Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday and Chilli’s are Less Healthy than McDonald's

Many have said eating food at McDonald’s is unhealthy, but what about quality restaurants like Applebee's, Chilli’s, Ruby Tuesday? They serve dishes that can have more calories and fat than McDonald’s meals.

Documentary like Super Size Me and many articles have criticized that eating foods at McDonald’s is unhealthy and most of the foods served there have high calories. It's recommended to eat healthy foods at home or eat in upscale restaurants like Applebee's, Chilli’s and Ruby Red restaurants. But they are even more unhealthy in most cases, according to Matthew Paulson of Financeispersonal.com. If you order a hamburger and fries at McDonald's, it has 630 calories in total. When you order the same hamburgers and fries at Ruby Tuesday, their Ruby’s Classic Burger and a side of fries contain 1,372 calories. With Chilli’s, their Oldtimer Burger and fries contain 1,320 calories altogether. Applebee's doesn’t have calorie information on their menu and at the website, the calories content will be the same. Paulson thinks that Applebee's foods have high calories content and doesn’t want to reveal them by posting their nutritional information. Burgers and fries may not be healthy, but with items like pastas and salads, all these restaurants have a higher calorie value than McDonald’s. Ruby Tuesday’s Carolina Chicken Salad contains 1022 calories and their Club House Salad has 896 calories. Dressing can add another 100 calories. Chilli’s Crispy Chicken Salad has 810 calories and their Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with dressing contains 1,010 calories. Paulson suggests eating half a meal at these restaurants but that defeats the purpose of eating a healthy meal. Instead of sodas he suggests other fruit drinks and water. I have a friend who works at a major restaurant, and he said the food items they receive is also supplied to other food chains including Applebee's, Chilli’s, and other restaurants. So, most of them are made with similar ingredients -- if is unhealthy in one it will be unhealthy at other restaurants, too. Where can health-conscious foodies find the right restaurants for them?