#2 Top Swap: Wings
Eat ThisApplebee's Buffalo Chicken Wings, Southern BBQ
660 calories
35 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,060 mg sodium
Not That!
Uno Chicago Grill 3 Way Buffalo Wings
1,350 calories
108 g fat (24 g saturated)
3,540 mg sodium
Total savings: 690 calories and 73 g fat!
For all the chatter about them being junk food, wings can actually be a sensible start to a meal. With 61 grams of protein, these Southern-style wings from Applebee's may help you cut calories from your overall meal by front loading your dinner with belly-filling protein. But choose the wrong chicken and you'll pay the price. Uno's version packs roughly twice the calories and fat, yet for all the excess only brings 5 extra grams of protein to the table.
As a rule of thumb, if you order an appetizer, make sure your portion doesn't exceed 250 calories.
More: Superbowl Eating Extravaganza
#1 Top Swap: Kids' Food
Eat ThisOlive Garden Children's Menu Macaroni & Cheese
340 calories
6 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
1,000 mg sodium
Not That!
The Cheesecake Factory Kid's Menu Macaroni & Cheese
1,210 calories
N/A g fat (53 g saturated)
687 mg sodium
Total savings: 870 calories and 50.5 g saturated fat!
You'd be better off microwaving a hot dog for your little one. The childhood obesity rate has more than tripled over the past three decades, and much of that owes to the obscenely high-calorie entrees being served by unscrupulous chain restaurants. Unless you were nutritionally clairvoyant, you'd never guess that one of these bowls contains 165 percent more saturated fat than a full-grown adult should consume in an entire day.
Kids' menus should be bastions of safe eating, but not one of Cheesecake Factory's kids' meals has fewer than 500 calories, and at least five exceed 900. Order from Olive Garden's menu instead and you'll cut the calorie tariff by two-thirds. And top it with a few spears of broccoli—kids will eat vegetables as long as cheese is involved.
More: Your Healthy Guide to Eating Out
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