CLICK HERE to access all the reports, responses, video and more. From Applebee’s to Chili’s to Taco Bell, almost all restaurants offer a section for healthier alternatives on their menus.
But, we found that out of 20 healthy menu items we tested at five national chain restaurants, 17 were over on calories, fat content, or both.
Working with our sister stations in seven cities across the country, we boughtitems off the low-cal, low-fat menus at Chili’s, Applebee’s, Taco Bell, Macaroni Grill, and the Cheesecake Factory.
Following our lab's instructions, each menu item was placed in a ziploc bag, labeled, packed on ice, and shipped over-night to this lab.
Analytical Laboratories is EPA certified, and located in Boise, Idaho.
There, the samples were unpacked, logged, and weighed.
To simulate how our bodies digest food, the lab put each sample in a food processor.
Then, the chemists determined the amount of fat and calories in each meal.
The results will probably surprise you.
According to the Chili's menu, their Guiltless Black Bean Burger has 650-calories and just 12-grams of fat.
But our test reveals that Chili's Black Bean Burger came in at 770-calories and over 32-grams of fat.
The Guiltless Grill Salmon at Chili's also scored poorly.
The menu says it has 480-calories and 14 grams of fat. But our test discovered the meal had 664 calories and more than 35-grams of fat.
In fact, every Guiltless item we tested from Chili's had higher fat and calories.
“We want to have an informed consumer, and when they're given false information like that, it is disconcerting,” said registered dietician Nancy Holder from UCH, who analyzed our findings. After looking at the video, she was concerned with their portion size.
“One ounce of bread is about 80 calories and that would be a standard slice of bread, and that looks bigger. So, it could be equivalent to 3 or 4 slices of bread. So right there, you have almost 300 calories,” she said.
