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Best of the worst-- fast food choices?

1K views 24 replies 19 participants last post by  MelanieMC 
#1 ·
What do you do if you have to eat on the run? What are the healthiest choices at the major fast food places?
 
#3 ·
Taco Bell has a few things that are three points each and pretty darn tasty.

Grilled Steak Soft Taco Fresco Style
Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco (with Salsa instead of Cheese)
Taco Fresco Style

That's my go-to if I can't deal with life and get the kids fast food (rarely, really!).
 
#5 ·
A Chick-Fil-A chargrilled deluxe chicken sandwhich is tasty and only 5 pts on weight watchers! You can get a fruit cup as side for just 1 pt. That's what I do when I'm on the run and starving.
 
#6 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Meli65 View Post
Taco Bell has a few things that are three points each and pretty darn tasty.

Grilled Steak Soft Taco Fresco Style
Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco (with Salsa instead of Cheese)
Taco Fresco Style

That's my go-to if I can't deal with life and get the kids fast food (rarely, really!).

Bean burrito fresco style is also yummy! I'm vegan, so that's about it for me as far as fast food goes.
 
#10 ·
At
Wendys- I would eat salad or chili, or how about a baked potato- grilled chicken sandwich sans the bread
burger king has salads as well and grilled chickn
mcdonalds- salads as well
taco bell- fesco style- no ground beef though - their ground beef is 1 step above dog food- maybe one of those bowls w/ rice and beans
LJS- I think they have some baked fish now = right
KFC- no idea!
Subway- you can get a salad made of any of the sandwiches or try some of the supposed whole grain bread

-- but yeah it depends on how you define healthy- I have no bones w/ good fat- it is just pretty impossible to find in fast food. I think getting a salad is a much better choice at those places than the highly refined and processed bread
 
#11 ·
I'm veg, but the entire family is not. We occasionally get stuff from:
Subway (veggie sub)
Taco Bell (not a great choice, but sometimes the only thing available on long car trips)
Wendy's baked potato
Moe's kid meal burritos (they are too big for me, my kids split one-I like that they offer tofu)
Target-they have some OK choices for kids meals
Whole foods-I can run in and get a couple of pieces of fruit and a few things from the salad bar and we make a lunch of that.
 
#13 ·
Do you have a Chipoltle? They try to get as much naturally raised, organic meat as possible. Here is their schtick:

"The hallmarks of Food With Integrity include things like unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal. And, since embracing this philosophy, it's had tremendous impact on how we run our restaurants and our business. It's led us to serve more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant in the country, to push for more sustainable practices in produce farming, and to work with dairy suppliers to eliminate the use of added hormones from their operations. "
 
#16 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Meli65 View Post
Chipotle is yummy, but it seems like it'd be difficult to build a healthy, low-calorie meal there, no? I'd be curious to hear ideas!
I don't think it would be too bad if you got the burrito bowl with rice, black beans, meat or veg, and salsa. I have a hard time not getting a tortilla. I love them!
 
#17 ·
I would avoid anything fried, creamy sauces and dressings and extra toppings like cheese or bacon. I would also avoid soda.

A normal size hamburger is not a bad choice. Sometimes nothing else sounds good. I love a good burger and when that's what I want, we go get a good burger (not MacDonalds - more like Fat Burger, or if I was in cali In n out). If you want fries, get one order and share them with the whole family (the first few are always the best!).

Fast food chicken often has a lot sodium, but if the rest of your diet isn't too high in salt, a grilld chicken salad, sandwich or wrap is not bad.

Turkey or roast beef sandwhiches are usually good as long as they are not loaded with mayo or a lot of cheese.

Look for whole wheat anything.

Tacos and burritos can be pretty healthy if they have vegetables and beans mixed in with the meat and other ingredients. Some mexican restaurants also have bowls made with beans and rice or extra lettuce.

At many fast food restaurants, you can ask for healthier sides. Great idea.

Japanese food like to-go sushi and teriyaki can be a healthy choice too. Look for brown rice or ask for extra vegetables.

If you want dessert, soft serve cones or sundaes are usually the best choice.

And finally, most fast food restaurants have nutritional content online. So you can see how many calories your favorite things have and, um, adjust accordingly!
 
#18 ·
if DD is awake we get out at a grocery store and walk around a bit and grab some fruit, bread and hummus...pretty good choices I think.

if she is asleep and I can't get out of the car, that's when it gets knarley. LOL. Then I sometimes get a BK veggie burger (garden burger really) and ask that they microwave it rather than grill it (so not in contact with meat) and get it with just ketchup and lettuce. It's not too bad.
 
#20 ·
we don;t do much fast food, ever. But McD's egg McMuffin is my all time fave fawst food meal.

Also, when I go to chick Fil A or Arbys (or anywhere like that), I ask for "no butter on the bun" Saves a lot of yucky calories (it's not real butter anyway!)
HTH
 
#21 ·
try looking in your library for the book "eat this not that". I checked it out before a LONG car trip to Ohio and it was really helpful. it lists the calorie content for resturants and tell you want to avoid there and what is better calorie wise. They inculde sit down resturants too.
 
#22 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ewp11100 View Post
try looking in your library for the book "eat this not that". I checked it out before a LONG car trip to Ohio and it was really helpful. it lists the calorie content for resturants and tell you want to avoid there and what is better calorie wise. They inculde sit down resturants too.
Thanks for this! I've seen this book before (although for some reason I thought it was a kids book,
)
 
#23 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by annettemarie View Post
Thanks for this! I've seen this book before (although for some reason I thought it was a kids book,
)
Yes they have 2 or 3 vertions of thi book and one is "kids! eat this and not that" all it has is kids convience food like those nasty microwave things :yuk
 
#24 ·
We LOVE Qdoba here! Or mexican place equivalent. I usually order the burrito bowl. So no tortilla or cheese's or anything like that. Strictly meat rice beans and some fresh greens on the top. Very tasty and the meat is grilled. Although I am not sure about the calories, I don't think I want to know. Though it seems healthy enough LOL
 
#25 ·
I get the same as a lot of other posters. I would just be careful about getting salads at places like mcdonalds and wendys. Some of them have more fat and calories than big macs! You can google any chain ff place and find their nutritional info. Thats whats helped me in making my decisions
 
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