Fast food is
cheap, filling, convenient, and a delicious option that often comes with a side
of guilt. One in every four Americans eats fast food at least once a day.
Unfortunately, many fast food meals contain a whole day’s worth of calories and
fat. Take a Double Whopper Sandwich Meal from Burger King for example: It will
set you back 1430 calories and 72g fat!
McDonald’s Breakfast Sandwich Without
the Bread
Net carbs:
13.5 g
Nutrition:
310 calories, 10.25 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 940 mg sodium, 19 g carbs, 5.5 g
fiber, 14.5 g sugar, 31.5 g protein
McDonald’s
is the most popular fast-food chain in the world, with more than 35,000
restaurants worldwide as of 2015.
Although
it’s best known for burgers like the Big Mac and Quarter Pounder, its Egg
McMuffin and Sausage McMuffin breakfast sandwiches are also very popular.
These
breakfast entrées consist of an English muffin with one egg, a slice of
American cheese, and ham or sausage.
Each
sandwich contains 29 grams of carbs. However, ordering either of these items
without the muffin will reduce the carb content to 2 grams or less.
It’s also a
good idea to order two low-carb sandwiches, as each one will only provide about
12 grams of protein.
Chipotle
Burrito Bowl
With Steak, Black Beans, Fajita Veggies, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Cheese, and
Romaine Lettuce (pictured, but without modifications)
460 calories
46 g protein
15.5 g fat
(7 g saturated)
1,150 mg
sodium
36 g
carbohydrates (15 g fiber, 8 g sugar)
Salad with
Romaine Lettuce, Brown Rice, Black Beans, Fajita Veggies, and Roasted
Chili-Corn Salsa* (vegetarian)
430 calories
15.5 g
protein
10 g fat (0
g saturated, 0 g trans)
895 mg
sodium
76 g
carbohydrates (19.5 g fiber, 8.5 g sugar)
Chipotle is
a fast-food Mexican restaurant that has become extremely popular.
It’s
considered healthier than other chains because it serves organic and naturally
raised meat, dairy and produce.
Chipotle
also makes it very easy to create low-carb meals.
A salad with
meat or chicken, grilled vegetables and guacamole contains 14 grams of total
carbs, 8 of which are fiber.
This meal
also provides about 30 grams of high-quality protein.
A high
protein and fiber intake can increase the production of the gut hormones PYY
and CCK, which tell your brain you’re full and help prevent overeating (7, 8).
And although
vinaigrette is available, generous servings of guacamole and salsa make salad
dressing unnecessary.
Additionally,
Chipotle has a helpful online nutrition calculator that allows you to see the
exact carb content of your meal.
Subway
It’s easy to
eat healthy at Subway as long as you customize your orders. That means choosing
more veggies and less spreads, and forgoing cheese in some cases. Oh, and keep
your sandwiches at 6 inches or under.
Six-inch
Turkey Breast Sub on 9-Grain Wheat with Swiss Cheese, Banana Peppers,
Cucumbers, Green Peppers, Lettuce, Spinach, Tomatoes, Avocado, and Vinegar
dressing (pictured, but without modifications)
390 calories
23 g protein
14 g fat (4
g saturated, 0 g trans)
720 mg
sodium
49 g
carbohydrates (8 g fiber, 7 g sugar)
Six-inch
Veggie Sub on 9-Grain Wheat with Provolone, Cucumbers, Green Peppers, Lettuce,
Red Onions, Spinach, Tomatoes, Avocado, and Olive Oil Blend Dressing*
(vegetarian)
380 calories
13 g protein
17 g fat
(4.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
410 mg
sodium
47 g
carbohydrates (8 g fiber, 7 g sugar)
Subway also
has a tool that helps you figure out the nutritional value of your favorite
toppings.
Buffalo Wings
Buffalo
Wings are delicious and fun to eat.
They may
also be a low-carb option at pizza places and sports bars, depending on how
they’re prepared.
Traditionally,
Buffalo wings are covered in a spicy red sauce made from vinegar and hot red
peppers.
An order of
these Buffalo wings typically has 0–3 grams of carbs per serving.
By contrast,
other sauces can add a significant amount of carbs, especially sweet types such
as barbecue, teriyaki and anything made from honey.
Sometimes
the wings are breaded or battered and fried, which is especially common for
boneless wings. Therefore, be sure to ask how the wings are prepared and order
yours with no breading or batter.
Buffalo
wings are also usually served with carrots, celery and ranch dressing.
Although
they’re higher in carbs than many other vegetables, carrots are okay to eat in
small amounts. A half-cup of carrot strips contains about 5 grams of net carbs.
