diet and have been feeling great. Yesterday I had a garden omelette at IHOP and felt the old sluggishness return. I called IHOP and learned that their omelettes are made with preserved egg whipped into pancake batter. You can request to have your omelette made with real egg, egg whites, or egg sugstitute; but if you order straight from the menu, you get a high calorie egg laced pancake!!
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11. Posted by shaki_meer on Thu, Jun 05, 2008, 7:45 pm PDT

Any info on meals from Nando's, KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut?
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12. Posted by joyapadthai on Tue, Jun 17, 2008, 5:15 am PDT

This is why I hate eating a chain restaurants. You never know what they are putting in the food and the fat and sugar and probably hydrogenated oils and corn syrup are all high in their dishes i am sure. I think it is a joke with drinks are soooooo high in calories and fat! and people fall right into it. I have a friend who loves the pancakes at IHOP, I am going to look up those ingredients and calories. It must be shocking
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13. Posted by Mikie on Thu, Jul 03, 2008, 1:05 pm PDT

Eating that many calories for breakfast prepares you for a hard days work on the farm or construction; not sitting at a desk wishing and hoping to lose weight so someone will take a second look.
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