The Worst Drive-Thru Foods In America

Worst Grilled Chicken
Jack in the Box Chipotle Chicken Ciabatta
690 calories
28 g fat (9 g saturated fat)
1850 mg sodium

Unlike many other fast food restaurants that have made the shift away from trans fats, Jack in the Box's menu has a number of items with more than 5 grams of the stuff. Add fries to this sandwich, and they'll come with 7 grams of nasty trans fats.

Eat This Instead!
Chicken Fajita Pita
300 calories
9 g fat (3.5 g saturated fat)
1090 mg sodium

Worst "Healthy" Food
Arby's Roast Turkey and Swiss Market Fresh Sandwich
708 calories
29 g fat (8 g saturated fat)
1,676 mg sodium

Avoid any sandwich made on honey wheat bread: Two slices contain a staggering 361 calories and 68 grams of carbs. Cut those in half by sticking to a sesame bun.

Eat This Instead!
Chicken Cordon Blue Sandwich (grilled)
488 calories
18 g fat (4 g saturated fat)
1,560 mg sodium

Worst Cheeseburger
Hardee's Monster Thickburger
1,420 calories
108 g fat (43 g saturated fat)
2,770 mg sodium
230 mg cholesterol

More sodium and fat than you should get in a day, and more saturated fat than you want in two.

Eat This Instead!
Low Carb Thickburger
420 caloreis
32 g fat (12 g saturated fat)
1.010 mg sodium

Worst Fish Sandwich
Burger King BIG FISH Sandwich with Tartar Sauce
640 calories
32 g fat (5 g saturated fat)
1540 mg sodium

Fish is only healthy when it's not breaded and fried in partially hydrogenated oil. Here, the fry treatment translates into 7 grams of trans fats and 108 grams of carbohydrates.

Eat This Instead!
Whopper Jr. without mayo
and Garden Salad
365 calories
12 g fat (4.5 g saturated fat)
1230 mg sodium

Worst Dessert
Dairy Queen Large Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard
990 calories
39 g fat (24 g saturated fat)
114 g sugars

This creation combines ice cream, strawberry syrup, and hunks of cheesecake for a high-fat dairy dessert. If you're set on a Blizzard, go bananas. A small Banana Split Blizzard has 7 fewer fat grams than the small Oreo, Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter Cup, or Strawberry Cheesequake flavors. Or stray from the Blizzard and satisfy your sweet tooth with a small chocolate sundae instead to save major calories and fat.

Eat This Instead!
Small Chocolate Sundae
280 calories
7 g fat (4.5 g saturated fat)
42 g sugars

Worst Potato Side
Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges
720 calories
48 g fat (15 g saturated fat, 12 g trans fats)
1,360 mg sodium
48 g carbohydrates

For the record: bacon, cheese, and fried potatoes are not a healthful trio. What's worse, though, is that Jack in the Box cooks in trans-fatty vegetable shortening. It's no secret that french fries can ruin an otherwise sensible meal, but these things take destruction to another level entirely.

Eat This Instead!
Mozzarella Cheese Sticks (3)
240 calories
12 g fat (5 g saturated fat, 2 g trans fats)
420 mg sodium

Worst Milkshake
McDonald's Large Triple Thick Chocolate Milkshake
1160 calories
27 g fat (16 g saturated fat)
168 g sugar
510 mg sodium

You'd be better off eating two Quarter Pounders than sucking one of these belt-breaking shakes down. Steer clear of milkshakes at the golden arches. If you have to have a frozen dessert, order a vanilla ice cream cone to save more than 1000 calories.

Eat This Instead!
Vanilla Reduced-Fat Ice Cream Cone
150 calories
3.5 g fat (2 g saturated fat)
18 g sugars
60 mg sodium

Worst Chicken Strips
Dairy Queen 6-Piece Chicken Strip Basket
1,270 calories
67 g fat (11 g saturated fat)
2,910 mg sodium

The strips deliver more grams of fat than four DQ Homestyle Burgers, and nearly 300 more calories than a Large Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard.

Eat This Instead!
Grilled Chicken Salad
with Fat-Free Italian Dressing
280 calories
11 g fat (5 g saturated) 1,550 mg sodium

Worst Side
Arby's Large Mozzarella Sticks
849 calories
56 g fat (26 g saturated fat)
2730 mg sodium

Anything with as much saturated fat as a Triple Whopper should not be called a side. If it's cheese you crave, order the French Dip ‘N Swiss or Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwich instead to save more than 500 calories.

Eat This Instead!
Martha's Vineyard Salad
With Light buttermilk Ranch Dressing
389 calories
14 g fat (5 g saturated)
923 mg sodium

Worst Drive-Thru Kids Meal
Burger King Kids Double Cheeseburger and Kids Fries with Small Coke
950 calories
42 g fat (17 g saturated fat, 4.5 g trans fats)
1,410 mg sodium

BK's dubious double burger earns the distinction of being the fattiest meal for an on-the-go kid, with nearly a day's worth of saturated fat for the average 8-year-old.

