Fast Food - Call Out!

lizlucas1

Question: for those who like to eat fast food (or it is simply more convenient for many of the on-the-go dieters), what are some good healthy meals/substitutes from many of our popular fast food chains? I'm looking for ways to eat healthier, and although I am willing to give up fast food, I am curious about some of the healthier alternatives at many of the fast food chains I used to eat at.

Here's a list of the chains, and you tell me what you would order from there as a healthier substitute to the usual:

McDonald's
Carl's Jr
Burger King
In-N-Out
Wendy's
Fred's Burgers
Weinerschnitzel
Roberto's
Alberto's

There're more out there, and share them with me. What would you normally order from there and what do you order as a substitute now? What are healthier choices from these? What other fast food chains am I missing? Tell me about them and what you would suggest. I'm open to all options.

kitty_764

Nothing. Bring something from home.

Edited to add - if you want to eat healthy, it's best to scratch those places off of your list, except for a rare occasion as a treat.

efirkey

There is no way I am going into any of these fast food restaurants and getting a salad. I would rather not eat at all.

pastryari

McDonald's - Quarter pounder w/ cheese and nuggets.

In-N-Out - Double double w/ animal style fries.


Those are the only places I somewhat occasionally eat at. It's not a common occurrence so I usually either fit it into my day or I accept that I'm over for the day. I'm not going to get a salad at McDonald's. Although, at In N Out, if you wanted to, you can get your burger "protein style", which loses the bun.

randaswilson

I would research some healthier restuarants in your area. there are some in every place but they go unnoticed

jomo1113

McDonald's - Egg McMuffin
Carl's Jr - (Hardee's down here in Alabama) - Turkey burger has made it's way to the menu
Burger King - probably avoid this one like the plague
In-N-Out
Wendy's - Ultimate Chicken Grill sandwich and a small chili
Fred's Burgers
Weinerschnitzel
Roberto's
Alberto's

cwick56

Cup of water

fbmandy55

The last 2 times I've had fast food its been subway.

I could really go for a cheeseburger and fries but tonight it pizza night. I will take it!

sgrubby

Do you not have a Subway close by? That's the only "fast food" I will eat.

LisaGod85

Going to a fast food joint for a salad is like going to a hooker for a hug....

Try to keep fast food an occasional treat only

joolson45

Mcdonalds: get a happy meal...or grilled chix sandwhich... skip the fries if possible..

My favorite fast food on the go is KFC..grilled chicken breast (remove skin) side of coleslaw...

msaestein1

I pretty much only like McDonalds and Wendy's, but I try to avoid these places as much as I can lately. If I do go, I get a jr sized burger instead of a full sizde. If I just have to have fries, I order the kid's meals.

I also like how Wendy's will let you get the baked potato, chili or salad instead of fries with your meal.

khall86790

If I am getting any kind of take out food now, I get sushi.
If I ever do find myself in McDonalds, I get a snack wrap. That way if it's dinner time I sit and think "Ok, a snack wrap or an awesome plate of goodness?" and I choose the latter.
To be honest, these things should be considered a treat and therefore get what you like, this is just how I do it for the time being. If I really wanted a Big Mac, I'd get one. But to be honest, eating at these places makes me feel like **** and makes me break out all over my face. The food is just plain bad for you!

poundis

McDonald's : I usually have chicken nuggets or the southwest salad with grilled chicken.

JenRLo

When I am out and nowhere near home (i.e., been gone from my house since 6am and its 5 pm); I have a couple favorites. At McDonald's I'll get the grilled chicken Caesar salad with balsamic vinaigrette and no croutons with a yogurt parfait. Filling and under 500 cals. At Wendy's I get a plain baked potato and small chili. Burger King doesn't really have anything healthy (IMO). Another thing I discovered is WaWa's (PA) or 7-11's. They usually sell Greek yogurt, hard boiled eggs, and cheese sticks to tide you over until you can get home.

mrsjas2000

I like Burger King's grilled chicken blt salad it is big and filling but lots of sodium, also I don't use their dressing I use light zesty italian it is only 6 calories

penrbrown

Oh, why order a 'healthier' substitute? Why not just order less then and/or eat less then you normally would? If you're going to eat fast food you may as well enjoy it. :P

Gracerrr

I get a grilled chicken salad with light dressing from McDonald's, Burgerking, or Wendy's. I will also get the oatmeal from McDonald's or a grilled snackwrap on occasion. If I'm in a splurge mood, I'll get a small chicken nugget meal.

lizlucas1

For those who recommended Subway: I did some research on Subway, and the information I received about their healthy foods (although much better compared to many fast food chains) isn't that great. I still am partial to Subway over any of these fast food chains, but I am curious about for those who are more disciplined at this than I am (no excuses here), what are some healthier alternatives (if any) from these restaurants? It's more of a research poll than anything else. Not to mention, for those rare (EXTREMELY RARE) days where I crave a burger, what would you suggest? (I haven't eaten any burger in over a year -- I usually substitute chicken sandwiches over a burger any day).

