Chicken and Avocado Sandwich, Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Oriental Chicken Salad, Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes, Grilled Chicken Medallions. What do all of these actual menu items at some of America’s most popular resaurants have in common? Well they all sound, at the very least, like healthier and lower calorie options, no? I mean, co’mon… chicken, spinach, artichokes, sweet corn. How could one ever go wrong? The all-too-much sad, but true answer is that each of these menu items is AT LEAST 1500 calories!!!

Fried Calamari, Giant Belgian Waffle with Strawberries, Pecans and Cream, Trios Steak Quesadilla Towers, Steak and Fried Shrimp Combo. Nope, I didnt make up any of those names. Again, these are actual menu items. I wont insult your intelligence this time and lead you on another question-laden cruise to my point. All of these items are actually 800 calories or LESS! As a matter of fact, the Trios Steak Quesadilla Towers (sounds like a gut buster right?) come in at a mere 560 calories.

Time for the TAKE HOME MESSAGE: dont trust the name. Get online ahead of time, be prepared and know what you are going to order in advance. Or as my dad would say “Listen to the numbers, not the story.”