Healthy fast food? ..................Yes! It is possible !

[Alaskan Rover]

Sometimes when you're traveling you get hungry and need food....NOW!!

When that happens to me, I often like to stop at a supermarket and pick out whatever quick healthy food they may have on hand. Fruit and maybe a Naked or Bolten Farms fruit smoothie in a bottle and sprouts and maybe a little fresh brocolli if thery have them.

But the there are not always an open supermarket to be found when traveling on the highway. But it seems fast food restaurants populate every interstate exchange.....en masse.

There ARE healthy choices at fast food restaurants.....here are my picks:

Subway
Choose items from their low fat menu...grilled chicken, veggie burger, turkey etc. Their fresh greens and tomatoes and other additions are always fresh and you can see exactly what's going into your sub. They also have a great new flat bread alternative to buns. Decent cheese selection for 'fast food'...I just wish they would carry swiss cheese and hummus or taboule.


Chic-Fil-A
The only reason to go here is for their wraps and salads. The rest of their menu is all fried chicken crap of every conception. They have what they call Chargrilled chicken 'Cool Wraps' that are actually pretty good. And they DO have great salads...with interesting additions to them like harvest nut granola and dressings like Berry balsamic vinagarette. Their billboards were sorta cool at first but are getting old now.

McDonalds
There are basically only a couple healthy options here. Their side salads (they DO have good Paul Newman dresssings), croutons and grilled chicken honey mustard Snack Wraps...are a good pick if you don't want to spend a bunch. They also have a fairly decent large grilled chicken tossed salad for 4 bucks and some change. Their fruit smoothies are not too bad...they consist of a fruit puree instead of freshly chopped fruit though...but still.


Burger King
Like McD's...there are very few healthy choices here. They actually have a better side salad than McD's....and their grilled chicken tossed salad is very good. They have a great Avocado dressing by Ken's. They also have snack wraps....pretty similar to McD's. I don't believe they have any smoothies.


Wendy's
A step above Burger King.....better tossed salads, higher quality ingredients, decent tasting grilled chicken. I'm not sure if they have wraps. They used to have salad bars years ago...looks like they no longer do.


Taco Bell
If you go light on the sour cream, I find no problems with their Crunchy Tacos. Likewise, their Bean burritos can't be too unhealthy. I presume they don't contain MSG, but am not sure if the refried bean mixture contains high fructose corn syrup...wouldn't be surprised. Stick with the hard or soft tacos for health. Yes, the burger meat IS fried (I think), but that little amount isn't going to be detrimental if you don't go every day.


Hardee's
Don't even drive into the parking lot for THIS place. There is absolutely NOTHING healthy here at all. They seem to specialize in trying to think up the most unhealthy food possible and then frying it twice in fat just for good measure.


Arby's
Good root beer, but like Hardee's above, I don't really think they have much in terms of healthy food. They might have standard tossed salads.


Sonic
This one I'm not sure....haven't been to one in a while. Anybody know if they have any healthy choices here at all? I DO remember they sometimes have cute waitresses on skates that come out to your car...always a welcome addition to any meal...and the 1950's feel IS sorta cool, although festooned with a sorta neon corporatism.



NOTE: In no way do I endorse going to ANY of these on a regular basis. They are simply when you have very little time and have miles yet to go, or are somehow too rushed that day to have a good, home-cooked sit-down meal of your own making. That is nearly always a better alternative (unless your cupboards are loaded with processed foods!).

You can be almost positive that the chicken that each of the above places use is highly laden in growth hormones, as they buy in bulk from great big industrial chicken farms like Tyson and Perdue. So only consume in moderation.

--

[thrav]

Just to add a bit, Taco Bell actually has an entire healthy options menu. Think it's called Fresca, but they have avocado topped chicken salads, grilled chicken tacos, etc.

[userA]

bag o carrots in a pinch

[Alaskan Rover]

bag o carrots in a pinch

I totally agree there!!!

