10 Restaurant Meals and Drinks That Aren’t as Healthy as Californians Assume

California made chain restaurants post calorie counts on their menu boards in 2008, years before the federal government did.

But calories aren’t the only number consumers need to watch.

One salad on those boards carries 2,030 milligrams of sodium, 88% of a full day’s limit, and it reads like the light option.

These are the restaurant meals and drinks that aren’t as healthy as Californians assume.

Note: This is general information, not medical or dietary advice. Nutrition needs and daily limits vary by person, so talk to a doctor or dietitian about your diet.

1. In-N-Out’s Protein Style Burger

In-N-Out lets any burger come “protein style,” wrapped in hand-leafed lettuce instead of a bun.

Many diners treat that swap as the healthy way to order.

The math only backs up half of that idea.

A regular Double-Double runs 610 calories and 1,670 milligrams of sodium.

The protein style version drops to 460 calories and just 12 grams of carbs, per In-N-Out’s posted nutrition information.

Sodium barely moves.

It falls from 1,670 milligrams to 1,390, still more than half of a full day’s limit in one burger.

In-N-Out’s spread, cheese, and two beef patties carry most of that salt.

None of it lives in the bun.

2. Panera’s Fuji Apple Chicken Salad

Panera built the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad to look like the lightest thing on the menu, with sliced apples, dried cranberries, and grilled chicken over greens.

It’s the opposite.

The full-size salad carries 710 calories and 1,770 milligrams of sodium, according to Panera’s posted nutrition guide.

That’s about three-quarters of a full day’s sodium limit, from one salad.

Even the half-size portion runs 890 milligrams of sodium and 16 grams of sugar, largely from the dried cranberries and the sweet vinaigrette.

3. El Pollo Loco’s Original Pollo Bowl

El Pollo Loco built its menu around fire-grilled chicken, and the Original Pollo Bowl reads like the obvious lighter order next to a fried taco.

It carries 2,030 milligrams of sodium, according to the chain’s posted nutrition guide.

That’s 88 percent of a full day’s sodium limit.

One bowl.

The rice, beans, and grilled chicken each add a little salt.

The totals stack up fast.

4. Chick-fil-A’s Cobb Salad

Chick-fil-A markets the Cobb Salad as the order for someone skipping the fried sandwich, piled with a filet, bacon, cheese, and a hard-boiled egg.

Not quite.

The Cobb Salad with a Chick-fil-A filet and dressing runs 520 calories and 28 grams of fat, per the chain’s posted menu information.

The original Chicken Sandwich runs lower on both counts, 420 calories and 18 grams of fat.

Bacon and extra dressing make up the difference, not the greens.

5. The Habit’s Grilled Chicken Sandwich

The Habit Burger Grill lists a Grilled Chicken Sandwich right next to its Charburger, and the chicken option reads as the obvious swap for a lighter lunch.

Sodium runs the other way.

The Grilled Chicken Sandwich carries 550 calories and 1,470 milligrams of sodium, according to the chain’s posted nutrition information.

The plain Charburger runs lower on both, 480 calories and 1,300 milligrams.

A beef patty loses to grilled chicken on sodium here, which surprises people who order the chicken to eat lighter.

6. Panda Express’s Broccoli Beef Bowl

Panda Express sells Broccoli Beef inside a Bowl, its standard combo of one entree and one side, priced and ordered as a single unit.

Regulars treat the entree itself as the light choice on the menu.

It runs just 150 calories and 520 milligrams of sodium on its own, according to Panda Express’s posted nutrition information.

The side sitting next to it in that Bowl doesn’t stay so light.

Chow mein and fried rice, two of the sides on offer, each carry 1,000 milligrams of sodium, per the same nutrition page.

Order the Broccoli Beef Bowl with either one and sodium clears 1,500 milligrams before the fortune cookie.

7. Chipotle’s Chicken Salad

Chipotle sells the same fillings in a bowl, a burrito, and a salad.

Many regulars pick the salad because it feels lighter than a tortilla full of rice.

The dressing erases that math.

A single 2-ounce ladle of Chipotle’s vinaigrette carries more than 200 calories, and some orders get poured with two.

Two ladles alone can add more than 400 calories of dressing before the lettuce, chicken, or beans add anything.

A burrito’s tortilla adds calories too, so the salad’s lighter reputation depends on how heavy a hand pours the dressing.

8. Jamba’s Fruit Smoothies

A medium Mango-A-Go-Go smoothie at Jamba carries 390 calories and 85 grams of sugar, according to Jamba’s posted nutrition guide.

Several other medium blends land close behind, one running past 70 grams too.

Jamba blends fruit into every smoothie, and the fruit-forward menu makes the whole lineup feel like a health stop between errands.

Fruit alone doesn’t add that much sugar, so much of it comes from the added juice and sherbet blended in.

9. Build-Your-Own Poke Bowls

A loaded poke bowl can run 710 calories and 1,120 milligrams of sodium in a single regular order.

That’s for one of Pokeworks’ spicy ahi bowls, according to the chain’s posted nutrition and allergen guide.

Poke bowls built their reputation on raw fish, avocado, and edamame over rice.

Many people treat one as an automatic light lunch because of that reputation.

The math depends on the rice and the sauce, not the fish alone.

Two scoops of rice alone run close to 300 calories before anything else goes into the bowl.

The sauce adds more.

Pokeworks lists two pumps of its Sriracha Aioli at 140 calories and 290 milligrams of sodium, and a heavier drizzle means more of both.

10. IHOP’s Veggie Egg White Omelette

IHOP markets its Veggie Egg White Omelette as the lighter breakfast, egg whites and vegetables standing in for the usual short stack.

Hardly.

IHOP’s standard build for the omelette adds mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, spinach, and avocado, plus a side of fresh fruit.

That order runs 420 calories and 1,230 milligrams of sodium, according to IHOP’s live nutrition calculator.

That’s 53 percent of a full day’s sodium limit in one breakfast order.

The egg whites cut fat and cholesterol, not salt.

What the Menu Board Leaves Out

California restaurants only have to print one number where a customer can see it.

Calories, and only calories.

Under federal rules, any chain with 20 or more locations has to post calorie counts directly on the menu board.

Sodium, sugar, and fat only have to be handed over on written request.