Mainebikerchick

[/quote]

Going to a fast food joint for a salad is like going to a hooker for a hug....

^^ My husband just said this to me yesterday!!! :laugh:

Julie7741

Wendy's-
Potato and a small chili. Put the chili on the potato. Yum.

Jacwhite22

Do you not have a Subway close by? That's the only "fast food" I will eat.

Eww. Their chicken.......It's even farther from real chicken than the other places listed above. If you want a veggie sub I guess that's fine.




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tararocks

im not going to jump on the bandwagon and tell you to avoid these places, that even the "good for you" is loaded with sodium, etc. I eat fast food....sometimes a lot....sometimes i make good choices there...sometimes i don't...having said that:

Mcdonalds-probably can get away with a grilled chicken something and a yogurt parfait, but i always go nuggets and fries:)
carls jr-turley burger isnt bad...also the charbroiled fish right now during lent is pretty tasty
burger king-i get whopper junior no mayo (or sometimes mayo) and fries and make it fit into my day or week
wendys-my go to fast food, ultimate grilled chicken, no sauce and a side salad
chick fil a-grilled chicken and side salad
i dont think i have any of the others around me

dxtra30

IMO try and stay away from the Fast Food joints as long as you can as it's better for your weight and cholesterol ..

Obey46

IIFYM!

Cuttin on Carne Asada Fries ftw

jharb2

Wendys grilled chicken apple pecan salad. Delicious!

Arkhos

Along my journey I was trying to include a daily fast food item, now I've almost completely excluded them. Here are some suggestions:

Qdoba or Chipotle Crispy (not soft) Tacos (any meat) lettuce and cheese only - salsa is FULL of sodium - just like most of subway meats! You can also remove the shells and dump it all into a pile and eat like a salad to reduce carbs. Or crumble 1 taco shell into this salad you just made. You can also add fajita vegetables to anything.

1 Steak taco is:

180 calories
9 carbs
11 fat
14 protein
185 sodium

Soft Tortillas are high in carbs and sodium so not good to eat burritos/soft tacos very often. Also If you're having a burrito use the queso cheese instead of shredded unless you tell them how much cheese to put on it. Remarkably, queso has less than shredded when in that volume. If eating tacos use shredded. Qdoba has brown rice and whole wheat tortillas, but again tortillas are high in carbs/sodium.

You can also find chicken in the deli sections of local grocery stores, usually an 8 piece for about $6.99 (baked, bbq, fried - remove skin) or KFC Grilled chicken or Popeyes (remove skin).

a Burger King hamburger patty by itself - no bun or condiments is:

90 calories
0 carbs
7 fat
7 protein
30 sodium

I would take 2 double burgers and put them on 1 bun, so 4 patties and 1 bun (top & bottom), or use 1 side of the bun and fold it in half to reduce carbs. Of course this varies per your calories/goals - I'm a big boy and was looking for high protein.

I would at times put my own cheese on the burger because theirs is pretty high in fat/calories. There's some thin sliced cheddar/mozzarella from Sargento you could use instead.

McDonalds burgers are full of salt and high sodium.

Pickels are also loaded with sodium, skip them if you can.

Of course as everyone will say, it's best not to eat it, and make your own food so you know what's in it.

Liatush

Cup of water

haha....

I personally will not step foot in those places - not even for a salad - I feel like my money should go to supporting those businesses that actually care about what they are serving us, not just their CEO's pockets.

Subways is a somewhat healthier/fast foodie kinda place, as is Cosi's, Prett, and Panera's.

Mind you, their sodium is still sky high, but at least ingredients are healthy.

taunto

Qdobas Naked Queso burritto was my favorite. Its about 550 calories but you are FULL from that 1 burritto. And there are many good ingredients like grilled chicken, veggies and beans in it. You can reduce the calories even more by reducing the queso cheese but thats no fun. Another way would be reducing the rice amount

MightyDomo

McDonalds I used to order protein platters, which they no longer do

But a grilled chicken sandwich add slivered onions with no bun (on a pancake platter) with a side salad and the shot of mayo on the side, no dressing (I use the mayo instead even though it's higher in fat haha).

It's pretty much a grilled chicken salad with onions in it and mayo as the dressing, I love it to be honest.

But if you're going to go out to eat, fast food, then a salad without dressing, croutons, taco strips/ bacon is the best bet.

AllonsYtotheTardis

There are a few options at Wendy's. Check out their website - they have a fantastic online meal calculator.

I got nuthin' for the rest.