Health magazine just unveiled a big feature on the healthiest restaurants in the US, which breaks down eateries by category, including sit-down chains, fast food, and independent restaurants. The magazine studied 43 chains (each with at least 75 locations) and ranked them based on the nutritional information provided.
It sounded intriguing, until I started perusing the list and found many of the choices downright puzzling: Uno Chicago Grill, known for its deep-dish pizza, is the first restaurant on the list of sit-down chains. Health lays out its reasons, but I'm still not sure I agree. To see the reasons and the rest of the list, read more
Like Au Bon Pain, Uno Chicago Grill has added nutrition kiosks to its lobbies, where customers can look up the ingredients and nutritional content of its foods. Here's more on why Health chose Uno:
Sure, its famous deep-dish (read high-fat) pizzas still hold court, but nutrition has become the word of the day with a completely trans fat–free menu and plenty of grilled entrees (including antibiotic-free chicken). Adding to the healthy variety: whole-grain pasta and brown rice, organic coffee and tea, and flatbread pizzas that have half the calories of deep-dish ones. Plus, you can add a salad to your pizza for half-price because, according to the menu, “We want you to get some greens in your diet.” Now that’s a blue-ribbon commitment to health.
Can we really award a "blue ribbon" for health to a restaurant known for its deep-dish fat explosions? While I appreciate the low-fat menu options and the transparency about ingredients, there's something that just seems wrong about Uno now being able to proclaim that it's the healthiest chain in America on its website. I think it would be better to reward individual dishes, or just make smart choices when you're eating out), rather than deeming a pretty unhealthy chain "healthy."
Check out the healthiest fast food joints here. Here's the full list of the top 10 sit-down chains.
- Uno Chicago Grill
- Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes
- Mimi's Cafe
- P.F. Chang's China Bistro
- Bob Evans
- Ruby Tuesday
- Romano's Macaroni Grill
- Chevy's Fresh Mex
- Olive Garden
- Denny's
What do you guys think? Does this list bother you?
Rimmel
Fat is not necessarily evil. It depends on the type of fat, how it's prepared and how often you have it. Perspective is a good thing in all matters, including nutrition.
1i actually agree with health. it acknowledges that the deep dish pizza is fatty, but it gives the much healthier alternatives that uno provides (flatbread, whole wheat pasta). its actually the first time i've seen whole wheat pasta on a menu.
2omg I love Uno, lol. They have this deep dish cookie thing... I dunno about them being healthy, but I do wish there was one around here
3P.F. Chang's is on that list? really?! that choice seems more odd to me.
4Dennys?! how is that possible?
5I'm excited to see PF Chang's on there haha! I love their stir fried eggplant and garlic spinach (even though I'm sure both are fattening in a sneaky kinda way)
6i checked out the top 5 healthiest fast food restaurants - I haven't heard of 2 of them (although Noodles Express looks like it would be my new favorite) and the other ones' closest location must be in Houston (a 4-5 hour drive). Then I looked at the top 5 UNhealthiest restaurants... all within 5 minutes driving distance.
7actually, after going back and reading through the top 10... it seems to me that there ARE no healthy restaurants, they just had to pick from the plethora of disgusting ones. I mean... Macaroni Grill? Ruby Tuesday? Wasn't Ruby Tuesday just featured in some other article for being the LEAST healthy?
8Go to Bob Evans, and search for their nutritional information. They list trans fat as being in a dish that consists only of yogurt and fruit to dip in it. I still can't figure that one out.
Should they be considered healthy when even yogurt and fruit have trans fat there?
9Olive Garden?! PF Changs? I'm confused!
10ok if you want to eat a shrimp dish that comes in at a WHOPPING 1,230 CALORIES (for SHRIMP!?!?!) then go eat at the "healthiest" P.F. Chang's. This list seems really off to me. (go to dietfacts.com if you don't believe me)
11I get this magazine and shook my head at this article too. The only one I semi-agree with is sweet tomatoes. However, they are rating *CHAIN* restaurants... are there really any besides salad places that are healthier?
But I will say I love the steamed tofu w/veggies at PF changs (minus the sauce). I'm sure they throw something unhealthy in there too... but once or twice a year.... ahhh.. I love that place!
12I don't agree with this at all. We used to go to an Uno's for work lunches, and once I looked at the "Plan Your Meal" feature that they have in the front of the restaurant. The deep dish pizzas all started at 1200 calories each - and this was for the little "personal pizza" option. So even if a flatbread pizza has half the calories as the deep dish, it's still more than half of your daily allowance. And oh yeah - I won't touch anything that has 75 grams of fat or more in it, regardless of whether or not it's trans fat free.
And oh my god, what they call a salad, I call a cheese plate.
13None of those places are really favs of mine.
14I disagree with pretty much everything. I have never eaten at UNO's so I can't comment on that but PF Changs everything is covered in oil. I especially have issue w/ the top 5 fast food restaurants. They mention Panera has low-fat, low-sodium soup options. I think they have 2/10 soups that are actually low fat, the rest have about 12-20 g of fat and high in sodium. Their sandwiches are also rather high in fat as well so putting them together is crazy. Also, Chipotle, their tortillas are very calorie laden as well as the rice (adds about 400 calories) I like them both in moderation however I don't think they are the healthiest. Eat This, Not That is a book that points all this stuff out and I think their analysis is much better.
