Worst Fast Food of the Season
Worst Fast Food of the Season
By Michelle DeLiso and AOL Health Editors
As the cold weather settles in, your neighborhood fast food joints are turning out all kinds of seasonal delights. Hot chocolate, pumpkin, cinnamon and turkey abound, but these some of these cold-weather comforts are off-the-charts unhealthy. Click through our roundup of some of the season's worst offerings.
Note: Some items are not available year round and may not be available in your market.
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Boston Market's Pastry Top Chicken Pot Pie
Calories: 800
Fat: 48 g
Sodium: 1,090 mg
When you want cold-weather comfort, surely chicken pot pie comes to mind. But this dish from the masters of comfort food contains nearly all of the fat and half the sodium you should consume in a day. How they managed to pack so much fat and sodium into something so small is truly a holiday miracle.
Nicole Goksel, AOL
Cosi's Eggnog Latte, Grande
Calories: 527
Fat: 26 g
Sodium: 294 mg
Blending the signature taste of the holiday season into your morning cup of Joe is nothing short of genius -- but it's also not short on calories or fat. Don't slurp away nearly half a day's fat and more than a quarter of your calories. Stick with a nonfat latte to save several hundred calories so you can savor a real eggnog guilt-free.
Nicole Goksel, AOL
Dairy Queen's Pumpkin Pie Blizzard, Medium
Calories: 780
Fat: 28 g
Sodium: 450 mg
Who doesn't crave pumpkin pie at this time of the year? But you'd better stick with a small slice (typically about 300 calories), a nutritional bargain compared to the spinoff DQ offers: vanilla soft serve blended with pie pieces, pumpkin pie filling and a whipped topping. And in case you think leaving off the whip will save big on calories, you should know, it shears off a mere 40.
Cassandra Shie, AOL
Panera Bread's Full Sierra Turkey on Focaccia with Asiago Cheese
Calories: 970
Fat: 54 g
Sodium: 1,970 mg
It's turkey time, but this taste of the season from Panera Bread is loaded with nearly a day's worth of calories and fat. Instead of this diet-wrecker, try their full turkey breast on sourdough, which has a more reasonable 470 calories and 17 grams of fat.
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Au Bon Pain's Harvest Pumpkin Soup, Large
Calories: 320
Fat: 17 g
Sodium: 1,720 mg
Nothing sounds more like a nutritious autumn meal than pumpkin soup. And while it's not a calorie clunker, Au Bon Pain's rendition is not the soup du jour of the sodium-conscious. At a staggering 1,720mg of sodium, you'll have consumed 70 percent of the recommended daily limit with this order alone, and that's without bread or crackers.
Nicole Goksel, AOL
Starbucks's Pumpkin Scone
Calories: 500
Fat: 20 g
Sodium: 670 mg
A scone always seems more sophisticated than a muffin or a bagel, but this chic bakery item will take up roughly one third of your daily fat grams, one third of your sodium limit and a quarter of your calories -- and that's just for breakfast!
Nicole Goksel, AOL
Cosi's Cinnamon Apple Pie
Calories: 964
Fat: 41 g
Sodium: 667 mg
We don't expect our desserts to be low-cal, but we also don't expect something so small to do so much damage to our waistlines. Cosi may classify this dessert as just one portion (it's certainly small enough to be), but if you eat it all by yourself you'll be consuming nearly half a day's worth of calories (more if you're watching your weight) and about two-thirds your daily fat allowance. Cosi's Web site doesn't provide the sugar count, but we can't imagine that this dessert is good for your teeth either.
Nicole Goksel, AOL
Starbucks' Hazelnut Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream and Whole Milk
Calories: 600
Fat: 32 g
Sodium: 140 mg
This known purveyor of drink shockers, is back with another diet dud this holiday season -- hazelnut hot chocolate -- a drink that serves up the calorie equivalent of a meal and a staggering 61 grams of sugar. Ordering it without whipped cream and with nonfat milk will slim down the calorie total to 480 and the fat to 19 grams. But watch out, even with those changes, this drink still contains 60 grams of sugar! Remember, the USDA recommends consuming no more than 40 grams of added sugars a day.
Nicole Goksel, AOL
Au Bon Pain's Gingerbread Man Cookie
Calories: 320
Fat: 10 g
Sodium: 150 mg
At only 2.7 ounces, this little man really delivers a punch. His 23 grams of sugar may make him a sweetheart, but no man is worth 15 percent of your daily fat and 18 percent of your saturated fat intake.
