The 8 NEW Saltiest Foods in America |
#8: Saltiest Pasta
Ruby Tuesday Mediterranean Shrimp Pasta
3,737 mg sodium
1,102 calories
65 g fat
1,102 calories
65 g fat
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 10 Large Orders of McDonald’s French Fries
Congratulations, Ruby Tuesday! This dish makes our list for the second year in a row. How the chain manages to infuse a pasta dish with nearly two teaspoons of pure salt is beyond me. I just know that they're good at it. The chain makes only one pasta dish with fewer than 2,000 mg of sodium (almost an entire day's worth!), and it has only two pasta dishes with fewer than 3,000 mg. The other four pasta dishes on the menu each have more than 3,000 mg.
Congratulations, Ruby Tuesday! This dish makes our list for the second year in a row. How the chain manages to infuse a pasta dish with nearly two teaspoons of pure salt is beyond me. I just know that they're good at it. The chain makes only one pasta dish with fewer than 2,000 mg of sodium (almost an entire day's worth!), and it has only two pasta dishes with fewer than 3,000 mg. The other four pasta dishes on the menu each have more than 3,000 mg.
Eat This Instead!
Spaghetti Squash Marinara
836 mg sodium
257 calories
12 g fat
257 calories
12 g fat
#7: Saltiest Mexican Entrée
On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos
3,740 mg sodium
2,150 calories
144 g fat (31 g saturated)
2,150 calories
144 g fat (31 g saturated)
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 275 Tortilla Chips
There’s not a single redeeming quality about these fish tacos. For starters, they pack more nearly two days’ worth of sodium between their soft tortilla shells. Follow that up with more than a day’s worth of calories (we’re talking nearly 8 McDonald’s cheeseburgers’ worth), and as much saturated fat as you’ll find in 31 strips of bacon. Just say no.
FAT FRENZY: Like sodium, some fat is good for you. But the gratuitous amount of fat drenching restaurant dishes across the country isn't good for anyone—with the sole exception of corporate food industry big-wigs.
There’s not a single redeeming quality about these fish tacos. For starters, they pack more nearly two days’ worth of sodium between their soft tortilla shells. Follow that up with more than a day’s worth of calories (we’re talking nearly 8 McDonald’s cheeseburgers’ worth), and as much saturated fat as you’ll find in 31 strips of bacon. Just say no.
FAT FRENZY: Like sodium, some fat is good for you. But the gratuitous amount of fat drenching restaurant dishes across the country isn't good for anyone—with the sole exception of corporate food industry big-wigs.
Eat This Instead!
Jalapeño BBQ Salmon
1,220 mg sodium
590 calories
21 g fat (6 g saturated)
590 calories
21 g fat (6 g saturated)
#6: Saltiest Starter
Applebee’s Chili Cheese Nachos
1,680 calories
107 g fat (40 g saturated, 2.5 g trans)
4,270 mg sodium
107 g fat (40 g saturated, 2.5 g trans)
4,270 mg sodium
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 18.5 orders of Taco Bell’s Cheesy Nachos!
The fundamental problem with nachos is that most of the ingredients are already fully sodium-saturated foods. Chili, cheese sauce, tortilla chips, and salsa are all notoriously high in sodium, so together they create a perfect storm of blood-pressure spiking, waistline-expanding damage. Pair all of that with Applebee’s mammoth portion size, and you’re looking at roughly two days’ worth of sodium.
NO-DIET WEIGHT LOSS: When it comes to dropping pounds, what you eat is only half the equation. How you eat is equally important.
The fundamental problem with nachos is that most of the ingredients are already fully sodium-saturated foods. Chili, cheese sauce, tortilla chips, and salsa are all notoriously high in sodium, so together they create a perfect storm of blood-pressure spiking, waistline-expanding damage. Pair all of that with Applebee’s mammoth portion size, and you’re looking at roughly two days’ worth of sodium.
NO-DIET WEIGHT LOSS: When it comes to dropping pounds, what you eat is only half the equation. How you eat is equally important.
Eat This Instead!
Classic Wings, Southern Barbecue
660 calories
35 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,060 mg sodium
35 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,060 mg sodium
#5: Saltiest Breakfast
IHOP Thick-Cut Bone-In Ham & Eggs
1,170 calories
61 g fat (19 g saturated)
4,310 mg sodium
61 g fat (19 g saturated)
4,310 mg sodium
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 32 strips of Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon!
Here's another two-time defending champion! This one plate provides your body with as much sodium as it would need over the course of a full week. You can still indulge your salt craving by opting for the more conservative Turkey Bacon Omelette instead. Not only are the levels far more reasonable, but the fruit side dish is filled with sodium-neutralizing potassium.
Here's another two-time defending champion! This one plate provides your body with as much sodium as it would need over the course of a full week. You can still indulge your salt craving by opting for the more conservative Turkey Bacon Omelette instead. Not only are the levels far more reasonable, but the fruit side dish is filled with sodium-neutralizing potassium.
Eat This Instead!