Eat This Instead!
4-piece Chicken Tenders with Strawberry-Flavored Applesauce and unlimited water
280 calories
11 g fat (3 g saturated fat)
440 mg sodium

Worst Roast Beef Sandwich
Arby's Roast Beef and Swiss Market Fresh Sandwich
810 calories
42 g fat (13 g saturated fat)
1780 mg sodium

The unwholesome trinity of mayo, Italian sub sauce, and processed Swiss cheese make this sandwich the clear loser in the battle of the beef. The Super Roast Beef replaces mayo with a low-cal spicy pepper sauce and totals 370 fewer calories.

Eat This Instead!
Super Roast Beef
440 calories
19 g fat (7 g saturated fat)
1061 mg sodium

Worst Crispy Chicken Sandwich
Hardee's Big Chicken Fillet Sandwich
800 calories
37 g fat (6 g saturated fat)
1890 mg sodium

A general rule: Avoid sandwiches with words like "big" and "monster" in the name. Hardee's Monster Thickburger is another example-it comes in at 1,420 calories, 108 grams of fat, and more saturated fat than you want in two days.

Eat This Instead!
Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich
415 calories
5 g fat (1 g saturated fat)
1175 mg sodium

Worst Salad
Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Strips Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
800 calories
60 g fat (12 g saturated fat)
1745 mg sodium

With 17 more grams of fat than Taco Bell's Fiesta Taco Salad, this is the worst salad from any drive-thru. The dressing alone sets you back 42.5 grams of fat.

Eat This Instead!
Chick-fil-A Southwest Chargrilled Salad with Fat-Free Honey Mustard Dressing
360 calories
8 g fat (3.5 g saturated fat)
1170 mg sodium

Worst Fish Entree
Long John Silver's Battered Fish (2 pieces) with small French fries
750 calories
42 g fat (10.5 saturated fat)
1930 mg sodium

Battered is one of those words that rarely describes anything healthy. Look for baked items like the cod for a hefty dose of protein, plus a shot of heart-healthy fat.

Eat This Instead!
Baked Cod (2 pieces) with a Corn Cobette
340 calories
11 g fat (2.5 g saturated fat)
470 mg sodium

Worst Drive-Thru Breakfast Sandwich
Jack in the Box Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
740 calories
55 g fat (17 g saturated fat)
1430 mg sodium

Skip biscuits at all costs. This one contains nearly a full day's worth of saturated fat. Instead try the Bacon Breakfast Jack-16 grams of protein makes it a surprisingly good way to start your day.

Eat This Instead!
Bacon Breakfast Jack
300 calories
14 g fat (5 g saturated fat)
730 mg sodium

Worst Hot Sandwich
Sonic Chicken Club Toaster Sandwich
690 calories
35 g fat (10 g saturated fat)
1900 mg sodium

How can a chicken sandwich pack so much fat? Start with a fried chicken breast, add bacon, cheese, and mayo, and you're there. Ditch the chicken for beef and save 10 grams of fat.

Eat This Instead!
Sonic Burger with Mustard
540 calories
25 g fat (9 g saturated fat)
730 mg sodium

Worst Mexican Entree
Taco Bell Grilled Stuft Beef Burrito
680 calories
30 g fat (10 g saturated fat)
2120 mg sodium

Ditch this and order two grilled steak soft tacos (or any menu item) "fresco" style and the Bell boys will replace cheese and sauces with a chunky tomato salsa, helping to cut calories dramatically and fat by at least 25 percent.

Eat This Instead!
Two Grilled Steak Soft Tacos, Fresco Style
320 calories
9 g fat (3 g saturated fat)
1100 mg sodium

Worst Value-Menu Item
Burger King Spicy Chick'n Crisp Sandwich
450 calories
30 g fat (5 g saturated fat)
810 mg sodium

Lean economic times make the value menu more appealing than ever. And that's fine-most dollar menus have a few sensible items. But if you eat this sandwich often, saving a few bucks will quickly result in a surplus around your waistline.

Eat This Instead!
Whopper Jr. without mayo
290 calories
12 g fat (4.5 g saturated fat)
500 mg sodium

Worst Drink
Sonic Minute Maid Cranberry Juice Slush (large)
450 calories
124 g sugars

Cranberry juice is like the Ryan Seacrest of drinks-fine in small does, but too sickly sweet to pour on heavy. A large has more sugar than three sodas. Steer clear of Sonic's slushes-most deliver an entire meal's worth of calories.

Drink This Instead!
Cranberry Flavored Tea (large)
62 calories
15 g sugar