They last long-time unrefrigerated, are tasty, simple and great roughage! Bag o' granola/trail mix is also good in the car.

--

[iceman]

Was that a cut-and-paste from the AARP magazine?

[Benny Profane]

Healthiest (and best value) fast food I know of is the supermarket roasted chicken. I'm heading out for one right now!

[Downbound Train]

bag o carrots in a pinch

With Ranch Dressing DIP!!! MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm!

PS. AK, you are one weird dude.

[DasBlunt]

Spam post. Absolute shit.

[carvedog]

What do you recommend to remove the callouses on your knees from spending so much time sucking the corporate cock of America?

Do you also work for Exxon in their 'environmental services' diivision?

Doesn't matter how many coats of paint you put on a turd, it still tastes like shit underneath. Do you know what they do to their fruits and veggies to get them to last for weeks?

Chemical dips and all kinds of crazy shit to extend shelf life. Don't do it man.

[systemoverblow'd]

No, none of those are "healthy". Some are less likely to kill you but not one thing listed is healthy. A prepared salad with crap tuna or microwaved processed chicken and a bag of salad dressing isn't healthy even if you delude yourself enough to think otherwise.

And what's your current obsession with telling others what to eat? Starting a paleo dissing thread. Arguing for foods YOU THINK should be included in someones diet and then telling us to eat at fucking McDonalds. Keep your opinions out of my diet, they suck.

[MotherFucker]

Eat what you choose and be happy and as unhealthy or healthy as you want.

Freeeeeeeeeeeedoooooooooooooom!

[userA]

fruit roll ups and juicy juice for lift served snack.

[Sirshredalot]

Dude, you can't just look at a fast food menu and decide that the grilled chicken is healthy for you. They've totally clowned you if you're even thinking that way. It seems like you wrote this post without even looking up the nutrition information on the web site. There are two rules for eating fast food. The first is don't eat fast food. The second is to just order something off the dollar menu and avoid large portions. If you're trying to guess what is healthy there, the answer is nothing: there are only larger and smaller portions of unhealthy things. Just because they have something on the menu called "grilled chicken" does not mean that item is any healthier than the burgers are. Just make sure you order something small and cheap, probably on the dollar menu. And skip the fries and giant soda.

At McDonald's, the Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich is worse for you than the McDouble.

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/...-Sandwich.html

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/....McDouble.html

The Premium Grilled Chicken Classic is worse for you than the Cheeseburger.

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/...-Sandwich.html

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/...eseburger.html

The Premium Southwest Salad with Crispy Chicken is pretty bad for you. Substantially worse than many of the burger products.

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/...y-Chicken.html

Here is the link to the full McDonald's menu with nutrition information:

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/full_menu_explorer.html

It is the same at all the other fast food joints. Wendy's, for example:

The Wendy's Apple Pecan Chicken salad, at 570 calories, is way worse for you than their Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe, at 350 calories.
http://www.wendys.com/food/Nutrition.jsp

Subway is not substantially healthier than McDonald's. Same thing as the other places. Get a 6 inch sandwich with no chips and no soda, and it's no big deal. Get a 12" sandwich with a bag of chips and a coke, and you have yourself a 1000+ calorie lunch.
http://www.subway.com/nutrition/nutritionlist.aspx

Arby's, which you said has nothing redeeming, has their flagship roast beef sandwich. At 350 calories, it's not good for you, but it's not awful, either. The Arby's Turkey Asiago sandwich, which is marketed as a healthy alternative, is 760 calories with a whopping 1900 grams of sodium. The object lesson here is do not believe the marketing: just order something cheap and small from the dollar menu.

[iceman]

^^not really arguing your point but merely citing calories as the only indicator of whether something is "good for you" or not seems a bit simplistic.

[stuckathuntermtn]

AKR is still a fucking moron.

