I’ve been reading everywhere how awful certain menu items are at fast food restaurants and major restaurant chains. Admittedly, I don’t go to McDonalds for healthy food—no matter what their ads say—or to Outback Steakhouse because I believe they are low calorie (although I never expected a side order of fries to have 2900 calories).
Let’s face it, we are rushed population, and we will be eating out and running through a drive thru to grab a bite. I didn’t think it was enough to raise a red flag about how bad everything was without alternatives, so I decided to find out what items were better than others. I found that there are a number of moderate items among our most popular choices and a few simple tips that can help reduce our caloric intake.
Here are my recommendations on what to grab on the run when a more healthy home cooked meal isn’t an option.
Burger King
The Whopper Jr. has less than 300 calories if you skip the cheese and sauce. The good news is it will be hot. Whenever you change a meal item by removing a basic item, they will make it to order. Hopefully that will help you forget about the sauce.
Another option is the Tendergrill Chicken Salad. Although you can stay under 400 calories with this choice if you get the light Italian dressing, you will still have two times the sodium of the Whopper Jr. (1160 milligrams).
McDonald’s
The Filet-O-Fish is your best option. If you aren’t a fish fan, you can go for a regular hamburger or cheeseburger. However, the Filet-O-Fish is 50 percent more food. The good news for any of these is you can have the sauce and the cheese and remain under 400 calories and four grams of saturated fat.
The Asian Chicken Salad is similar in calories, but again the sodium is dramatically higher with more than 1600 milligrams. Keep in mind that this is with grilled chicken and the balsamic dressing—not the crispy chicken and ranch, which would add 110 calories for the crispy and 130 for ranch. Yikes. (Nutritional source: McDonald's)
In-N-Out
The first thing you should know about In-N-Out is that the portion sizes are two to three times larger than other mainstream fast food joints. An In-N-Out hamburger is 240 percent more food than a McDonald’s hamburger. Want the cheese? Go for a cheeseburger protein style. For the non-Atkins or gluten free group, that’s In-N-Out lingo for no bun. You get two giant pieces of lettuce to hold it all together. This is one of my favorites and before being diagnosed as a Celiac, I loved a double double. I don’t notice the bun is gone—but only here. Everywhere else, I miss the bun.
If you are a French fry addict, this may be your only choice. Even straight from the potato slicer into the fryer, you will still be in for 400 calories. McDonald’s quotes similar calories, but their serving sizes are generally 50 percent less than In-N-Out across the board. For instance, a regular cheeseburger at In-N-Out is the same weight in grams as a Quarter Pounder and a hamburger. But don’t confuse that with calories. You are eating two items at McDonald’s. This example has an increase of 150 calories for the same weight in food.
Domino’s Pizza
You can actually have two pieces of pizza if you order correctly. Ask for the thin crust with a few veggie toppings and you can stay under 300 calories. Just don’t stray. The calories increase quickly with the crust and the toppings. So don’t ask for sausage and pepperoni. Those two add-ons will increase your calories by more than 30 percent. I’d rather add a glass of wine or a salad.
Either as an alternative or in addition to your pizza, you might consider a garden salad with light Italian dressing for 100 calories. If you add grilled chicken, you can stay under 200 calories, but you will increase your sodium intake. As you may have noticed, the chicken at most fast food chains contains a lot of sodium. Be careful with the dressings. The light Italian has 20 calories per serving while regular Italian has 220.
Pizza Hut
Like many other chains, Pizza Hut is pushing a healthier message. If you order the Fit ’N Delicious pizza (real name not an endorsement) with a few veggie toppings, you can have two slices for approximately 300 calories.
If pizza isn’t your thing, but you are at a Pizza Hut with friends or a sports team, you can also choose a pasta dish. I recommend the spaghetti with Marinara sauce. Coming in at just under 500 calories, it does have 1,000 milligrams of sodium, but has a very low fat count at 1.5 grams. This is also one of the largest dishes with over 600 grams of food. That’s equal to six slices of the Fit ’N Delicious pizza. Now that’s food weight, not calories, so don’t get carried away.
Taco Bell
As with most Mexican food, you can add up calories quickly with tortillas, beans, and fried tortillas as shells. I recommend sticking to the Crunchy Taco Supreme. You can have two for 400 calories.
If you must have a burrito, the Burrito Supreme and the Fiesta Burrito are safe. Keep in mind the Burrito Supreme is 25 percent bigger for the similar calories. Whether you get chicken, beef, or steak, you will stay within a 40-calorie range.
Baja Fresh
Too bad fresh doesn’t means less calories. Baja Fresh has some of the highest calorie counts I found. They also have larger portion sizes, but unless you are going to split a 950-calorie burrito or even a 1,400-calorie chicken cheese quesadilla, you have limited options.
It’s best to stick to any of their soft tacos—Americano, Baja, and Original all have between 220 and 250 calories apiece. Two are filling and are made with no lard or MSG and are never frozen.
Lastly, remember those complimentary chips thrown in the bag have calories too—approximately 200 in fact.
The key to making any food choices work is being realistic. As much as we would like to eat organic, cook all our meals at home, and sit down at a table to enjoy this wonderful food, we won’t. So second to a perfect world is to be a little wiser. I hope this information helps you make better choices the next time you must run through the drive thru. I know I will be going to an In-N-Out burger soon—just can’t seem to drive by that one.