Which Restaurants Do You Think Are Healthiest?
Eating healthily, especially when you’re on the go, isn’t always easy. But several fast food chains and restaurants have attempted to lure customers with their healthier food items. Which ones are at least leaving an impression of healthiness? A group of 15,000 adults from across the U.S. who consider healthy eating “important” or “very important” were surveyed by YouGov BrandIndex, and the results might surprise you.
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10. IHOP: We were surprised to see IHOP on the list. It also ranked no. 8 on a list of unhealthiest restaurant meals in America with its Chorizo Fiesta Omelette which has 1,900 calories, and generally pancakes slathered in syrup aren’t considered healthy. But the national diner used to have a “Simple & Fit” menu, which offered options that are under 600 calories, but it isn’t listed on its online menu anymore. Scanning their nutritional data, many items on the menu top 1,000 calories. [IHOP’s nutritional data]
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9. Baskin Robbins: A surprising number of sweets and ice cream places made the list, including Baskin Robbins. Baskin Robbins does have some low-calorie, low-fat options on its menu, called BRight Choices. Its website lists three options: fast free vanilla frozen yogurt, Greek frozen yogurt in the flavor of Greek Sunset, and a Premium Churned Reduced-Fat, No Sugar Added Caramel Turtle Truffle Ice Cream. Say that five times fast. These each have 120 calories or less per serving. [Baskin Robbins nutritional data]
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8. Dunkin Donuts: While Dunkin Donuts’ forté is, well, doughnuts, it does have a DD Smart menu which lists better-for-you options. The multigrain bagel, whole wheat bagel, egg white veggie flatbread sandwich, egg and cheese sandwich, and the egg, ham, and cheese sandwich are all under 400 calories per serving. [Dunkin Donuts nutritional data]
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7. Applebee’s: While the Applebee’s menu is full of stuff which you wouldn’t consider healthy (its pretzel and cheese dip appetizer clocks in at 1,200 calories, and the oriental chicken salad has 1,400 calories), it does have a few healthier options. Its “Have It All” menu lists eight items which are all under 600 calories. [Applebee’s nutritional data]
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6. Wendy’s: Its hard to see how any of the standard fast food chains could be considered healthy, but Wendy’s made the list. They do offer a few better-for-you options. A cup of chili will run you just 190 calories. The grilled chicken sandwich has 320 calories. One of their salads, the chicken caesar, has 370 calories. [Wendy’s nutritional data]
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5. Olive Garden: Apparently offering unlimited soup, salad, breadsticks is considered healthy because that’s what the Italian chain is best known for. The restaurant has a love-hate relationship with its breadsticks. Last year, an activist investor called for unlimited breadsticks (sort of), but the chain defended the practice. Then it embraced the breadstick by introducing a sandwich made of them. A single breadstick, by the way, has 140 calories. [Olive Garden’s nutritional data]
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4. Outback Steakhouse: Outback, known for its massive, deep-fried “Bloomin’ Onion,” also made the unhealthiest dishes in America list with its Herb Roasted Prime Rib, coming in at 2,400 calories. The menu has a few other items with massive calorie counts: the Bloomin Onion has nearly 2,000 calories. The Grilled Chicken with Scallops pasta has 1,313 calories. The Chocolate Thunder From Down Under dessert is 1,554 calories. [Outback Steakhouse’s nutritional data]
3. Panera Bread: Of all the national restaurant chains, Panera bread does give off a healthier vibe. They offer more salads and fresh sandwiches than their competitors. Food is made to order, most of them right in front of you. But the chain made headlines last month after it announced it was getting rid of 150 artificial ingredients — preservatives, colors, sweeteners, and flavors. Which makes you think, how fresh and healthy is their food if its laden with these things? Scanning their nutritional info, many of their panini sandwiches come in at over 500 calories. The Steak and White Cheddar is 1,050 calories and the New England clam chowder clocks in at 1,140 calories. [Panera’s nutritional data]
2. Dairy Queen: While one doesn’t normally associated ice cream and milkshakes with “healthy,” Dairy Queen’s menu actually has a lot of low-calorie options for their small-sized ice cream treats. If you stay away from the Blizzards and milkshakes, you can easily stay under 1,000 calories. They also have a menu of “Light Smoothies” with seven flavors offered, all coming in under 300 calories. [Dairy Queen’s nutritional data]
1. Subway: We could have guessed that Subway would top the list of this survey. The chain has marketed itself as the “fresh” fast option for years. But a 2013 study by researches at UCLA found that Subway is just as unhealthy as McDonald’s. While Subway might offer more healthy options, they also have calorie-laden sandwiches which customers tend to order. [Subway’s nutritional data]
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