[Sirshredalot]

^^not really arguing your point but merely citing calories as the only indicator of whether something is "good for you" or not seems a bit simplistic.

The sodium, fat, and everything else tracks the calories. Click through to the menus.

[rideit]

I am a big fan of grocery store Sushi when available (and doesn't look all gussied up with squirt bottle bullshit like a Foggy Bottom whore).

[Alaskan Rover]

Looks like nearly everybody missed two important points:

1) Use these fast foods ONLY when there is no alternative. Shopping for some fruit and a handful of veggies and sprouts and maybe a Naked fruit smoothie is far healthier. I said that right in the beginning. I was just saying that there are SOME fairly healthy choices IF you choose wisely and don't go for orders of McNuggets and fries and shit like that.

2) I said lastly that none of these foods should be eaten in ANYTHING but moderation, as the chicken will be filled with growth hormones and come from some large industrial chicken farm. Do you guys even read???

Of ALL those above choices, I would still vote for Subway 6 inch sub, light on the processed meat, but HEAVY on all the veggies. And mustard instead of mayo. That is the healthiest alternative of all the above, and would be my first choice IF a market or fruit/veggie stand couldn't be found.

Chips and soda???? Who in hell would order chips and soda as an addition to ANYTHING??? That shit is vile!!! Or is it bile????

My preference, if I had a choice between all that above and there were no markets around would actually be to forego it, or buy an orange or an apple at a gas station. But since many people DO go to fast food restaurants while on a long road trip, I figured I'd offer some opinions on at least think about salads and whatnot at those places and forego the usual "shake and fries" fast food menu.

But of course, since this IS TGR, you basically get shat upon for trying to offer alternatives to the norm. I forgot. Sorry.

Personally, I like Flowing Alpy's approach of carrots and fruit roll-ups ....that's more my style any way.

And SystemOverBlown(d')....you crack me up when you make ANY asignnations towards healthiness at all, being a smoker. How many packs a day do you smoke? Is that healthy???

The main point is, eating healthily is all about making wise choices and understanding what you're eating. And that even at a fast food restaurant, you can STILL make choices with at least some modicum of healthiness to it. And above all, eat at fast food joints ONLY in moderation...don't make it a norm.

--

[Alaskan Rover]

Was that a cut-and-paste from the AARP magazine?

I don't know...I don't get the mag. You might want to check your subscription, though....they might have some other options as well.

--

[bendtheski]

Sometimes when you're traveling you get hungry and need food....NOW!!

When that happens to me, I often like to stop at a supermarket and pick out whatever quick healthy food they may have on hand. Fruit and maybe a Naked or Bolten Farms fruit smoothie in a bottle and sprouts and maybe a little fresh brocolli if thery have them.

But the there are not always an open supermarket to be found when traveling on the highway. But it seems fast food restaurants populate every interstate exchange.....en masse.

There ARE healthy choices at fast food restaurants.....here are my picks:

Subway
Choose items from their low fat menu...grilled chicken, veggie burger, turkey etc. Their fresh greens and tomatoes and other additions are always fresh and you can see exactly what's going into your sub. They also have a great new flat bread alternative to buns. Decent cheese selection for 'fast food'...I just wish they would carry swiss cheese and hummus or taboule.


Chic-Fil-A
The only reason to go here is for their wraps and salads. The rest of their menu is all fried chicken crap of every conception. They have what they call Chargrilled chicken 'Cool Wraps' that are actually pretty good. And they DO have great salads...with interesting additions to them like harvest nut granola and dressings like Berry balsamic vinagarette. Their billboards were sorta cool at first but are getting old now.

McDonalds
There are basically only a couple healthy options here. Their side salads (they DO have good Paul Newman dresssings), croutons and grilled chicken honey mustard Snack Wraps...are a good pick if you don't want to spend a bunch. They also have a fairly decent large grilled chicken tossed salad for 4 bucks and some change. Their fruit smoothies are not too bad...they consist of a fruit puree instead of freshly chopped fruit though...but still.


