Healthier Fast Food – Is it possible?

Healthier Fast Food – Is it possible?

When it comes to fast food or quick-serve restaurants, there are often a few assumptions here: 

1. A dietitian would never eat at one. I don’t believe that.
   

2. A dietitian would tell you never to eat at one. Find a different dietitian.
   

3. All the food is terrible. I can't entirely agree - and wonder if those people have tried “all the food.”

Look, if you choose not to eat fast food, then great.

If you have a specific judgment about a particular chain, that is your right.

However, most people will find themselves at one now and then.

And sometimes people will find themselves at one often.

I want to make some things clear from the start.

1. I do not recommend fast food places. I acknowledge they exist, and people may want to make healthier choices and assume it isn’t possible.
   

2. It is OK to get the bacon cheeseburger and fries if you choose. And it is acceptable to go for the over-the-top latest sandwich you saw advertised on television.
   

3. If you are not interested in making healthier choices at a fast-food place, move along. However, I wonder if you would have made it this far if you were not interested in this topic.

And, to quote my husband, “No one is going to McDonald’s for healthy food.”

Is he wrong? I don’t know. But I know that if I want breakfast at McDonald’s, I order a Sausage McMuffin with egg. I am not kidding. But I am not getting anything else to go with it. And I am not doing this weekly or even monthly.

Now there are all kinds of ways to rank fast food places – by popularity (overall sales), how prolific they are (how many outlets/locations), and by category (burger, pizza, sandwich, chicken, etc.)

While some burger places sell chicken, not all chicken places sell burgers. Weird. 

And pizza places tend to go with just pizza. I won’t get into semantics, but keep in mind that I am doing a general overview.

While my profession is debating the definition of “healthy” food right now, my overview here is that there are many ways to make healthier choices when choosing items at a fast food place. I won’t go so far as to say there are healthy options, but healthier.

And, what is healthier for you may be a bit different.

In this article, I am delineating “healthier” by including the following:

• Fewer calories

• Less saturated fat (and potentially less overall fat)

• Less added sugar

• Less sodium

Sometimes, a fast-food meal could include a third to half of one’s calories for the day. Or more.

A single meal could be a full day’s worth of saturated fat, above the recommended maximum for added sugars, and easily a day’s worth of sodium or more. 

For reference, in general, we give a calorie level of 2,000 calories though this is not a recommendation but a reference. Many people need more than this each day, and many people need less. 

Saturated fat should be less than 10% of total calories, which averages about 20-25 grams daily.   

Added sugars should also be less than 10% of total calories, which is about 50 grams of added sugar per day on average (less is better)

And the maximum for sodium is 2,300 mg, with an ideal limit of 1,500 mg daily on average.

Today, calorie levels are listed on the menus inside and outside. Additional information is available by request, or what I find more manageable is the company website, where I can customize my food to see what the changes include.

Overall, counting calories isn’t necessary, but if wanting to make healthier choices going with a lower-calorie option is ideal.

Here are FIVE ways to reduce calories in your fast-food choices:

1. Skip the meal or combo. Order the sandwich. Order the drink. Or order the sandwich and fries and skip the drink. The meal option is convenient and often costs less than the three or four items combined but ordering one without the fries or side is also an option.
   

2. Split the meal. In my family, it is one meal and one sandwich. We share the fries and share the drink.  
   

3. Size down. While people still talk about “super-size” options, this isn’t officially a thing. But you can get a medium drink rather than a large one. A medium or small fry rather than a large one works. You can get a single cheeseburger rather than the double cheeseburger.
   

4. Skip the extra fats such as cheese, mayo, special sauce, or fried options. Remember, it is only a suggestion. Still get cheese on the pizza, but maybe not extra cheese. Or ask for light cheese if getting other toppings too.
   

5. Use less dressing. Those who like the salad options may find the dressing is what can double or triple the calories of their salad. Those salad packets are significant; half or two-thirds save some calories.

Here are FIVE ways to reduce saturated fat in your fast-food choices:

1. Skip the cheese – or have less cheese. One slice is around 9 grams, with more than half saturated fat.
   

2. Skip the mayo (and mayo-based ingredients such as tuna salad). People think of tuna or a fish option as healthier, but not really, with all the mayo in there.
   

3. No getting around it – fried is higher in fat and total calories than grilled. And foods with extra crisp will be extra high in calories and fat. For example, KFC lists a chicken breast Original Recipe at 390 calories, Extra Crispy at 530 calories, and Kentucky Grilles at 210 calories, with significant differences in fat and the amount of breading. And the fried fish sandwiches aren’t a healthier option either.
   

4. Shakes anyone? Once again, a smaller size will help, but skipping it will also help. At some places, I get the “mini” or the “kids” sized version.
   

5. Size down. Again, rather than a double burger with cheese, get the cheeseburger. Just like it lowers calories, it will also lower saturated fat content.  

Here are FIVE ways to reduce added sugars in your fast-food choices:

1. Size down – yes. This option is undoubtedly the easiest way to make a healthier choice. Other than skipping things altogether, sizing down is the best way to reduce added sugars. Drinks are the more significant source of added sugars at fast food places.
   

2. Go with diet soda – or even half and half. Are you not wanting the full-on diet version? That is fine. Go with half regular and half diet.
   

3. Skip the lemonade and fruit punch too. These are not healthier options; just because they are not carbonated doesn’t mean they don’t have sugar.
   

4. Skip the sweet teas. Tea? Sure. Sweet tea. If you want to reduce added sugars, don’t choose this. Sweet tea can have MORE sugar than soda.
   

5. Just go with water. The drinks are most often the sources of the most added sugars.

Here are FIVE ways to reduce sodium in your fast-food choices:

1. Size down. Sizing down reduces so much that it works here too. 
   

2. Don’t add any more salt. I’ve seen people shaking, shaking salt onto their fries and sandwiches. It just isn’t needed. 
   

3. Skip the bacon. And cheese. You would think I hate bacon and cheese, but I don’t. But these add so much sodium to an already higher-sodium meal; can we save it for another day?
   

4. Watch the salad toppings, including the dressing. Look at the labels on the dressing to see how much sodium it has. But also consider toppings for salads, including bacon bits, cheese, croutons, sunflower seeds, and other toppings higher in sodium. It may not add much, but it does add up.
   

5. Dare I say it? Skip the fries. No, no, no. I can’t. Share the fries? Sure. Fries don’t taste the same without some salt. And no, sea salt isn’t healthier, better, or lower in sodium. 

There you have it. I want to be something other than a killjoy. One or two things can help with several areas, with sizing down being number one (other than skipping these places altogether).

I’ve often found myself at the airport needing to order and grab something between connections. Knowing what a healthier option can be, even with limited options, is helpful.