15The list does seem a little absurd (Bob Evans and Denny's especially, since they seem to specialize in huge breakfasts or gravy-soaked lunches and dinners), but then I was thinking about it...what would've made the list instead? I was a little surprised not to see Applebee's because they have a Weight Watcher's menu and plenty of salads, but I think it is all about making choices. Especially some of these places make me think of where kids or the grandparents would want to go, so you need to have healthier options for yourself while pleasing the crowd, right?
16Um, a Chipotle burrito? Clearly calories is not something they even bothered to consider in ranking these places. Dumb.
17Yeah, I found it fairly amusing that almost every place on Health's list also had a dish featured on another list - America's Worst Foods - that I read recently... I think it was from Men's Health.
Either way, most of these places are NOT ones I'd consider friendly on my diet (I know, I know, "healthy lifestyle").
18@ imLissy... that cookie is AMAZING! Yum!
Don't get this list... they must offer the healthiest alternatives compared to other places. I'll still opt for small salads when I go somewhere that I know only offers caloric disasters.
19This list is a joke! What restaurant doesn't have a small handful of healthy options? What about a restaurant that actually has NOTHING BUT healthy food? I do not and would not ever eat at these places.
20Alright so these chains make us cringe with the deep dish, deep fried items! At least some places ARE giving HEALTHIER choices. When you've got a choice between either "nothing healthy on the menu" restaurant or "a few healthier options that if I half the portion and have a salad" restaurant...save me a booth in the latter! I'm just happy some places seem to be moving in a healthier direction! (Oh and that deep dish pizza at Uno's is the GREATEST pizza in the world with the buttery crust and...forget it - not worth the extra tire around my waist!)
21If I want healthy, I don't go out to eat. Anyway, I would never think to go to Uno's for anything other than pizza...and when I want to treat myself to good deep dish I'll stick with my local Lou Malnati's. Mmmmm!
22i love souplantation but the only problem is that when you go there, chances are you're going to pig out because it's a buffet! my family members constantly create these massive salads with tons of cheese, loads of creamy dressing, croutons, nuts, and who knows what else. and then they go onto soup, pizza, AND dessert. not healthy at all!
23I've never eaten at most of these chains. And I don't plan to start!
24I'm surprised because many of these chains are frequent offenders in the book "Eat This, Not That", which lists the 10 worst meals to order in a variety of categories. In fact, I'm pretty sure Macaroni Grill made the top 10 worst overall. That's a lot of mixed messages.
25Maybe if you order toast or dry salad at all those places, it might be considered healthy... anything else on the menu? Me thinks not.
26very weird list.
27what about Evos?
I don't really eat at any of these places. When I spend money to go out to dinner I want to go someplace where I want to eat the food.
28Ive only been to one of them once (olive garden) and not planning to go back.
29weird list. yes, there are good fats, but still. that list baffles me. i would think getting fajitas (hold the tortillas and sour cream) at somewhere like chevys would be way healthier than what i could find at many of those other places (based on my admittedly limited knowledge of their menus).
30Is this an April Fools joke??? I could feel my arteries hardening while I was reading the list!
31o.O PF Changs?? romano's maccaroni grill?! chevy's!? -nearly collapses in disbelief- have they even SEEN a plate from any of those resturants??
granted i love PF changs and romano's and have to work hard to figure out calorie intake and 1/2s, 1/4s etc, and they still have a load of crap.
go to fresh choice, soup plantation or sweet tomatoes, all are buffet style and offer a great selection at their salad bars. and yeah, i guiltily admit i love their chocolate muffins. completely negates my salad meal but whatever. lol.
32Mmmm....Love P.F. Chang's!
This list isn't going to deter me from eating at any of these restaurants!
33We don't have hardly any of these chains near me except Olive Garden and Denny's. I never eat at Denny's, but when I go to Olive Garden, I usually get the Minestrone soup and I ask them not to dress the salad and to leave off the cheese. Then I ask them to put the dressing on the side and I use it sparingly. I think you can probably find a fairly healthy option at most chain restaurants if you try. Many places will make things special-order for you if you ask. I often ask for my salad to have the dressing on the side or I'll ask to have my meat grilled with no oil/butter and if I get a side of veggies, I'll ask them not to use any butter.
Still, most of these restaurants don't seem that particularly healthy. I mean, just because Uno's has a "trans-fat free" menu doesn't mean those things are healthy. They still have fat in them, most of it probably saturated.
34Olive Garden? Their portion sizes are out of control.
35Denny's? :|
36carhornsinapril I agree about PF Chang's
37I went to their site a while ago and I was looking for something that was nutritionally sound for me and I could not find anything.
I was a server at Bob Evan for three years, and I will tell you this--I never ONCE touched anything but salads and green beans off their menu. Every single item is cooked on a flat top grill covered in a 1/2 inch of grease and smothered in gravy to boot...it's quite gross. And Uno? I worked there for a short time in high school and the only thing impressive about that restaurant is how many of my paychecks bounced! It'll be under in 5 years, max.
38how are PF Chang's, Denny's, and Olive Garden on that list???
39I've never heard of #2 and #3 on the list...though their names sound healthier than the other choices.
But Denny's??? Seriously???
40I'm hoping they mean healthiest as in access to fresh ingredients and nutrition information not the place that you can get the most nutritious and low-cal/fat/carb meal.
41I think its important to be aware of what you're eating...but why go out to eat if you're not going to eat what you really want? I say eat healthy at home and enjoy it when you eat out every once and awhile!
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