Much like Olive Garden, the Cheesecake Factory and Cracker Barrel, Applebee's is known for their family-friendly restaurants and innovative menu.
It's no wonder that people flock to these establishments in every area of the country to enjoy a night without having to cook.
There are, however, a handful of menu items that you should avoid if you are concerned about your waistline, and they're not as obvious as you think.
When glancing over the menu, skip these stand-out dishes.
Build-Your-Own Appetizer Sampler
This create-your-own platter can easily add up to 3,390 calories, much higher than your recommended daily intake of 2,000. This customized platter includes 65 grams of saturated fat and 11,650 milligrams of sodium if you're adding items like boneless wings, cheeseburger egg roll, chicken quesadillas, and spinach and artichoke dip.
While this platter is meant to be shared, even split 4 ways, each person would be consuming 850 calories which is equal to an Applebee's classic burger with cheese.
Southwest Jalapeño Burger
If you're ready to saddle up and head to flavor country, the Southwest Jalapeño Burger is a natural choice at Applebee's. Topped with Jack cheese, candied jalapeño and chipotle mayo, this burger will pack a punch of flavor- and calories. The burger alone will run you 1,220 calories, 79 g of fat and 72 g of carbs. It will also run you 2,340 mg of sodium and that is not including your fries.
Blue Ribbon Brownie
You may want to finish your menu with something sweet, but you may want to steer clear from this one. With a whopping calorie count of 1,600 and 212 g of total carbs, this dessert will cost you in your waistline. Loaded with 910 mg of sodium, it's probably best to take a pass on this one.
Continue to the next page for a salad you should avoid and a chicken menu item that you should never order.
So how many calories are too many calories? The FDA recommends that you should consume 2,000 calories per day, 65 g of fat, 20 g of saturated fat and 2,400 mg of sodium.
A lot of these dishes come close to the daily recommended allowances, which means if you consume one, you have hit the number of calories, fat and sodium you should have for the entire day.
Choose carefully, because regularly going over the recommended allowances can leave to health problems.
Chicken Fried Steak
If you are watching your sodium intake, this is one to take a pass on. With 3,240 mg of sodium, you will avoid anything with salt for a week after eating this. This menu item adds up to 1,200 calories, 58 g of fat and 115 g of total carbs.
Green Goddess Wedge Salad
While you may think that ordering a salad fits in well with your diet, all salads are not created equal. This particular salad carries 57g of fat and 1,290 of sodium. Considering for most people this would be a side, it will cost you dearly in the healthy food department.
Chili Cheese Nachos
If you're thinking of eating light and only ordering an appetizer, this is one to avoid. The Chili Cheese Nachos may appear on the appetizer menu, but they are nothing short of a main meal when you look at the calorie count. Adding up to 1,420 calories and 44 g of fat, this will not be light around the waistline.
Crispy Orange Chicken
If you are feeling like chicken tonight, you will be happy to pass on the Crispy Orange Chicken at Applebee's. Sorry to ruin this one for you, but this meal packs a punch of 208 g of total carbs and 49 g of total fat that will leave you concerned about your diet. Loaded with 1,520 calories, you should find something else on the menu that won't be so heavy on your diet.
Source: MSN / Nutrition Charts