How to Eat Healthy at Fast Food Restaurants

Most people find it unavoidable to eat at fast food restaurants sometimes, due to convenience or circumstance. If you stop at a fast food place for a meal, but want to eat healthy, relax. There are nutritious choices to be found at most all of them.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. If you stop at WENDY'S, ... ask for a plain baked potato with nothing on it and a small chili with no cheese. Dump the chili on top of the potato for a fiber-filled, lowfat lunch. Add a side salad with lite or fat-free dressing. For a low-caloric drink, choose diet coke, lowfat milk or coffee/tea with milk and Spenda.

2. If you stop at MCDONALD'S, ... pick the Asian salad with grilled chicken and Newman's lite dressing. McDonald's now has lattes. Ask for one made with skim milk and Splenda.

3. If you stop at BURGER KING, ...have a tenderGRILL garden salad with Ken's lite Italian or fat-free ranch dressing. Burger King has Hershey's 1% milk, or get a diet soda or coffee.

4. If you stop at STARBUCKS, ... order their reduce fat turkey bacon breakfast sandwich. Wonderfully delicious, but I wish they offered ketchup with it. Forego the caloric drinks and order straight coffee with lowfat or skim milk, and sugar-free sweetener. Starbucks also has yogurt, fresh fruit cups, and oatmeal.

5. If you stop at DUNKIN' DONUTS, ... try their flatbread breakfast sandwich (veggie or turkey sausage). Dunkin has a DDSMART menu now, with good-for-you choices. Check out https://www.dunkindonuts.com/aboutus/breakfastchoices/. Skip the cream and sugar in your coffee, and instead order skim or lowfat milk and Splenda. Latte lites are a satisfying treat.

6. If you stop at TACO BELL, ... check out their FRESCO MENU full of lower calorie choices. The Fresco Zesty Chicken Border Bowl is very good. All items are listed at http://www.tacobell.com/fresco/. For low-cal drinks, you are limited here to diet soda.

7. If you stop at ARBY's, ... get the Martha's Vineyard Chicken Salad - diced chicken, apples, tomatoes, almonds, cranberries, etc. Raspberry viniagrette is served on the side. The only diet drink here is Diet Pepsi.

8. If you stop at QUIZNO'S, ... get a sub with turkey or chicken, veggies, and mustard. Skip the cheese. Or try a salad and only eat half the bread that comes with it. Quizno's as SoBeLEAN as a bottle drink. Also, find Baked Lay's here.

9. If you stop at KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN, ... good luck. No, just kidding. KFC has salads that range from 190 to 340 calories each. They also have two kinds of lite dressing. Diet Pepsi is the only low-cal drink offered.

10. If you stop at WHITE CASTLE, ... order one sandwich, not three (even though they are small). No real diet food offered here, but if you limit your portion, you will be ok. Large selections of drinks offered - juice, coffee, hot tea, diet soda.

Tips & Warnings

• Fast food restaurants serve tempting, high-calorie foods, so save yourself some agony and don't study the menu. Look for a salad right away, or see if they have a grilled chicken sandwich and order it with no mayo.

[QueenofMisc]

on 1/3/2009 # 9 is funny! Good article.

[sandyakamom]

on 12/14/2008 LOL, I never realized there were so many GOOD choices out there. Hmmm, I'm thinking the border bowl at Taco Bell. Thanks, this is great information.
:-) Sandy a.k.a. Mom