"Healthier" Fast Food Options?

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soccerkon26
soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone have any fast food meals they love, but are not extremely bad? I.e. certrain salads, burrito bowls, chicken, etc. from fast food places?
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  • amblight
    amblight Posts: 350 Member
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    Do you mean healthy or do you mean low calorie?

    Low calorie, I recommend you check Hungry Girls 'Survival Guide' to fast food: http://www.hungry-girl.com/biteout/show/1899-the-big-fast-food-survival-guide - also for general food places: http://www.hungry-girl.com/biteout/show/2599-a-survival-guide-for-every-occasion-mega-roundup
  • DataSeven
    DataSeven Posts: 245 Member
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    I like Wendy's salads. Everything but the taco salad is decent if you're watching calories. If you order a regular salad, only use 1 packet of dressing (they give you 2), and it's an OK meal. Their chili is also decent calorie-wise if you don't mind the sodium.
  • ninav1980
    ninav1980 Posts: 514 Member
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    Chic Fil A -Asian Salad + FF Honey Mustard dressing 430 cals and 29grams of protein. It always fills me up and tastes great

    Jasons Deli and Panera Bread-if you have in your area have great options as well and nutrition guides are listed.

    Most of the fast food entrees can be modified to stay within my caloric needs. Not sure what you are looking for, but generally, if you skip the fries (or order small size) and skip the drink, you can get a hamburger and fries for around 600 cals. Again, Im not sure what you are aiming for, soooooo
  • mrandolph69
    mrandolph69 Posts: 197 Member
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    At Chik-Fil-A I eat the Grilled Market Salad with 2 Low Fat Berry Balsamic Vinaigrettes. With the toppings this comes in at 540 calories.

    http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Food/Menu-Detail/ChickfilA-Grilled-Market-Salad

    At McDonald's I eat the Southwest Salad with grilled chicken with 2 southwest dressings for a total of 490 calories.

    http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product_nutrition.salads.88.premium-southwest-salad-with-grilled-chicken.html
  • NaurielR
    NaurielR Posts: 429 Member
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    At Panda Express I get the panda bowl with veggies (instead of chow mein or rice) and mushroom chicken for the entree. It's only 240 calories, but very delicious.
  • mrsmarit
    mrsmarit Posts: 229 Member
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    At McDonald's I eat the Southwest Salad with grilled chicken with 2 southwest dressings for a total of 490 calories.

    http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product_nutrition.salads.88.premium-southwest-salad-with-grilled-chicken.html


    I get this salad too but with no dressing. Between the lime wedge and the glaze they put on it I like the taste just fine. And it's only 290 calories.. I do get fries though.. I can't resist their fries.
  • duke0825
    duke0825 Posts: 22 Member
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    The "healthier" comment is very subjective around here. Problem with fast food is that it's so dense in calories and designed to make you want to eat more. Almost impossible for me to get a burger and not want to get a meal deal with fries and stuff. Know what you want to get before hand and fit it in your macro/calories and you'll be good. I personally love TBell or Wendys.
  • Devlyn_P
    Devlyn_P Posts: 294 Member
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    I stay away from chains because all their food is processed and loaded with preservatives so I stick to small businesses that are made to order with fresh ingredients.

    Japanese is my favorite so I tend to go there for my ramen fix or sashimi.
    Mogolian BBQ is great because you pick out your veggies/meat and they grill it in front of you.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    The "healthier" comment is very subjective around here. Problem with fast food is that it's so dense in calories and designed to make you want to eat more. Almost impossible for me to get a burger and not want to get a meal deal with fries and stuff. Know what you want to get before hand and fit it in your macro/calories and you'll be good. I personally love TBell or Wendys.

    All the food I cook and eat at home is designed to make me want to eat more because I refuse to eat food that tastes gross, i.e. the only type of food I don't want to eat more of.
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
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    Depends on what your idea of "healthy" is, but my favorite fast food meal is from Chipotle. I love the Sofritas salad with fajita veggies, salsas and lots of guac!
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Two McDonald's McDoubles:

    780 calories: 66c, 38f, 46p.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    Wendy's triple
  • therealklane
    therealklane Posts: 2,172 Member
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    The Asian Chicken Salad from Chick fil A is delicious. I use the dressing that comes with it. I think it ended up being around 450 calories? Gah. So good. It's one of those "only every once in a while" meals though.
  • unapologetically_crystal
    unapologetically_crystal Posts: 278 Member
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    i really like the southwest salad with grilled chicken and a side salad at mcdonalds. (the side salad gives me a little more lettuce haha) i find even with the dressing that its a reasonable amount of calories. at burger king, i have tried the veggie burger and i liked it. (its actually a morningstar burger). thats the only fast food places we have here.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    8bbd33e9-1d31-4a54-8d2d-942e2e5f02c3_zps1d3e2c8b.jpg

    double_down_nutrition_facts_zps762c1c83.jpg

    Less than 600 calories with nearly half my protein needs for the day. Fill the rest of my day with eggs, veggies, fruits, yogurt and whatever else gets me to my goals and it's a very healthy fast food option.
  • Sparlingo
    Sparlingo Posts: 938 Member
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    If you're in a food court, opt for a pita place. I love the felafel pita at a local chain here.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
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    Chipotle. Because they list their ingredients in great detail online, with detailed calorie count.
  • smokinkudzu
    smokinkudzu Posts: 20 Member
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    salad, unless you really want to poach apple slices from the kiddie meal

    when i willingly end up in a fast food restaurant, it is usually to binge on saturated fat and soda
  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
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    Wendy's apple pecan salad is delicious (IMO). Full is like 500? Half is like 250ish. Give or take, my numbers may be a bit off. It's good, though.

    Their chili is surprisingly low cal and not bad. Full of protein.

    McDonald's has a tasty parfait. When I go there, I'll often get it and a side salad. Maybe a cookie (I like sharing them with people, their cookies are delicious and hard to say no to). The side salad is like 20 cals, the parfait is around 100-150 if I recall correctly.

    If Panera counts, they have some pretty tasty salads. Their u pick two can be used to have light meals if you do it correctly. Their chicken soup is low calorie. I like to mix it with a half med veggie sandwhich, which is around 300 but worth it. Taste delicious. Their turkey chili is worth it, too.

    Apple slices are available in most fast food places these days. If you go to Panera, switch the side bread out for an apple. They give full apples, though. So if you have sensitive teeth like me, you might want to save it so you can cut it.

    Wendy's has a phone app. Where you can look for the nutritional content of their menu. Pretty nifty.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
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    Two McDonald's McDoubles:

    780 calories: 66c, 38f, 46p.

    Yummy! I did that last week (well, one McDouble and one Hamburger)...AND...it fit my macros, too! OmNomNom

    But, for OP, I only do McDonald's once a week or so. Otherwise, I choose Subway (yum, Black Forest Ham 6" please, hold the cheese and mayo) or two Taco Bell tacos or one glorious "Fake Mexican" burrito of my choosing. Enjoy what you like, just make it "smaller" than what makes you fat, and you'll be winning!

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