sweet tooth.

I found this on yahoo news and thought it would be a great way to remind myself (and others) to think twice about taking on a dessert alone. Holy s**t! Who would have known all these desserts would carry a whole day's worth of calories! Stick to the pudding cups, I tell ya. Stick to the pudding cups!

SCARY-SWEET! HG's Restaurant Dessert SHOCKERS (and AWESOME Alternatives!)
Posted Tue, Jun 12, 2007, 6:00 am PDT
It's no secret that these decadent desserts are high in calories and fat, but even WE were appalled by the horrifying stats on these terrifying treats. No worries -- we've got some guilt-free alternatives, too. Check it out...

Chili's - Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie
(1,600 calories, 78g fat, 950mg sodium, 215g carbs, 6g fiber, 19g protein)

We're not gonna lie: This buttery, sweet, multi-layered bar topped with vanilla ice cream and more tastes insanely good. But even if you split it with a pal, you're still gonna be inhaling 800 calories and nearly 40 grams of fat! Yikes! If you've gotta have a sweet fix while chillin' at Chili's, order a side of their gooey and dessert-y Cinnamon Apples (210 calories, 8g fat). Just a fun little tip from HG... Wheeee!

HG Makeover! - Choco Chip Cookie Dough PB Sundae Supreme
(230 calories, 5.5g fat, 265mg sodium, 38g carbs, 6g fiber, 23g sugars, 5g protein)

Simply heat a Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip VitaTop (click here for more details on that) and top it off with a half-cup scoop of Dreyer's/Edy's Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. Our version is so freakishly indulgent, your mouth may not believe it's guilt-free (but it SO is)!


Romano's Macaroni Grill - New York Cheesecake w/ Caramel Fudge Sauce
(1,610 calories, 96g fat, 960mg sodium, 169g carbs, 1g fiber, 21g protein)

We're not sure what's scarier: the ridiculously high fat and calorie counts on this dessert or the fact that 630 of those calories and 27 of those fat grams come from the sauce alone!!! Either way, ordering this dessert at Macaroni Grill would be a big fat mistake.

HG Swap! - Smart Ones New York Style Cheesecake
(150 calories, 5g fat, 140mg sodium, 21g carbs, <1g fiber, 17g sugars, 5g protein)

In less time than it would take to wait for your dessert to arrive at your table, you could head home and be sitting down to this very good version of NY-style cheesecake! It's got a thick swirl of sweet black cherry sauce already in it, so no need to top with a crazy high-cal sauce like M-Grill does. Find it in the freezer aisle of most markets. (Pssst -- you could eat TEN of these guilt-free desserts and still take in less calories than you would with Macaroni Grill's dessert -- but please don't do that either!!!)


P.F. Chang's - Great Wall of Chocolate
(2,240 calories, 89g fat, 376g carbs, 20g protein)

Okay, we're sure this dessert is meant to be shared. But it'd take a whole team of fork-wielding friends to justify ordering this thing! So unless you're dining at Chang's with, literally, a dozen of your closest pals, do NOT cave to this weighty wall of fatty calories.

HG Tip! Order the Flourless Chocolate Dome (570 calories, 26g fat) instead, and ask for an extra side of the fresh berries it comes served with. Then feed a chocolate craving with a few bites of the Dome (let your table-mates inhale the rest!), and fill up on the sweet berries.


Denny's - Oreo Blender Blaster
(895 calories, 46g fat, 280mg sodium, 112g carbs, 2g fiber, 16g protein)

Scary Dessert Shocker #101: Things you sip can have as many or more calories than things that require chewing. In fact, this shake has more calories than a plateful of 15 individual Oreo cookies. Don't be fooled by this shake mistake -- it's one of the worst desserts on the Denny's menu.

HG Makeover! - Cookie-rific Ice Cream Freeze!
(158 calories, 4g fat, 213mg sodium, 24g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 15g sugars, 6g protein)

Wowowow is this a good one! It's packed with real Oreo goodness and creamy vanilla flavor for a mere fraction of the fat and calories in the Denny's version. Just dissolve 1 tsp. of Coffee-mate Fat Free French Vanilla powder into a quarter-cup of water. Then place in a blender with the following ingredients: 1/4 cup Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned Light Vanilla Ice Cream, 5 ounces 8th Continent Light Vanilla Soymilk, 1/2 a pack of 100 Calorie Packs Oreo Thin Crisps, 2 no-calorie sweetener packets, and 1 cup ice. Blend on high speed for about a minute, or until well mixed. Pour and enjoy, guilt-free!


Johnny Rocket's - Apple Pie a la Mode
(1,190 calories, 75g fat, 875mg sodium, 114g carbs, 6g fiber, 108g sugars, 12g protein)

Don't think for one second that an after-meal menu option with fruit in the title makes it some sort of sensible dessert. This slice of apple pie a la mode is loaded with calories, fat, carbs, sugars -- the whole nine yards! So not worth it, people!

HG's Makeover - Amy's a la Mode
(Approx. 300 calories, 8g fat, 185mg sodium, 53g carbs, 2.5g fiber, 18g sugars, 4g protein)

Heat up one serving (half of the pie, which feels like so much more than a slice!) of Amy's Apple Pie. Then top with a scoop of fat-free vanilla ice cream and you're good to go. Woohoo!


On The Border - Border Brownie Sundae
(1,380 calories, 80g fat, 450mg sodium, 163g carbs, 8g fiber, 17g protein)

Yikes! This On The Border brownie is more than borderline bad -- it's a full-on disaster! Sure a warm brownie topped with ice cream and fudge is enticing, but you could get your fix at home for TWENTY TIMES LESS FAT! Trust us on this one; it's worth the wait.

HG Swap! - Smart Ones Brownie A La Mode
(200 calories, 4g fat, 160mg sodium, 36g carbs, 3g fiber, 21g sugars, 5g protein)

This freezer-aisle favorite is the real deal. And even if you ate SIX of these desserts (again, DO NOT DO THIS!), you'd still be taking in fewer calories and less than a THIRD of the fat in OTB's version. That's NUTTY!

Romano's Macaroni Grill - Tiramisu
(1,000 calories, 64g fat, 160mg sodium, 89g carbs, 1g fiber, 12g protein)

Apparently Romano's lowered the stats on their terrifying tiramisu since we last outed it as an atrocious option when eating out. But it's gonna take a lot more work before we'll consider this one safe to inhale -- it's still loaded with calories in the quadruple digits and more than 60 fat grams!

HG Makeover - Tremendous Tiramisu!
(260 calories, 5.5g fat, 133mg sodium, 42g carbs, 2g fiber, 27g sugars, 9g protein)

This humungous dessert do-over is so crazy-good, you may not be able to handle it.