Happy Monday friends! And happy National Nutrition Month! We are going to kick the month off by talking about fast food. When you think of fast food restaurants, what comes to mind? Most likely easy, affordable, unhealthy food. Well you are not alone. Over the years fast food restaurants have developed a bad reputation for being unhealthy. But with more and more consumers (like you!) becoming more health conscious and wanting better choices, fast food restaurants are now offering healthier food options at great prices. In this post I will narrowing down menu options based off calories, fat content, and saturated fat. And no it won’t be all salads!
McDonalds
Let’s go ahead with the one and only McDonalds. Now McDonalds did have a reputation for being one of the most unhealthy fast food restaurants (remember the 2004 documentary, Biggie Size Me?) but they recently rebranded, adding more fresh meals to their menu. They’ve even added a vegan burger in selected cities!
I found two decent options at Mc Donalds: Fillet-O-Fish contains 390 calories and 4 grams of saturated fat out of 19 g of total fat. The Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad contains only 320 calories and 6 grams of saturated fat out of a total of 14 grams.
Burger King
Burger King is one of the more popular fast food chains right after Mcdonald’s. They’ve also added a few healthy items to their menu. Their website makes it super easy to search and choose a meal based on the amount calories, fat content and many more filters! I found that a plain hamburger contains 240 calories, with 10 grams of total fat with 3.5 grams of saturated fats. Their six piece chicken nuggets contains 260 calories, 16 grams of total fat and 2.5 grams of saturated fat.
Chick- Fil-A
Now when I am craving some fast food it’s almost always coming from Chick-Fil-A. They do not serve beef or pork products, but they specialize in making delicious chicken sandwiches. You have a choice of ordering your chicken grilled or fried. Grilled is always healthier because the fat content is able to drip away. So a Grilled Chicken Sandwich contains around 310 calories, with 6 grams of fat, including 2 grams of saturated fat. Grilled Chicken Nuggets contain just 140 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, and 1 grams of saturated fat. Chick-Fil-A is also the first fast food restaurant chain to introduce a super food as a side! Kale-Yeah!
Taco Bell
Taco Bell is another well known fast food chain that has added a variety of healthier options to their menu. While ordering you can completely customize your meals and even add more vegetables to your selection. They are also planning on testing a strict vegetarian menu later this year. One relatively healthy option I found was the vegetarian Bean Burrito, that contains 380 calories, 11 grams of fat, including 4 grams of saturated fat. The Nacho Cheese Locos Taco is just 260 calories, with 9 grams of total fat and 3.5 grams of saturated fat.
Subway
Subway was one of the first to start implementing and advertising healthy eating. In 2000 they started a huge campaign stating that eating their foot longs would aid in weight loss. As a result their sales skyrocketed allowing them to open more locations nationwide. Subway’s Veggie Delite contains about 200 calories, with 20 grams from fat and 0 saturated fat. Their next healthy option is their Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwich it has 230 calories, 40 grams of fat and 1 gram of saturated fat.
Well there you have it friends! A few good options for the next time you are in a rush but want to eat something relatively healthy. I hope this helps keep you on the right track this year!
Xo,
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