A week ago Sunday I was on a plane flying over the Caribbean and watching the Super Bowl.  When Subway’s commercial for the Fritos Chicken Enchilada sub came on I almost jumped out of my seat and screamed, “That is not a healthy sandwich!”  Now, Subway didn’t claim it was healthy in their commercial but they didn’t have to.  All of their other adds tout how healthy and fit their meals are, so why wouldn’t the average consumer believe the Fritos sandwich was a healthy choice?  It certainly doesn’t help having a bunch of athletes on the commercial backing the new sandwich.  If they think its good, perhaps I can become an Olympic athlete too!  This six inch sandwich packs 580 calories and 26 grams of fat along with 1170 grams of sodium, a far cry from a healthy lunch!

That had me thinking of how so many people tell me that they would like to eat healthy but they don’t have time.  I get it, you pick the kids up from school, take them to soccer practice, ballet, chess, piano, swimming lessons, and then head home.  There isn’t time for dinner and often you have to swing through the drive thru just to get food into their mouths.  I get it.  We certainly did it from time to time growing up too.  But you can’t place all of the blame on fast food.  You can place a large part of the blame on fast food and I certainly recommend steering clear of it.  But let’s take a look at a few of the top fast food restaurants and some options that would help you make a better choice for those times you have to swing through the drive thru.

Keep in mind that if you do decide to go through the drive thru you are going to consume A LOT more sodium than you would with just about any meal you would cook at home.  However, if you run or exercise and sweat heavily this shouldn’t be a huge problem on an occasional basis, especially if you have a healthy heart and kidneys.  All of this nutrition information can be found on each restaurant’s website.

Subway:

Subway has 7 sandwiches on their Fresh Fit menu.  Stick to these when you order and you will keep your diet on track.  Try their spicy brown mustard for a tasty kick to your sandwiches.  Load up on all of the healthy veggies to pack in the nutrition.  A few of my favorites from the list are:

Oven Roasted Chicken Sandwich  320 calories  5 grams of fat  610mg sodium

Roast Beef Sandwich  320 calories  5 grams of fat   660mg sodium

Turkey Breast Sandwich   280 calories   3.5 grams of fat  670mg sodium

McDonald’s:

One thing I have noticed on just about any fast food menu is to stay away from chicken.  Pretty much any chicken sandwich has far more fat and calories than most of the burgers.  You may see chicken and think healthy but as a general rule when you walk into a fast food restaurant, the smallest burger on the menu likely has some of the least fat and fewest calories.  There is, however, a grilled chicken version on this menu that does fit the bill.

Hamburger   250 calories   9 grams of fat   480mg sodium

Cheeseburger   300 calories   12 grams of fat   680mg sodium

Grilled Chicken Classic   350 calories   9 grams of fat   820mg sodium

Filet-O-Fish   390 calories     19 grams of fat     590mg sodium

Note:  Any of the grilled chicken snack wraps are also a good option to order from the menu

Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken     290 calories   8 grams of fat    650mg sodium

Kids Order of Fries     100 calories   5 grams of fat   70mg sodium (if you really need to have it your way!)

Burger King:

Again on this menu your best bet is to order a small hamburger.  A bit of a surprise with this one is that every single salad is so high in fat content and so high in sodium that I cannot recommend a single one of them.  I can’t believe I am saying you are better off having a burger than a salad but it is true!

Whopper Jr.   300 calories   16 grams of fat   460mg sodium

Burger    230 calories   9 grams of fat     460mg sodium

Tender Grill Chicken   410 calories   16 grams of fat   830mg sodium

Veggie Burger   390 calories   16 grams of fat   900 mg sodium

Arby’s:

I have always been a fan of roast beef sandwiches from here.  Just a sandwich by itself with a touch of horsey sauce and you have a complete meal.  Steer clear of their market sandwiches.  They are laden in calories and fat grams!

Classic Roast Beef Sandwich   360 calories  14 grams of fat  970mg sodium

Roast Turkey Farmhouse Salad   230 calories   13 grams of fat   780mg sodium

Jr. Chicken Sandwich   310 calories  15 grams of fat   680mg sodium

Wendy’s:

You can have a salad and a baked potato or a baked potato and chili and have yourself a complete meal here.  Just don’t pile all the extras on the potato!

Apple Pecan Chicken Salad   350 calories  11 grams of fat  970mg sodium

Baked Potato   270 calories  0 grams of fat  25mg sodium

Small Chili  180 calories  5 grams of fat   790mg sodium

4 piece Nuggets  180 calories  12 grams of fat  350mg sodium

Jr. Burger   250 calories  10 grams of fat  600mg sodium

Ultimate Grilled Chicken   370 calories  7 grams of fat  880mg sodium

Moral of the story, there are some healthier options out there.  To me the key to eating fast food is to not get greedy.  Recognize that if you are going to eat at a fast food restaurant you need to control your portions.  That might mean just the sandwich and not the fries.  If you really want the fries order the kids version.  Or even order yourself a happy meal to keep your portion sizes down and still feel like you are eating a “complete” meal.

When it comes to fries I try to decide if they are worth it.  If I order them once and they are delicious I go for it the next time.  More often than not I find that the place I ordered them at just doesn’t cut it.  So I stop eating them once I realize they are just ok and remember not to order fries from that place again.  The key for me is to be mindful with my first few bites.  Do they really taste good or am I just shoving them in my mouth?

If you want the bigger sandwich option do what I do and consider going topless. By taking the top bun off of course!

As for me, my on the go fast food guilty pleasure if Jimmy John’s.  My husband and I have gone for over an hour skipping exit after exit waiting for a Jimmy John’s to come along.  What I love most is that you can turn any of their sandwiches into an “unwich” and they will forego the bread and wrap your fixings in lettuce.  By choosing an already healthy sandwich option you can slice the calories even more with this option.  Swap the mayo for mustard and you have a delicious and pretty healthy lunch or dinner on the go.

Hopefully some of these ideas will help you the next time you are forced to swing through the drive thru on your way home.