favorite go-to fast food meals

no one has mentioned grocery store delis? Especially whole foods or trader joe's that have ready-to-go one person meals with no preservatives or fillers or plain old "crap"

I love targets chef salad! I get it all the time! I'm eating one today for lunch! I didn't think of that as fast food though. To me, fast food involves a drive thru!

Wendy's chili and a side salad with a side portion of grilled chicken (it's not on the menu but the wendys near me will sell me a little cup of chicken for a buck.) Go with low cal dressing or dump some of the chili on the salad as dressing.

6 inch grilled chicken at Subway with ALL the veggies they can fit on there. The people that work there can be heavy handed with the sauces so ask for light mayo on the side or you can also ask for a fat free ranch on the side.

I'm not saying that these are "healthy", last time I checked the bread at subway is bromated and I'm pretty sure the "grilled chicken" is actually a reformed and pressed patty like thing....but they won't kill you on calories if you're out and in a pinch.

Also, Wendy's grilled chicken salads are awesome! Watch the dressing though, and ask for the pomegranite vinegarette. It's low in calories and tastes great!

i have attached the nutritional information for McDonalds, taco Bell, Wendy's and BK. you will see that there are actually great tasting, nutritional meals to be had at all of these. for example the premium grilled chicken classic at Mcd's is 350 calories, 9 grams of fat and 28 wonderfully filling grams of protien. add some apple dippers or a side salad, and a water...and you can smile when you leave the drive through that you are going to be full and under 400 calories.

there are also great options for coffee and latte's for the mronings, along with oatmeal, fruits and nuts. you will see similiar entries for the other chains as well. i have made for my self an excel spread sheet with the healthier options from all the major chains, so when i go through, i just pull it up on my phone and feel good about ordering the fresco chicken soft taco at taco bell.

have fun and do a little research and you can go work everyday with a mcdonalds bag and still lose a ton of weight with moderate excercise combined.

here are the quick links:

http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts.pdf
http://www.bk.com/en/us/menu-nutrition/index.html
http://www.wendys.com/food/NutritionLanding.jsp
http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/information

Chick-Fil-A Grilled Chicken Sandwich with either the fruit cup or side salad with light Italian dressing.

Panera - Smoked Turkey half sandwich and a bowl of soup (watch the sodium there, tho!)

Moe's - Joey Junior with chicken, black beans, rice, lettuce, lettuce, c'mon, more lettuce (yes, that's how I order it), cucumber, fresh jalapeno and pico and I only eat about half the chips

If, by some small chance we end up at McDonald's, I stick with the happy meals. And try to avoid the fries, even tho the guys behind the counter ALWAYS drop the fries in the box and I ALWAYS have to remind them I asked for the apple slices. How hard is it to read the ticket, then package the food?

I've really cut back on my fast food, but when I have it, I generally stick with kids meals, so that the portion sizes and calories are far less. Avoiding fries is another thing I try to do. Once in a while I will have some.

Here are a few of my go-to things:

Fazoli's - kid's size spaghetti with meat sauce with one bread stick (410 calories, 11 g fat, 5 g fiber)
TacoBell - one crunchy beef taco and pintos and cheese (340 calories, 15 g fat, 11 g fiber)
Wendy's - small chili and a baked potato with reduced fat sour cream (530 calories, 10 g fat, 13 g fiber)

I stopped all fast food in Feb 2008 after years of eating in at least one fast food restaurant daily. The only thing I will allow myself to, on occasion, is a six-inch veggie delight Subway sandwich with no mayo and no cheese. Unfortunately this does sometime lead to uncomfortable moments when with a group who decide to stop at a McDonald's, or Burger King. I actually don't mind sitting at the table with nothing, but it really gets everyone else upset it seems.

I stopped all fast food in Feb 2008 after years of eating in at least one fast food restaurant daily. The only thing I will allow myself to, on occasion, is a six-inch veggie delight Subway sandwich with no mayo and no cheese. Unfortunately this does sometime lead to uncomfortable moments when with a group who decide to stop at a McDonald's, or Burger King. I actually don't mind sitting at the table with nothing, but it really gets everyone else upset it seems.

I have started doing this as well, if my family wants to go to a McDonald's or Burger King, or another fast food that I really don't want to eat at then I'll enjoy their company and think about all the food I'm going to prepare when I get home and how much better tasting it will be and with a lot less calories- which means I can actually have a full meal, not a skimpy one at a "fatty" fast food restaurant.

grilled chicken salad from subway with lettuce, light cheese, grilled chicken, 1 fat free italian dressing, and 1 cracker pack. About 350 cals.

grilled chicken salad from subway with lettuce, light cheese, grilled chicken, 1 fat free italian dressing, and 1 cracker pack. About 350 cals.