Simple & Fit Turkey Bacon Omelette with Fresh Fruit
420 calories
20 g fat (9 g saturated)
720 mg sodium
20 g fat (9 g saturated)
720 mg sodium
#4: Saltiest “Healthy” Entrée
Applebee's Weight Watchers Chipotle Lime Chicken
4,990 mg sodium
490 calories
12 g fat (2 g saturated)
490 calories
12 g fat (2 g saturated)
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 55 McDonald's Chicken McNuggets
They should call this place Saltybee's, because sodium is pretty much impossible to avoid here. The six items on the Under 550 Calories menu—the "healthy" options!—average 2,341 mg of sodium per entree. The five items on the Weight Watchers menu average 2,448 mg. Even the side dishes are dangerous. A side of Loaded Mashed Potatoes will cost you 1,340 mg, and a side of Broccoli Cheddar Soup will cost you 1,660. If you eat here, you'd best make it a party of two—and bring your cardiologist with you.
YOUR NEW SHOPPING LIST! There are more than 45,000 options in the average supermarket. Some will wreck your waistline; some will shrink it. The easiest way to choose:
They should call this place Saltybee's, because sodium is pretty much impossible to avoid here. The six items on the Under 550 Calories menu—the "healthy" options!—average 2,341 mg of sodium per entree. The five items on the Weight Watchers menu average 2,448 mg. Even the side dishes are dangerous. A side of Loaded Mashed Potatoes will cost you 1,340 mg, and a side of Broccoli Cheddar Soup will cost you 1,660. If you eat here, you'd best make it a party of two—and bring your cardiologist with you.
YOUR NEW SHOPPING LIST! There are more than 45,000 options in the average supermarket. Some will wreck your waistline; some will shrink it. The easiest way to choose:
Eat This Instead!
Applebee's Asiago Peppercorn Steak
1,520 mg sodium
380 calories
14 g fat (6 g saturated)
380 calories
14 g fat (6 g saturated)
#3: Saltiest Soup
P.F. Chang’s Hot and Sour Soup Bowl
400 calories
15 g fat (5 g saturated)
5,000 mg sodium
15 g fat (5 g saturated)
5,000 mg sodium
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 167 Saltine crackers
P.F. Chang’s has long published its nutrition data without sodium counts, and now we know why. Chinese food runs high on the sodium spectrum because of its reliance on viscous stir-fry sauces and salt-laden condiments like soy sauce. But this is an unfathomable amount of salt to pack into one 400-calorie bowl of soup. Unless you stick to vegetable sides and small servings of a few entrees (Orange Peel Beef, Lemon Scallops), you’re all but guaranteed to absorb 1 or more days’ worth of sodium in a single sitting at P.F. Chang’s.
P.F. Chang’s has long published its nutrition data without sodium counts, and now we know why. Chinese food runs high on the sodium spectrum because of its reliance on viscous stir-fry sauces and salt-laden condiments like soy sauce. But this is an unfathomable amount of salt to pack into one 400-calorie bowl of soup. Unless you stick to vegetable sides and small servings of a few entrees (Orange Peel Beef, Lemon Scallops), you’re all but guaranteed to absorb 1 or more days’ worth of sodium in a single sitting at P.F. Chang’s.
Eat This Instead!
Garlic Snap Peas (Large)
321 mg sodium
192 calories
6 g fat (0 g saturated)
192 calories
6 g fat (0 g saturated)
#2: Saltiest Burger
Chili’s Jalapeno Smokehouse Bacon Burger with Ranch Dressing
2,210 calories
144 g fat (46 g saturated)
6,600 mg sodium
144 g fat (46 g saturated)
6,600 mg sodium
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 6.5 McDonald’s Big Macs!
Chili’s secures the title of America's Saltiest Restaurant for a simple reason: The salad below is the only meal with fewer than 1,000 milligrams on the menu! In fact, the vast majority of meals range between 3,000 and 4,500 milligrams per plate! Know that if you’re going to Chili’s, your blood pressure is in for a rocky ride.
Chili’s secures the title of America's Saltiest Restaurant for a simple reason: The salad below is the only meal with fewer than 1,000 milligrams on the menu! In fact, the vast majority of meals range between 3,000 and 4,500 milligrams per plate! Know that if you’re going to Chili’s, your blood pressure is in for a rocky ride.
Eat This Instead!
Caribbean Salad with Grilled Chicken
610 calories
25 g fat (4 g saturated)
800 mg sodium
25 g fat (4 g saturated)
800 mg sodium
The #1 Saltiest Food in America
P.F. Chang’s Pork Double Pan Fried Noodles
1,652 calories
84 g fat (12 g saturated)
7,900 mg sodium
84 g fat (12 g saturated)
7,900 mg sodium
SODIUM EQUIVALENT: Five full-size bags of Ruffles potato chips—that’s roughly 600 chips!
We searched long and hard for a dish that could unseat this one as the #1 Saltiest Food in America. But, fact is, nothing comes close. Sodium has long been the Achilles tendon of Asian cuisine, and P.F. Chang's is Exhibit A. That makes recommending better options a bit tricky. The dumplings and the steamed Buddha’s Feast come in at under 1,000 milligrams a plate, but the Garlic Noodles are your safest bet among the starchier options.
We searched long and hard for a dish that could unseat this one as the #1 Saltiest Food in America. But, fact is, nothing comes close. Sodium has long been the Achilles tendon of Asian cuisine, and P.F. Chang's is Exhibit A. That makes recommending better options a bit tricky. The dumplings and the steamed Buddha’s Feast come in at under 1,000 milligrams a plate, but the Garlic Noodles are your safest bet among the starchier options.
Eat This Instead!
Garlic Noodles
712 calories
16 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,440 mg sodium
16 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,440 mg sodium
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