Nicole Goksel, AOL
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Recent Comments
Jacash0087 01:49:42 PM Dec 29 2008
The government should have some sort of restrictions on what these fast food places, restaraunts, and coffe joints are creating. Most people don't realize how unhealthy some of these things are. Sure, we know they're not GOOD for you, but some of these foods have almost 3,000 calories! And 108g of fat? Seriously? If marijuana is illegal because it's so bad for you, why not make these foods illegal as well? America has an obesity problem because fast food is so easy to get and SOOOO cheap. We need to start making some food regulations. Quick.
Stuffulove 11:04:38 AM Dec 29 2008
It's the carbs in all of these that makes them so unhealthy. The meat and cheese in the sandwiches (protein and fat) would be okay IF you ditched the flour and sugar they all have. The sugary coffee drinks have gotta go, for sure. Drink green or white tea instead. I lost 25 lbs. by doing this. (NO pasta, NO bread, NO potatoes, NO sugar,...just eggs with sausage, cheese, lean meats, veggies, nuts...all delicious....and I am back in my size 6 jeans.
Umm Yeah Ok 11:28:47 AM Dec 17 2008
12 of 14 - "Sure, if you make a meal out of this tator dish, the calorie and fat counts aren't so high. But are you really going to do that?" First of all I cant even picture that as a "side." A cup maybe, but a bowl? Second of course you can make it a meal. Ive eaten several items from there, and if it comes in a bowl, Im full, thats all I can eat. 50% of the time theyll give me cornbread with it, and I dont have room to eat it. Its all about portion control.
maidenjuice567 01:21:34 PM Nov 29 2008
To those of you who are struggling with a weight problem and say its genetics or you cant help it. Your lying to yourself. It's not hard to stop eating... Just, stop eating. Nothing to it...
Nylaet03 01:37:48 PM Nov 24 2008
I wouldn't attempt to tell anyone what to put into their mouths. My feeling for myself are...yeah, it taste good, but fast food is some of the worst food to eat. Only God knows what they put into their food that adds so much, fat, sodium, calories and sugar. It's astounding. They even fatten up low calorie turkey. I know they use chemical flavor enhancer to make a person crave their foods. I also believe in moderation....."save some for another day" , Actually I like to cook at home. I can fry chicken and make a burger at home for a lot less fat, sodium and calories. I like KFC. I eat it, maybe. 4 times a year. I don't have a weight problem.
NrthrnDncr 07:10:30 AM Nov 24 2008
Michelle, what did Boston Market ever do to you? Why,the vendetta? Boston Market has, among other things, the most delicious, and more properly steamed Veggies, offered in a wide assortment, than any other "Fast Food" Chain. Moreover, as I think about what you had to say in this article, I wonder why it is you had to shoot down so many different traditional Holiday foods? News Flash: We were all born with a Brain and free will. There is a better way to list caloric values...say with a little humor and alot more respect for all the fine Businesses mentioned.
Ssenickhoho 10:15:40 AM Nov 23 2008
SreyMysterious 11:57:48 PM Nov 19 2008Report This!I'm going to eat all the food that are shown here to see if I'm going to gain any weight...lol Do they not know that some people are struggling to gain weight as well...? All I see here is getting thinner, diet, and keeping your weight down...is there any tips for people who wants to gain weight...goodness..........Sounds you are HYPER thyroid. Have your thyroid levels checked.
Hyper G Unit 01:09:18 AM Nov 20 2008
I watch what i eat...right before i bite in to it and savor the goodness. ^^ I eat what I want, the key is moderation. You can have that Hardees monster thickburger, just not every day. If you moderate yourelf you dont have to be like these shallow people that would rather see there family starve if it means them looking like god made them with a bunch of bones and some damn plastic wrap.
SreyMysterious 11:57:48 PM Nov 19 2008
I'm going to eat all the food that are shown here to see if I'm going to gain any weight...lol Do they not know that some people are struggling to gain weight as well...? All I see here is getting thinner, diet, and keeping your weight down...is there any tips for people who wants to gain weight...goodness.
Avilez78 11:13:08 PM Nov 19 2008
These months are for eating all u want its nt like its a holiday every freaken day GOSH!
