KFC Double Down Is Better for You Than Salad

Posted on Apr 21st 2010 1:30PM by Amber Greviskes

Dining on fast food is never a dieter's first option, but if you think opting for a salad is a better choice than ordering that greasy sandwich you crave -- think again. The new KFC Double Down, a bacon sandwich that uses two pieces of fried chicken instead of bread, is actually better for you than some fast-food salads if you're trying to lose weight.

"Don't judge the food by what it's called," said American Dietetic Association Spokesperson Bonnie Taub-Dix. "When you see a food called a 'salad' that doesn't mean that it's equivalent to a low-calorie meal."

The Double Down is by no means healthy. It has 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium. But The Consumerist found 10 items -- including three popular salads -- from Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's that are worse than the sandwich.

Burger King's Tendercrisp Garden Salad, billed as their "salad for chicken lovers," has 670 calories, 45 grams of fat and 1,740 milligrams of sodium. The Chicken BLT Salad at Wendy's, which comes with cheese, bacon, chicken and honey-dijon dressing, has 790 calories, 53 grams of fat and 1,660 milligrams of sodium. Wendy's Southwest Taco Salad with ranch dressing and tortilla strips has 680 calories, 39 grams of fat and 1,620 milligrams of sodium.

But not all fast food salads are calorie-laden fat traps. According to ShopSmart, Consumer Reports' best-buys magazine, Panera Bread, On the Border, Olive Garden and Sonic all have healthy options. McDonald's weight-conscious customers should go for the Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken. Wendy's Chicken Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken Fillet is another healthy option. The Tendergrill Chicken Garden Salad at Burger King made ShopSmart's short list as well. Remember, you can also save calories by skipping the croutons and opting for a lighter dressing.

If you're unsure about whether your salad is healthier than the burger you're craving, check the restaurant's nutrition information. Dietitians understand that it's unrealistic for busy people to avoid fast food. Instead, when choosing salads, look for ones containing the same items you would load up on at a salad bar -- lots of colorful vegetables, dark green lettuces, lean proteins and fruits.

If you're looking for a tasty salad, try Tanya Zuckerbrot's rehabbed Greek salad.

KFC's Double Down isn't diet-friendly, but it's certainly not the worst. Click on the gallery below to find which fast food dishes are the most outrageous.

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Outrageous Fast Food

Domino's BreadBowl Pasta, 3-Cheese Mac-N-Cheese, whole dish

Calories: 1460
Fat: 56 g
Sodium: 2840 mg

You know it's mac and cheese and you know it's surrounded in calorie-loaded carbs, but did you know this deceptive dish counts as two servings? And that's probably why this order puts you near your daily fat allowance and way past the recommended daily salt intake. If you have the willpower -- eat one serving, or half the bowl!
*Note: The nutrition information isn't available on Domino's Web site. AOL Health requested the information from Domino's directly.

Rachel Been, AOL

Getty Images North America

Outrageous Fast Food

Domino's BreadBowl Pasta, Chicken Alfredo, whole dish

Calories: 1400
Fat: 50 g
Sodium: 2140 mg

If you're craving chicken alfredo, and you happen to be at Domino's, consider ordering their bread-less version. In comparison it contains a lighter 600 calories, 29 fat grams and 1080 mg of sodium.

*Note: The nutrition information isn't available on Domino's Web site. AOL Health requested the information from Domino's directly.

Outrageous Fast Food

Quiznos Tuna Melt, large

Calories: 1760 calories
Fat: 133 g
Sodium:2120 mg

If you want to stick to the government's health guidelines, eat this over the space of two days or you'll go overboard on fat. And hold the dressing on this one -- it'll save you 370 calories and 40 fat grams. Yikes!

Outrageous Fast Food

Wendy's Premium Fish Fillet Sandwich

Calories: 470
Fat: 24 g
Sodium: 930 mg

Don't let the "premium" and "fish" in the name fool you into thinking this new order is lean. For a truly lighter option from Wendy's try the Grilled Chicken Go Wrap, which contains 260 calories, 11 fat grams and 760 mg of sodium.

