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.
I think you may have convinced me to try the “unwich”.
That was a really insightful read and has left me with my mouth open…nothing like a bit of false advertising!
Just a heads up (I’m sure you have received your fair share of these!) I have nominated your brilliant blog for the Liebster Award! Head over to my latest post to find out a little bit more!
Thanks Laura. I will definitely check it out. The unwich is awesome!
I get that people are concerned about fat, especially the kind in fast food, but no one ever thinks about the sodium. It’s insane, like eating a flavor packet in a box of Rice-a-Roni…
So true. The sodium is a killer, seriously. Fortunately for those of us who run quite a bit we can handle an occasional “splurge” of it. But for someone who eats there all the time and doesn’t exercise it is very scary! Froze dinners are right up there too!
Thanks for sharing. Like you I was a bit shocked to see the Frito Subway sandwich. I had no idea that a small burger is healthier than the salad or chicken option at a lot of these places. I will keep that in mind and stick to kids meals when I indulge in these fast food places. I am unfortunately a big fan of taco Bell.
I should have added Taco Bell. There definitely are some decent options there too. Scary about the salads but definitely true. The ingredients in the salad also aren’t quality enough to justify eating it!
It happens all too rarely for me. But I certainly enjoyed it!
I couldn’t believe that Fritos sandwich at Subway when I saw the commercial either! I was watching it with my husband and both our jaws dropped. We used to eat our fair share of fast food, and now after turning our eating habits around completely, it’s hard to believe we put that crap into us so often. We are taking a cross-country road trip in a few weeks; these tips will definitely be useful!
Glad you found these helpful!
I had the exact same thought as I saw that commercial! Ha! Great resources in this post!
Love it!
And great tip about the unwich. I stopped eating wheat about a year ago, so food on the go at most places is pretty difficult. In fact, I’ve never even been inside of a Jimmy Johns, because sandwich shops so rarely have a gluten free option. Note to self, I will be trying Jimmy Johns soon. Thanks!
Give it a try. So good!
Good post, lots of useful info. What I don’t like about fast food, even the lower calories/fat items, is that they are heavily processed foods, with conservatives, coloting, etc.
This is exactly why I never eat fast food. Even the salads. I know that a lot of salads at sit down restaurants are high in calories but I often get them because I want the nutritious veggies and lighten it up by removing things. But a fast food salad doesn’t even have quality veggies. You might as well have the burger.
Haha I would have jumped off of the couch with you. I’m against fast-food (I don’t judge those who love it, but I do not). I tell my boyfriend that our kids will not be going to fast food restaurants (Subway is allowed) and he laughs and says, “just with dad.” Which is weird because Kyle rarely eats fast food.
I’m with you. I avoid fast food at all costs!
Loved this post!
xoxo
Olena
PS. I’m looking forward to flying over Caribbean too 😀 Hopefully, very soon haha!
Small mistake in the first paragraph: It should probably say 1170 milligrams, not grams. That would kill you instantly 🙂
Good spot. Can’t believe I missed that! Either way it is pretty ridiculous!
Well, if you try to convert milligrams to teaspoons you will get many different results. However, 1100 mg will end up being 0.2 to 1/3 of a teaspoon filled with nasty industrial salt. If you add that amount to any dish you are cooking people would probably complain…