Deceiving Diet Menus

The healthy menu can be deceiving at these chains.

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Several TV stations conducted an investigation of dishes touted as healthy at popular chain restaurants, according to Good Morning America. The results were not appetizing.

The restaurants sampled included Chili's, On the Border, Macaroni Grill, Applebee's and the Cheesecake Factory. Reporters from 8 television stations (all owned by Scripps) tested a small sample of dishes ordered off the low-calorie, low-fat menus.

According to the article, the food was then tested by lab technicians, who weighed each sample, extracted the fat and then figured out the calories in each meal. Of the 23 items tested, 78% contained a fat content that was higher than what was listed on the menu, and almost 69% had more calories than the limit listed.

Some examples from the investigation:
The guiltless grilled salmon at Chili's promises a dish that's 480 calories and 14 grams of fat. But the tests revealed the dish was actually 664 calories and 35 grams of fat.

Chicken fajitas from On the Border Mexican Grill's "border smart" menu are listed as containing 570 calories and nine grams of fat. Tests revealed the dish contained 654 calories and 26.5 grams of fat. If diners eat the free sample of queso dip, salsa and chips that came with the dish, they'd add an additional 2,067 calories and 117 grams of fat.

The skinny chicken at the Macaroni Grill is supposed to be 500 calories and six grams of fat. If you eat the huge piece of bread they include, you get twice the calories and eight times the fat.

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