What do you get when you cross the Health Nazis and the Fun Police?
From Men's Health via Yahoo! Health:
Eleven worst burgers in America
11. Worst Classic Fast-Food Burger
Burger King Whopper with Cheese760 calories
47 g fat (16 g saturated, 1 g trans)
1,410 mg sodium
With 200 more calories than a McDonald's Big Mac, the Whopper is the clear loser in the battle of the burger icons. Blame it on the jumbo patty and globs of mayo (160 calories worth to be exact). And get this: If you add medium fries and a medium coke—a likely scenario—you're looking at a 1,500-calorie meal. The best way to "have it your way" at BK? Order a standard cheeseburger and call it a day, or try Cook This, Not That! Easy 350-Calorie Meals and save calories, time, and cash.
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Burger King Cheeseburger
300 calories
14 g fat (6 g saturated, 0 g trans)
710 mg sodium
SINISTER SALADS: The Whopper may be bad news for your gut, but some salads are even less healthy! Beware of the 20 Salads Worse Than a Whopper.
10. Worst Burger Kids’ Meal
McDonald’s McDouble Mighty Kids Meal with Fat-Free Chocolate Milk Jug765 calories
30 g fat (9.5 g saturated, 1 g trans)
1,215 mg sodium
I applaud McDonald's for its recent move to offset fries with fruit in all its kids' meals, but—apple slices or not—this "mighty" menu option remains the worst children's choice at the drive-thru. The chain created the Mighty Kids Meal for "in-be-tweens" (kids aged 8 to 12). Problem is, it packs more fat and calories than an adult's meal should. A standard Happy Meal is plenty of food for your kid—no matter their age—and chicken nuggets trump burgers any day. (Find hundreds of other tips to help your family eat better in Eat This, Not That! For Kids!)
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McDonald’s Chicken McNugget Happy Meal with 1% Low-Fat Milk Jug
405 calories
19.5 g fat (4 g saturated)
555 mg sodium
9. Worst Basic Burger
Five Guys Bacon Cheeseburger920 calories
62 g fat (29.5 g saturated)
1,310 mg sodium
This burger bomb landed on the list for one reason: false advertising. At Five Guys, regular burgers are doubles and "Little" burgers are singles. And the burgers aren't the only serving size rip-off the chain serves up. The "regular" fries have 620 calories—double that of most standard fry orders. The takeaway: Go "Little" or go elsewhere. And for more perpetrators of serving-size scams, check out the 9 Biggest Serving Size Rip-Offs.
Rats! Fyodor loves Five Guys!
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Five Guys Little Bacon Burger
560 calories
33 g fat (14.5 g saturated)
640 mg sodium
8. Worst “Healthy” Burger
Ruby Tuesday Avocado Turkey Burger 968 calories
61 g fat
1,601 mg sodium
It's entirely common for restaurants to top their turkey burgers with so many greasy calories that they completely nullify the small savings you get by choosing turkey over beef. Ruby Tuesday's Avocado Turkey Burger, for example, has more calories than the chain's Classic Cheeseburger. The lesson: Turkey doesn't always mean healthier.
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Asiago Peppercorn Sirloin
401 calories
20 g fat
1,023 mg sodium
HEALTH-FOOD FRAUDS: Turkey burgers aren’t the only wannabes of the health-food world. Restaurants often disguise tons of fat and calories behind healthful-sounding menu items. Don’t unwittingly ruin your diet: Avoid the 10 Worst “Healthy” Foods in America!
7. Worst Burger Melt
Red Robin All-American Patty Melt1,254 calories
94 g fat
1,951 mg sodium
Melts are notoriously high in calories, thanks to copious amounts of butter and cheese, and Red Robin takes the diner classic from poor to preposterous by adding 350 calories of Thousand Island dressing. This "All-American" monstrosity is the highest-calorie burger on the menu, but unfortunately, the others are close behind. In fact, the Keep it Simple Burger is the chain's only burger that falls below 800 calories, which makes it your only sane option.
