Healthy Fast Food?

So easy to go to a Fast-Food drive thru and pick up a quick bite to eat.  Fast Food meals can easily add extra calories and fat to your day and probably a lot of added sugar.  If you are going for some Fast Food, are there some healthier choices?  Dr. Oz and others have some recommendations.  Yes, you can choose some healthier options at Fast Food establishments and this blog will give you some ideas on how to do so.

Dr. Oz provides 4 healthy Fast-Food suggestions (these suggestions are adapted to make even healthier):

      1.  Hamburger – some people put hamburgers into a junk food category.  But hamburgers provide protein and a serving of grains. I would recommend a cheeseburger and not a hamburger.  Add cheese and you now have 3 out of the 5 food groups recommended by MyPlate.  Dr. Oz not only includes hamburgers on his Fast-Food list but states: “If you’re craving a burger, go for it!” 

  • Choose a hamburger with a patty the size of the palm of your hand, not the double burgers (unless you can afford the extra calories).
  • Make it a cheeseburger.  Add the cheese and you add some dairy to your meal.  MyPlate recommends dairy at every meal.
  • Add healthy sides – choose apple slices, a side salad. 
2.  Grilled chicken – many Fast-Food establishments offer grilled chicken as an option. 
  • Grilled chicken – not fried chicken. Skip the fried chicken which adds a lot of added fat to your day.  A grilled chicken breast is a healthy way to get some protein in your day and is a much healthier option than fried chicken.  Order a sandwich with grilled chicken or choose grilled chicken nuggets, not fried chicken nuggets.
  • Order some healthy sides to go with the grilled chicken – Cole slaw, green beans, corn on the cob.
3.  Deli Sandwiches – no reason to make bread the enemy.  We want grains at every meal. 
  • Choose healthy breads:  Choose healthy bread options like whole wheat bread, a whole wheat bagel or other whole grain bread.  Panera, Subway – many Fast-Food places offer whole grain bread options.
  • Load up on veggies – when I go to Subway, I choose almost every vegetable option offered for my sandwich:  spinach instead of lettuce is a healthier choice, tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, onion, olives.  Load up on the veggies.
  • Choose cheese – add some cheese to your sandwich and add dairy to your meal.
  • Go light on Mayo – mustard has almost no calories.  Mayo is loaded with calories (about 100 calories per Tablespoon).  If you like mayo, ask for it on the side and then you are in control as to how much mayo is on the sandwich. 
4.  Burrito Bowls – Usually full of beans, tomatoes and other healthy veggies. 
  • Sides – choose brown rice which is whole grain and adds important nutrients and fiber to your day.
  • Add guacamole – avocados have fat, but a heart-healthy fat.
  • Add cheese or choose milk to drink to add dairy to your meal.

Some specific advice when eating at Fast-Food establishments:

Subway – I like Subway as they offer so many healthy food choices.  Choose from their Fresh Fit menu and choose the whole grain bread like nine-grain wheat, choose the turkey breast, oven roasted chicken, roast beef, or Black Forest Ham, and add in as many veggies as you can on the sandwich and add in the cheese.  You now have a meal that provides a high quality, healthy protein, whole grains, veggies and a dairy serving.  For vegetarians, choose the Veggie Delite option, again on nine grain wheat bread.  Want some chips?  Subway offers a good selection of chips in a reasonably sized package.  If you are choosing potato chips, choose Lay’s chips as Lay’s uses heart healthy oils in their chips.  Better yet, choose Sunchips as Sunchips are whole grain and a healthy chip choice. 

Choose from the Fresh Fit menu at Subway.

Taco Bell – Choose a Quesadilla, Bean Burrito , Power Menu Bowl.  The Power Menu Bowl has grilled chicken, tomatoes, guacamole, cheese, rice, black beans, lettuce.   For vegetarians, choose the Power Menu Bowl- Veggie which replaces beans for the chicken.    Taco Bell doesn’t seem to offer milk as a beverage choice.  Choose a meal with cheese to get your dairy and then choose water, unsweetened ice tea, coffee or iced coffee to drink to skip all the added sugars in soft drinks.

Chipotle – so many healthy food choices at Chipotle.  Choose burrito bowls, salads, and choose brown rice, not the white rice.  Choose a chicken burrito bowl and add some fresh tomato salsa which adds a lot of healthy antioxidants to your meal.  Choose the brown rice which adds whole grains to your day.  For vegetarians, choose the burrito bowl with brown rice, beans for the protein, guacamole for healthy fats.   Add some healthy fresh tomato salsa and cheese for dairy. 

McDonald’s – Order a cheeseburger and get protein from the hamburger patty and cheese, a serving of dairy from the cheese and a serving of grains from the bun.  Add some ketchup or mustard and some onions and pickles.  Or choose the Fillet-O-Fresh which provides a healthy protein.  The bun provides a grain and choose cheese to add dairy to the meal.  Add some fruit by choosing apple slices.  Skip the sugared sodas and choose unsweetened ice tea, water, or milk to drink. Even chocolate milk would be a better choice than the sugared sodas. The chocolate milk at McDonald’s is low fat and has reduced sugar.   For breakfast, I like the Egg McMuffin.  I ask them for “no butter” – which isn’t real butter anyway.  You get high quality protein from the egg and ham, a grain serving from the English Muffin and dairy from the cheese.  I also order orange juice, which is real juice and not a fruit punch.  

Enjoy a cheeseburger.

There are healthier food options at Fast-Food establishments.  Try to skip the fried foods and look for grilled.  Try to get as many of the MyPlate food groups in your meal as you can – grains, protein, dairy and fruit and veggies.  One can enjoy eating out at Fast-Food places and make healthier choices when doing so.  The next time you go to a Fast-Food place, look at the menu and use the above recommendations when choosing what you will eat.


Sources:  healthy Fast-Food, states , Mayo , advice, Fresh Fit, Veggie Delite, Sunchips ,  Bean Burrito, Power Menu Bowl, Power Menu Bowl- Veggie, burrito bowl, cheeseburger, Fillet-O-Fresh, chocolate milk , Egg McMuffin, orange juice   Image Sources:  Cheeseburger , sandwich , milk

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