Better Eating Through Drive Thrus

April 16, 2010, By Jeff Waddle 1 comment

The world is full of temptation, especially when it comes to food. And, there’s no place more tempting than a fast food restaurant. These American icons are designed to lure you into their lair with enticing smells and a menu chock full of tasty treats. Walk in and you can just feel those hunger pangs kick in and your waistline expand, too, if you’re not careful.

While fast food joints will never be confused with a health food store, a meal at one of them need not destroy your diet, either. Keep these things in mind the next time you go for fast food and your body will thank you for it.

Have a Strategy

If you find yourself going to the same fast food chain on a regular basis, you’d be wise to invest some time researching the nutritional value of its menu items. Chain websites now have calorie, fat, cholesterol, sodium and other nutritional value counts for their menus, so find out what your favorites are really costing you health wise. With a little research, you may be able to cut calories and fat without sacrificing too much or avoiding the fast food altogether.

Once you get there, avoid the temptation of add-on items and "supersized" portions, even if they seem like a great deal. A typical supersized order of fries is nearly three times the calories of a small serving, for example.

Burger & Chicken Joints

If you’ve got a choice, avoid anything fried and go with grilled or broiled instead. Even a small order of fries is around a not-so-small 200 calories and 10 grams of fat. One fried chicken breast has twice the calories and sodium and about five times the total fat of a comparable grilled breast. If you can’t resist fried chicken, pull off the skin and you’ll likely cut the calories and sodium by at least half, and cut the fat by even more.

For burgers, consider going "open-face" by discarding the top of the bun and save yourself over 50 calories and about 10 grams of "bad" carbs characterized by refined white flour used to make the typical hamburger bun. Holding the cheese will save another 60 or so calories along with a not-so-healthy dose of saturated fat and sodium. Substitute ketchup for mayonnaise and spare yourself 9 grams of fat and four times the total calories (around 20 for a ketchup serving, with zero fat). Go with mustard for zero calories.

Some chains even have a veggie burger on the menu, with around 3 grams of fat and zero mg of cholesterol vs. 13 grams of fat and 65 mg of cholesterol for the typical beef burger. Give the veggie burger a try, and load it up with condiments for added taste.

Of course, a garden salad—even with grilled chicken like some chains offer—is a good choice. Just be careful to choose a low-fat or fat-free salad dressing. Some of those, rich, creamy salad dressings are loaded with calories and fat, which defeats the purpose of ordering the salad in the first place.

Pizza

Eating healthier at the pizza parlor is all about toppings and crust. Order the veggie instead of sausage pizza and save yourself around 100 calories (and some saturated fat) per slice. Eat a few slices and get out the calculator—the calories add up fast.

Obviously, thin crust vs. deep dish with save you a boatload of carbs and calories, and some chains are now even offering whole grain crust options. Whole grains are packed with nutrients, good carbs and dietary fiber that help suppress your hunger and keep your blood sugar from the wild swings it can experience when you fill up with bad carbs like white bread.

Sandwich Shop

Many fast food sandwich shops offer whole grain, wheat or rye breads which again, are much better for you than white bread, so choose them when you can. Also, choose leaner meats like turkey breast and save around 125 calories for a 6" sub vs. something like a meatball sub.

Like the burger joint, hold the cheese and mayo for significantly lower calories and fat counts, and load up on healthy stuff like tomato slices, lettuce, onions and peppers.

Drinks

Spare yourself the massive sugar rush that only will make you feel lousy later in the day, and skip the regular colas and other sugared drinks. Consider that a typical 12 oz. cola has 39 grams of sugar and 140 calories, and it becomes obvious the smart move is a diet drink, unsweetened tea or even 1% milk. Or, better yet, save a buck or so and get some water because if you’re like the typical guy, you don’t drink enough H2O as it is.

Jeff Waddle is a featured contributor to ManoftheHouse.com.