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Red Robin Keep It Simple Burger
569 calories
24 g fat
991 mg sodium
6. Worst BBQ Burger
Chili’s Shiner Bock BBQ Burger 1,300 calories
74 g fat (24 g saturated)
2,840 mg sodium
An average burger at Chili's packs 1,400 calories, and the Shiner Bock is among the worst of the lot. The burger's main calorie culprit: crispy onion strings. Last time I checked, deep-fried onions were a side dish—and a shoddy one at that. This dish also comes standard with 380 calories of fries, so all said, you're looking at nearly a day's calories in one sitting. If you want to get your red-meat fix at Chili's, steak's the only way to go.
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Chili’s Custom Combinations Classic Sirloin with Sweet Corn on the Cob and Steamed Broccoli
520 calories
21 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,770 mg sodium
5. Worst Sliders
Applebee’s Cheeseburger Sliders with Applewood Smoked Bacon1,340 calories
87 g fat (75 g saturated, 3 g trans)
2,550 mg sodium
Sliders are particularly sneaky diet traps. First, despite their diminutive stature, they tend to pack as many—if not more—calories as their full-size brethren. Second, they're often listed as appetizers, which means you risk wolfing down more than a meal's worth of calories before you even set eyes on your entrée. My advice: Go with a leaner appetizer like the Grilled Chicken Wonton Tacos—the only Applebee's option under 600 calories—and consider sharing with a friend.
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Applebee’s Grilled Chicken Wonton Tacos
590 calories
24 g fat (4.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
2,150 mg sodium
4. Worst Double Cheeseburger
Denny’s Double Cheeseburger1,400 calories
87 g fat (41 g saturated, 2 g trans)
2,680 mg sodium
Some things are better in pairs: skis, wings, Super Bowl tickets. But burgers? Not so much. An extra patty adds little flavor and costs you big on the bathroom scale. Take this double whammy from Denny's: double patties, double cheese, double a day's saturated fat, and 2 grams of trans fat. What do all these twos add up to? Double chins. The 540-calorie Veggie Burger is the chain's only safe burger option, but if you're an unabashed carnivore, you'll appreciate the Prime Rib Skillet.
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Denny’s Prime Rib Skillet
585 calories
38 g fat (12.5 g saturated)
1,460 mg sodium
3. Worst Crazy Burger Creation
Friendly’s Grilled Cheese Burger1,540 calories
92 g fat (35 g saturated)
2,490 mg sodium
American chains are constantly dreaming up wacky dishes designed to get your novelty neurons firing at the speed of light. Perhaps the single best example of this frankenfood effect: the Grilled Cheese Burger from Friendly's. It's a giant burger wedged between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Need I say more? If you're craving grilled cheese, order grilled cheese.
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Friendly’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich
800 calories
37 g fat (14 g saturated)
1,280 mg sodium
2. Worst Fast-Food Burger
Sonic Ring Leader Loaded Burger Double Patty1,660 calories
120 g fat (44 g saturated, 4 g trans)
1,450 mg sodium
The recent unveiling of this menacing half-pound burger marks a new low for a chain that already suffers from an iffy reputation. The bacon strips and onion rings will receive much of the criticism, but it's the less flashy components that hold the hidden danger. In fact, the two slices of cheddar cheese and the double slather of mayo account for a third of the fat. (Then there's the "bun oil" Sonic squeezes on.) If you need a burger fix, there are less perilous ways to get it.
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Jr. Deluxe Burger with Bacon and Green Chilies
425 calories
25 g fat (8 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
705 mg sodium
1. Worst Burger in America
Chili’s Jalapeño Smokehouse Bacon Burger1,910 calories
126 g fat (43 g saturated)
5,290 mg sodium
This tricked-out number is the worst of the worst of Chili's' burger behemoths. It comes saddled with tortilla strips, bacon, cheddar, mayo, and jalapeno-ranch dressing, the combined impact of which is more than 2 days' worth of saturated fat and as much sodium as you'd find in 6 pounds of McDonald's French fries. No wonder it made our list of the 8 Scariest Restaurant Meals in America!
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Chili’s Margarita Grilled Chicken
550 calories
14 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,870 mg sodium
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