Burger King
Like McD's...there are very few healthy choices here. They actually have a better side salad than McD's....and their grilled chicken tossed salad is very good. They have a great Avocado dressing by Ken's. They also have snack wraps....pretty similar to McD's. I don't believe they have any smoothies.


Wendy's
A step above Burger King.....better tossed salads, higher quality ingredients, decent tasting grilled chicken. I'm not sure if they have wraps. They used to have salad bars years ago...looks like they no longer do.


Taco Bell
If you go light on the sour cream, I find no problems with their Crunchy Tacos. Likewise, their Bean burritos can't be too unhealthy. I presume they don't contain MSG, but am not sure if the refried bean mixture contains high fructose corn syrup...wouldn't be surprised. Stick with the hard or soft tacos for health. Yes, the burger meat IS fried (I think), but that little amount isn't going to be detrimental if you don't go every day.


Hardee's
Don't even drive into the parking lot for THIS place. There is absolutely NOTHING healthy here at all. They seem to specialize in trying to think up the most unhealthy food possible and then frying it twice in fat just for good measure.


Arby's
Good root beer, but like Hardee's above, I don't really think they have much in terms of healthy food. They might have standard tossed salads.


Sonic
This one I'm not sure....haven't been to one in a while. Anybody know if they have any healthy choices here at all? I DO remember they sometimes have cute waitresses on skates that come out to your car...always a welcome addition to any meal...and the 1950's feel IS sorta cool, although festooned with a sorta neon corporatism.



NOTE: In no way do I endorse going to ANY of these on a regular basis. They are simply when you have very little time and have miles yet to go, or are somehow too rushed that day to have a good, home-cooked sit-down meal of your own making. That is nearly always a better alternative (unless your cupboards are loaded with processed foods!).

You can be almost positive that the chicken that each of the above places use is highly laden in growth hormones, as they buy in bulk from great big industrial chicken farms like Tyson and Perdue. So only consume in moderation.

--

I don't think, I'm not sure, might maybe...
Was this just a typing exercise?

Captain Vague was probably born once, somewhere, he might have grown up as well, but no one is really sure y'know, well- when I say no one ... someone could know - but I don't. He might have received his super powers from like ... a spider ... like that guy but, he probably didn't y'know because he'd probably be called captain spider maybe. Some guy said he was genetically modified or something, but all (or possibly some?) of what Captain Vague replied was "Possibly". That's not to say he has like amnesia or something - although he might - it is thought by a small or large number of beings or objects that it might be because of something else. Maybe.

[Kied]

To each their own. I prefer burgers and pizza over brussel sprouts and carrots. When I am on the road and begin feeling a bit guilty I'll hit up Panera Bread. Soup and salad or a half sandwich makes me feel all healthy again.

[iceman]

^^heh@captain vague

[Art Shirk]

Looks like nearly everybody missed two important points:

1) Use these fast foods ONLY when there is no alternative. Shopping for some fruit and a handful of veggies and sprouts and maybe a Naked fruit smoothie is far healthier. I said that right in the beginning. I was just saying that there are SOME fairly healthy choices IF you choose wisely and don't go for orders of McNuggets and fries and shit like that.

As Shirshred said, there are alternatives to what you stated, at the SAME fast food joint, that are better for you. You took a stab at what shit looked the least shitty, but you were incorrect.

2) I said lastly that none of these foods should be eaten in ANYTHING but moderation, as the chicken will be filled with growth hormones and come from some large industrial chicken farm. Do you guys even read???

As Sirshread said, there are alternatives to what you stated, at the SAME fast food joint, that are more moderately proportioned.

[iceman]

Fast food makes you feel like shit, do what you can to avoid it. But if you're that hungry and out of options just fucking get something to eat and save the planet tomorrow.

[BackCountryNC]

Tough crowd.