Outrageous Fast Food

Ruby Tuesday's Boston Blue Burger

Calories: 1466
Fat: 98 g
Sodium: Not available

This burger contains more than a day and a third's worth of fat grams -- or a fat content equivalent to four meals. It also contains about three-fourths of a day's worth of calories, and who knows what Ruby Tuesday's doesn't want you to know about the sodium content!

*Nutrition Information varies by location.

Outrageous Fast Food

Dunkin' Donuts Waffle Breakfast Sandwich

Calories: 390
Fat: 23 g
Sodium: 1000 mg

While this bad boy doesn't compare to the train wreck of a breakfast platter from McDonald's (see slide 22), do you really want to eat nearly half a day's worth of sodium for breakfast?

Outrageous Fast Food

Ruby Tuesday's Veggie Burger

Calories: 1007
Fat: 53 g
Sodium: Not available

Okay, this is a tough one to understand. Store-bought veggie patties like those available from Garden Burger, Boca Burger and Morningstar Farms, usually amount to about 100 calories and 5 grams of fat without any fixings. Which begs the question, just what kind of fixings is Ruby Tuesday's adding in? To be fair, this meat-free version is lower in calories and fat than most of the other burger options available from Ruby Tuesday's.

*Nutrition Information varies by location.

Outrageous Fast Food

Ruby Tuesday's Kids' Mini Turkey Burgers and Fries

Calories: 873
Fat: 46 g
Sodium: Not available

If you're watching your weight while eating out, you might think that the kid's menu is a safe place to order from. That's not necessarily the case at Ruby Tuesday's. While the kids' minis are certainly lighter than their adult counterparts, they also contain about 70 percent of the fat adults should consume in a day.

Note: Dietary recommendations for calorie, fat and sodium intake are not available.

*Nutrition Information varies by location.

Outrageous Fast Food

Hardee's Monster Thickburger

Calories: 1420
Fat: 108 g
Sodium: 2770 mg

This monster tops out your daily fat and sodium. Talk about scary!

Outrageous Fast Food

Burger King Steakhouse Burger

Calories: 950
Fat: 59 g
Sodium: 1950 mg

This new BK burger packs half the calories and nearly all of the sodium and fat you should have in one day. If you eat it, don't even think about ordering a side of fries. A small order would tack on an extra 340 calories, 17 fat grams and 590 mg of sodium.

Outrageous Fast Food

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

t 4-21-2010 @ 2:24PM

OMG, you don't include the grilled version, how much is that?

Jim 4-22-2010 @ 12:43PM

Hi T. You were saying it's forgotten how much it will cost, most likely your life. These days, the only thing that matters is the Almighty dollar. If you were to die in a fast food restuarant, screw the yellow tape, "Just step over the body folk's". That's the type of world we live in

vic 4-21-2010 @ 7:15PM

The grilled DD is 100 calories LESS than the regular version but has 1700 milligrams of sodium which is MORE than a regular DD so its kind of a wash health-wise. The regular DD has less calories than a Big Mac, Whopper and a hellova lot less than a Carls $6 burger, and its almost no carbs, so protien lovers rejoice!

I will add I have tried one of these , and sadly, they are really delicious :-D

N 4-21-2010 @ 2:38PM

I would pass on the Double Down, not simply b/c of how unhealthy it might be, but b/c my husband had been dying to try it and finally did. This thing does not look anywhere NEAR like it does on the commercials. Nor apparently does it taste as good either. My hubby ordered this "sandwich" and it was the most pathetic looking, half-done, carelessly made thing I have ever seen. The top piece of "chicken" was little bigger than a half dollar and it had two pieces of cheese, unmelted and two pieces of sad looking bacon, then a bottom "breast" of chicken with some weird sauce on everything. It looked as though everything was just carelessly tossed on there in a half assed fashion. Not to mention this sandwish is about the size of your palm and looks MUCH bigger in the commercial than it actually is. We paid and wasted 7.00 for this lousy much too hyped up meal. NOT worth your money!

mary 4-21-2010 @ 2:49PM

thanks i was WAS gonna try it because of the low carb factor,,,,, only grilled.but for the price i can make my own and then some. lol

Mike 4-21-2010 @ 5:20PM

I so agree. Most fast food stuff looks like it's 1/2 assed put together. How much would you care if you made those kind of wages? My wife and I eat at home as much as possible.

