Fast food options

I don't eat fast food as much as I used to because everything I really like is a bit too high in calories to fit in a normal day. (I miss you mcdonalds cheeseburger meal.) Otherwise, I don't see anything wrong with it. There are plenty of good choices. :P My go-to's now are the grilled chicken sandwich from Chickfila with either a small order of fries or a Greek yogurt; calories range from 400-800 calories. I believe the sandwich itself is around 350. There's also grilled chicken nuggets. From Zaxby's I get a grilled chicken house salad. With no fried onions, no cheese, light ranch, it comes to about 500 calories. I've actually taken this one home and deconstructed it to weigh out all the ingredients separately, and it was spot on. From mcdonalds, I have been once in the past month to get an egg white delight English muffin and a hash brown in the morning for a total of 400 calories. No suggestions yet on lunch... I used to get chili from Wendy's a couple years ago (don't like their food now) that was pretty reasonable in calories. Let's see... Jimmy Johns has lettuce wraps that are very low cal. I get the turkey sandwich, no cheese, on white bread and ask them to go easy on the mayonnaise to get closer to calorie estimate on their website, which I believe is around 550 calories. Firehouse Subs has a light menu and offers baked lays chips. I've taken home chipotle kids' taco meals and weighed that out too; the portions sizes were pretty spot on there too, but I wouldn't really trust the portion sizes for the bowls and burritos and whatnot. (The kids meal came portioned out in little cups, so that helped, of course, to keep things in check.)

Hope this helps. I'm sure others have some ideas too. Good luck to you.

Most fast food places should have the nutrition information posted online. Personally, I really like Chick fil'a's grilled chicken cool wraps and side salads (I can squeeze out two small meals if I eat half a wrap with a side salad).

Chili from Wendy's is a favorite of mine. You can look up calorie counts on fast food websites and be prepared before you go into the store.

Not sure if you have a Jason's Deli but their chicken wraps are around 400 calories and if you get the fruit side with it that's about 40 some calories. If I add a small portion of their ice cream it usually runs me about 540 calories. It's my go to meal when I eat out. Unless I have more calories:)

JanetYellen wrote: »

Keep in mind that fast food does not care about your health.
Their bottom line is money.
Make an investment in your health: Learn to cook at home as much as possible.

Anyone selling you food is trying to make a living at it. Grocery stores (where you presumably buy the foods you're cooking at home) aren't any less interested in profit.

When I had to travel daily for work, I would eat McDonalds Artisan Chicken, Wendy's chili or salads, or Subway's turkey sub with lots of veggies. It was so hard to find a fast food meal that fit into my calorie count. I had to do a lot of researching.

Wendy's chili or salads, Jimmy Johns turkey Tom sub, I had the farmhouse salad with turkey and bacon and ranch dressing at Arby's today and it was excellent. Panera Bread has some excellent options, one of my favorites is the strawberry poppyseed that is seasonal, and you can get it half size. The blackened blue chicken salad at Zaxbys is also a favorite.

JanetYellen wrote: »

Keep in mind that fast food does not care about your health.
Their bottom line is money.
Make an investment in your health: Learn to cook at home as much as possible.

Those jerks are so cold like that, trying to make a profit instead of looking out for our health and well-being. How dare they.

Our health is ours to control. A little fast food won't kill ya but a lot might.

Do they need to be low-calorie because you will be eating fast food frequently? I don't eat fast food a lot- maybe once a month. When I do eat fast food, I find it's better to eat whatever I want and be done with it until the next month. Now, if I'm stuck eating fast food because of a situation outside my control or poor planning, I'll just get the smallest cheeseburger they have and skip the fries altogether.

Quick serve/chain stuff I like (may be more local in some cases):

Chipotle fajita bowl with black beans, tomatoes plus the hot salsa, the fajita mix, and chicken or pork.

Potbelly's turkey sandwich with thin cut bread, no mayo or oil (but often the hot peppers). Cheese depends on my mood.

Pret a Manger -- lots of stuff, I particularly like the shrimp wrap and the Lebanese flatbread.

Protein Bar -- buffalo chicken salad.