The Cheesecake Factory Is Officially Trying to Kill You

[TexasTowelie]

The Center For Science In The Public Interest, an organization that looks to improve the way Americans eat, has built on the popular idea with a slide show of their own. Xtreme Eating 2013 attempts to show caloric extremism running amok at America's restaurant chains.

The Cheesecake Factory's Bistro Shrimp Pasta featured in the slideshow has more calories than any other item on the popular chain's menu. The shrimp, mushrooms, tomatoes and arugula seem included to make this dish sound like a healthy one, but the crustaceans are battered and deep fried, and the basil-garlic-lemon cream sauce pushes this dish into the caloric stratosphere. At 3,120 calories and 89 grams of saturated fat the plate seems like a parody, but its a single-serving menu item offered at every location of the national chain.

That single-serving size is the biggest problem according to CSPI. The dish has more calories and fat than a 12-piece bucket of Original Recipe KFC. While most people would raise an eyebrow at polishing off an entire bucket of chicken, cleaning a single plate brought to your table seems like the proper thing to do. In fact when I was growing up my grandmother mandated it.

Other dishes on the list include the Cheesecake Factory's Crispy Chicken Costoletta with a paltry 2,610 calories, 89 grams of saturated fat, and Johnny Rockets' Bacon Cheddar Double Hamburger with 1,770 calories and 50 grams of saturated fat.

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/cityofate/2013/01/the_cheesecake_factory_is_offi.php

[upaloopa]

1. Simple don't eat it

Do they force it down you throat? I eat there but only vegetarian
Come on people

[Indydem]

2. Moderation and responsibility.

Having one of these things (I've never had them, so I don't know if they are even any good) is fine, in moderation. If you know that you are going to have a big night out on Saturday, and temper your consumption leading up to and following, there is no problem with eating this kind of stuff.

The problem comes when people (ignorantly so, usually) eat this as just another meal, after having a big mac for lunch and drinking a 2 liter of cola in the morning.

I continue to maintain, that the biggest problem with obesity in this country is the ignorance factor. People don't know what they are eating, and that is why they are overweight.

[Odin2005]

13. I set off one day a week that I can pig out on food.

My thinking is that I can only eat so much in one day, so as long as I eat healthy the rest of the week I should be good.

[niyad]

3. have no idea how large the portion is, but I have found with most restaurant meals, that I can

generally get one, and sometimes two, meals from the take-home bag.

as the other posters observed, nobody forces a person to order these ridiculous things (like that weird kfc chicken sandwich between two pieces of fried chicken, or something weird like that)

has anybody done a study on additives in our foods and their possible addictive qualities?

[TexasTowelie]

4. The portion sizes are humongous.

The last time I ate there was about a decade ago and there was enough food to satisfy three grown men. It was served on a roast-beef platter and about three inches in height.

Then the servers if we still had room for dessert...

[2naSalit]

7. I saw something about it

last week but I don't have any citations at the moment. I am certain that there are addictive qualities to some of the additives but animal protein in general is addictive because it gives you a quick blast and then drops you like a bad crash event as in sugar or caffeine-that is if it actually even gives you the blast... and then you have to sleep it off which also makes it hard to use up the extra fattening calories.

I think I saw the info on that documentary on Monsanto that was on this site... maybe.

[marybourg]

8. Animal protein doesn't give ME a quick blast and then a crash.

Carbs do that. Animal protein stays with me for hours and hours. I'd be surprised if my metabolism is very different from most people's. That's why farmers and hunters and other people who couldn't be sure when they'd get another good meal loaded up on ham, bacon, eggs, sausage in the morning. They used to say "It sticks to your ribs."

[2naSalit]

17. To be honest

that little bit is something I read in a book from the 70s; Healing Ourselves by Muramoto. I think the meat and animal protein experience, with the advent of all the modifications our meat receives these days, has something to do with that too. I think he compared the effect to sugar though and back then I can see where it may have applied. But I agree with what you're saying. I used to eat a lot of meat especially back when I moved to high elevation the adjustment seemed to require more of it, and I recall it slowing me down considerably. I have pretty much given up on meat, I get some maybe once every couple months when I dine with others, partly due to cost. But mostly due to the fact that it grosses me out to eat animals anymore, handling raw meat especially but even after it's cooked. I do partake some dairy products but I keep that to a minimum too and those do the same thing.

[PADemD]

10. List of additives

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_food_additives

[Odin2005]

14. Don't buy the Captain's Catch at Perkin's unless you have a HUGE appetite.

I have a big appetite and I still had a 1/3 left to take home.

[niyad]

15. don't have a perkins around here.

[MotherPetrie]

5. Just don't tell me how many calories the avocado eggrolls have

[Bjornsdotter]

6. My opinion

I have only eaten at The Cheesecake Factory one time, ironically the Bistro Shrimp is what I ordered. It was the worst food I have ever had and I ate a very small amount. The. Worst. Ever.

I would never eat there again.

[longship]

9. The Center for Science in the Public Interest is a sham!

They hate food! If it's food, they hate it.

I remember when some dude from that organization was spewing on NPR every week or so. He said eggs were evil, butter was EVIL, along with a lot of other stuff.

FOOD IS EVIL!!

No. They're wrong. Food is good for you. Whenever I am hungry I eat food. It works because we eat what our ancestors for millions of years have eaten. No one food is the best food; no one food is the worst food. If you eat a diverse diet and don't overstuff yourself with one particular thing, you'll do just fine. And have an occasional fermented beverage to wash it down.

Eat food. It's good for you. Get a bit of exercise and eat what you like, but mix it up and you'll do fine. All in moderation.

And if you want to go to the freaking Cheescake Factory, GO! And enjoy yourself. I wouldn't go there every day -- they're way over priced! It ain't gonna kill you. The pleasure you get will add more years than the cheese cake will take off.

What good is life when all you can eat is freaking watercress?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1142&pid=6717|

[kestrel91316]

11. Every time I have ever eaten at Cheesecake I have taken half the meal home as leftovers.

I have a little self-control.

[Silent3]

16. Exactly

I generally only go there on special occasions. It's been a few months since the last time. I ate half of my meal, half of a piece of cheesecake for desert, and took the leftovers home.

Of course, even half of some of these meals plus half a piece of cheesecake is a lot of calories -- so you'll have to count both the first meal and the leftover meal each as something of an indulgence. If you only do something like this once in a while, however, if don't make a habit out of it, it's not a big deal.

[Odin2005]

12. The place is called THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY, of course the stuff is unhealthy!