Danny 4-21-2010 @ 5:26PM

It sounds like ur husband went to a crappy KFC, or at the very least, had a lazy person make it. But I am fully ready to believe that it's only the size of ur palm. I mean come on, how else could it have only 540 cals?

diane 4-21-2010 @ 5:33PM

It probably makes them sick to put it together, so they do it as quickly as possibly.

fish 4-21-2010 @ 4:11PM

For those who get the "carb" counting, this sandwich is terrific. The fried version has 11 carbs, the grilled version has only 3. Eat up! I love it. The same with the "evil" Burger King. The know-it-alls tell you how unhealthy it is, but the quad stacker has almost zero carbs! I can eat this stuff all day and keep my cholesterol at 140. Let the others eat tofu.

Andy 4-21-2010 @ 3:05PM

Eat lots of fast food and speed up your death.

David S. 4-21-2010 @ 5:21PM

Sure, Andy, only people who eat at home never die, I guess. There are healthier options at any restaurant, including fast food. I imagine buying Lays Potato Chips and Little Debbie snack cakes and scarfing them down at home will contriubute to a long and healthy life.

Joella 4-22-2010 @ 4:11AM

Sorry people....You are going to die when it is time for your to die. I just read the article on Miss Teen Hawaii dying at age 18 of a stroke. She was beautiful, her correct weight for her height, so so beautiful. Only thing you can do is improve the quality of your life.

Jerome 4-21-2010 @ 3:19PM

Enough with the yellow journalism. If you want to eat this food everyday, go ahead. But if you are like me and eat something like this once every 6 months to a year, these foods will not kill you. One way to keep yourself eating healthier is to every now and then take a walk on the wild side and treat yourself. Believe me, the above foods will not be what does you in. It will be something else. So please eat what you want. Just don't eat this junk everyday. Depriving yourself is what leads you to an unhealthy high calorie diet. If you are disciplined about what you eat, you will be fine.

Jacare Calhoun 4-21-2010 @ 4:26PM

ok...now I dont feel so bad for eating it.

bar 4-21-2010 @ 4:31PM

the Double-Down with grilled chicken is PERFECT for those on the Atkins diet --- very low in carbs --- very high in taste !!!!!!!!!!!!!

dennis 4-21-2010 @ 4:42PM

Should they be allowed to have this product? The damn libral government is going to take everything away. So what if it's unhealthy. Sometimes doing the unhealthy thing is ok. The damn do-gooders of the world want to control everything and everybody!

dennis 4-21-2010 @ 4:47PM

Enjoy life. Do things in moderation. Eat unhealthy things no and then. But, don't let the government mandate what we can and cannot eat. With this new health care crap, it will eventially come to that.

Jim 4-21-2010 @ 5:04PM

Any fast food that has anywhere from 500-1500 calories is that person's worst nightmare, and a trip around the world for the doctor who performs the open heart surgery. Who come's up with these heart attack meals, and why? Some of us do prefer to live.

joeomar 4-21-2010 @ 5:10PM

The KFC "double-down" is just another in the long list of overblown news stories. All it consists of is two chicken breasts with a SMALL amount of bacon (two strips) and cheese. There'd be no news story at all if KFC sold a box-lunch that had two chicken breasts in it side-by-side (with or without a couple strips bacon). However, STACK them and pretend it's a sandwich, and suddenly it's the biggest fast-food news story of the year. What a bunch of garbage.

V 4-21-2010 @ 6:57PM

I would like to know how KFC can get away serving this crap and no ones says a word, but McDonald's get blamed for the increasing waistline and poor health of schmucks too stupid or lazy to eat healthy.

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