Yesterday McDonald’s, the infamous fast food restaurant with more than 33,000 restaurants worldwide, announced it that its menus will now feature calorie counts.
“As a company that has provided nutrition information for more than 30 years, we are pleased to add to the ways we make nutrition information available to our customers and employees in Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Arlington counties and throughout the US,” said McDonald’s franchisee Isaac Green in a statement.
The chain’s move comes just before a federal requirement for restaurants with more than 20 locations to list nutritional information on their menus.
Using the McDonald’s website’s handy nutrition calculator, we picked out some of the highest-calorie menu items (a.k.a. the ones you probably want to avoid).
Worst Breakfast
Big Breakfast With Hotcakes = 1,090 calories
Well, there goes most of your caloric intake for the day. The worst offender on McDonald’s menu comes with pancakes, biscuits, sausage, hash browns, and eggs—and packs 56 grams of fat and a whopping 2,150 milligrams of sodium.
Worst Sandwich
Angus Bacon and Cheese = 790 calories
This 100 percent Angus beef patty may sound tasty—hickory-smoked bacon, anyone?—but it’s also the highest-calorie burger on the menu. It includes 39 grams of fat, 63 grams of carbohydrates, and 2,070 milligrams of sodium.
Worst McFlurry
McFlurry With Rolo = 700 calories
The highest-calorie McFlurry comes with vanilla ice cream, Rolo chocolate pieces, and caramel—for a total of 111 grams of carbohydrates and 88 grams of sugar.
Worst Salad
Premium Southwest Salad With Crispy Chicken = 450 calories
We imagine this salad could be okay, if it weren’t for the crispy chicken, two cheeses, and tortilla strips. But with 820 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of carbohydrates, and 21 grams of fat, this salad still makes the worst-offender list.
It’s worth noting that the announcement also introduced McDonald’s future plans to revamp its menu to make it more nutritious—think more seasonal fruits and vegetables and breakfast offerings such as an egg-white sandwich. Another option being tested is the McWrap, already on sale in Europe, which features 350-calorie wraps with chicken and vegetables.
