Eating HEALTHY in a FAST FOOD WORLD
Jul 02 '00 (Updated Feb 20 '03)
The Bottom Line You can always make "better" choices, even "better bad choices", anywhere you go to eat.
Note: I originally submitted this review on 1/31/2000 as a bonus "extra review" at the end of a book review I did on Larry North's Living Lean. Why? Well, I had awaited the launch of the Health & Wellness category for a couple months at that point and decided to offer it as a "freebie" on the end of that review until it could be relocated here, where it belongs.
While my epinion below may use some of Larry North's terminology, the purpose of this review is to provide guidance on eating fast food when there are not any good alternatives and to do so without blowing whichever healthy lifestyle you have decided to aspire towards.
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1/31/2000
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Through years of experience in trying to live a healthy lifestyle (OK, at least at times), I have created, updated, and revised these rating's of America's fast food giants. The national giants that I will grade here: McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Subway, Arby's, Jack in the Box, and Taco Bell.
Taco Bell: F
Taco Bell gets an F for teasing health enthusiasts with healthier alternatives (twice in last five years) and removing these items from the menu in the name of maximizing profits.
The best bad choice here is chicken fajita taco's (hold the cheese), but beware, the taco shell's are fried, and the flour tortillas are made with lard. I personally avoid Taco Bell at all costs for abandoning healthy menu items.
McDonald's: D-
MacDonald's gets a D-, mainly because it's grilled chicken sandwich, which is not too bad if special ordered without the cheese and mayo, is not available at all locations.
Grilled Chicken (as offered): 440 cal, 20 grams of fat
Alas, most McDonalds do carry salads.
Burger King: D+
Unlike McDonalds, the BK Broiler is readily available; LIKE McDonalds, it's not as healthy as it looks- (actually it looks and IS processed!), but it definitely IS the better bad choice. Burger King gets a D+ for trying to masquerade the Broiler as healthy.
BK Broiler (have it your way (hold the mayo): 370 cal, (still) 9 g. fat
Subway: B
Subway gets a B for their less tasty choices & because they advertise being healthy, but only make accommodations by leaving things off. They use whole mayo in their tuna & seafood salads; many locations don’t even carry a reduced calorie mayo, much less reduced calorie cheese. You have to sacrifice something off your sandwich to eat healthy.
To move up in my book, subway needs to offer a couple of healthy as-is sandwiches (like Arby’s reviewed below)
6 inch subs (cheese & mayo NOT included) Calories, Fat (g): Veggie Delight® 232, 3 Turkey Breast 282, 4 Turkey Breast & Ham 288, 4 Ham 293, 5 Roast Beef 296, 5 SUBWAY Club® 304, 5 Roasted Chicken Breast 342, 6
Jack in the Box: B+
Jack in the Box offers a few relatively healthy alternatives. They get a B+ because some of it is healthy without special ordering.
The Chicken Fajita Pita is relatively healthy "as is" or hold the cheese for a really healthy sandwich. The Grilled Chicken Sandwich is healthy, if you remember to hold the cheese and mayo.: and for those on a steady exercise program, the Teriyaki Bowl is very low fat.
Chicken Fajita Pita: 280 cal, 9 g fat (hold the cheese to reduce)
Chicken Sandwich: 480 cal, 24 g fat (hold the two slices of cheese & mayo to make heathy
Teriyaki Rice Bowl: 670 cal, but only 4 g fat
Wendy’s: A
Wendy’s gets an A from me for two reasons:
1. Their Grilled Chicken Sandwich has only 8 grams of fat if you keep the honey mustard sauce (ie “as is”)
2. Their Baked Potato’s are some of the best restaurant potatoes available, and cost only 99 cents.
Even their chili is a “better bad choice”, and some of their locations still have the “salad spot”.
Watch out for the stuffed Pitas (nearly 20 g of fat “as is”
Grilled Chicken Sandwich: 310 cal, 8 g fat
Baked Potato – (plain, 8 oz): 250 cal, 0 g fat
Chili-(small – 8 oz): 227 cal, 7 g fat
Arby’s: A+
My top rating goes to Arby’s. Arby’s has upgraded its image from roast beef only to a full sandwich shop. With that upgrade, they added three choices which are healthy “as is”—right off the menu. Their Light Chicken, Light Turkey and Light Roast Beef Sandwiches are not only healthy, but also delicious—almost addictive. Some locations even offer baked potatoes. Most even offer salad versions of the Light Sandwiches. (Hold the lowfat mayo if you want to cut even more!) Unfortunately Arby’s also offers the best dessert in any of these fast food joints—don’t even look at the turnovers!
Light Roast Turkey: 230 Cal, 5 g fat
Light Roast Chicken: 260, 5 g fat
Light Roast Beef: 260 Cal, 5 g fat
Conclusion:
If you don’t plan ahead & get stuck doing the fast food thing for lunch, you can still stick with your healthy lifestyle. That Big Mac is not inevitable. I know this may seem like common sense to some of you, but millions of Americans know little to nothing about nutrition, and are shocked when faced with the facts.
Good Luck & Bon Appetit
Sources for nutritional info – the horses’ mouths:
McDonalds.com
BurgerKing.com
Wendys.com
TacoBell.com
Subway.com
Arbys.com
Jackinthebox.com
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Location: South Padre Island,TX
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