Burger King
Burger King
has some items you can order that fit within the parameters listed above,
without needing to make modifications. They even come with a good deal of
protein! A few things to look out for: A lot of their burgers come with trans
fats (and any amount of trans fats are not good). And the salads are pretty
reasonable, although some of them come with a LOT of sodium. The one selected
below comes in at 1,080 mg — higher than the 1,000 mg limit.
BK VEGGIE
Burger* (pictured) (vegetarian)
390 calories
21 g protein
16 g fat
(2.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
900 mg
sodium
44 g
carbohydrates (5 g fiber, 9 g sugar)
Chicken BLT
Garden Fresh Salad with TENDERGRILL and dressing
440 calories
33 g protein
29 g fat (8
g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,080 mg
sodium
11 g
carbohydrates (3 g fiber, 5 g sugar)
Chicken BLT
Garden Fresh Salad with TENDERGRILL and dressing
440 calories
33 g protein
29 g fat (8
g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,080 mg
sodium
11 g
carbohydrates (3 g fiber, 5 g sugar)
KFC Grilled Chicken
Artisan
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
360 calories
32 g protein
6 g fat (1.5
g saturated, 0 g trans)
930 mg
sodium
43 g
carbohydrates (3 g fiber, 11 g sugars)
Chicken
McNuggets (6 piece) With Honey Mustard Sauce (1 package)
340 calories
13 g protein
22 g fat
(3.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
655 mg
sodium
24 g
carbohydrates (2 g fiber, 5 g sugars)
Fried
chicken isn’t a healthy choice. For starters, the chicken absorbs a lot of oil
during frying.
Heating
vegetable oils to high temperatures produces harmful compounds.
These may
increase the risk of heart disease, cancer and other health problems (1, 2).
In addition,
fried chicken contains about 8–11 grams of carbs per medium-size piece.
Grilled
chicken is a much better option, and is available at many KFC (Kentucky Fried
Chicken) places. Each piece of grilled KFC chicken has less than 1 gram of
carbs.
As for side
dishes, green beans contain 2 grams of digestible carbs per serving and are by
far the best option. Cole slaw is next, at 10 grams of digestible carbs.
Click here
for complete nutrition information for all of the chicken options and sides
available at KFC.
Sub in a Tub
Submarine
sandwiches are very high in carbs. A typical sub has at least 50 grams of
carbs, most of which come from the bun.
Ordering
your sub prepared “in a tub” (in a bowl or container), rather than on a bun,
can save you more than 40 grams of carbs.
Here are the
carb counts for some of the best sub-in-a-tub options at a popular US-based sub
shop called Jersey Mike’s:
Turkey
breast and provolone: 8 grams of carbs, 1 of which is fiber.
Club
supreme: 11 grams of carbs, 2 of which are fiber.
Chicken
salad: 9 grams of carbs, 3 of which are fiber.
California
club: 9 grams of carbs, 4 of which are fiber.
Complete
nutrition information for all the subs on their menu can be found here.
Although the
term “sub in a tub” originated at Jersey Mike’s, you can order your meal this
way from any sub sandwich shop, including Subway.
Just request
that it be prepared as a salad with olive oil and vinegar for the dressing.
Taco Bell
Taco Bell
has some items that keep the serving sizes in check, but the thing you should
watch out for is the sodium content. A lot of stuff on the menu unfortunately
comes with over 1,000 milligrams of the stuff. The two items we chose below are
both just barely under that limit.
Shredded
Chicken Burrito
400 calories
16 g protein
18 g fat
(4.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
960 mg
sodium
45 g
carbohydrates (3 g fiber, 3 g sugar)
Cantina
Power Burrito — Veggie* (vegetarian)
430 calories
15 g protein
19 g fat (7
g saturated, 0 g trans)
940 mg
sodium
52 g
carbohydrates (9 g fiber, 5 g sugar)
Jimmy John’s
When it
comes to eating healthy at Jimmy John’s, you’ll have the best options when you
customize the sandwich orders. Here are some sandwiches we came up with.
Big John
(roast beef) Sub on French Bread, Without Mayo, With Lettuce, Tomato, Onions,
Cucumbers, and Avocado Spread (pictured, but without modifications)
378 calories
25 g protein
6 g fat (1 g
saturated)
980 mg
sodium
61 g
carbohydrates (5 g fiber)
Vegetarian
Sub on French Bread, With Avocado Spread, Cucumber, Lettuce, Provolone Cheese,
Tomato, Onions, and Without Mayo* (vegetarian)
508 calories
21 g fat (10
g saturated)
1,000 mg
sodium
63 g
carbohydrates
Quiznos
If you have
high blood pressure or are worried about your sodium intake, it’s going to be a
bit difficult to eat healthy at Quiznos — there are very few options that come
with less than 1,000 mg of sodium. The salads make good options, although if
you order the large for any of them you’ll end up having to choose between
going over 500 calories, over 20 grams of sugar, or over 1,000 milligrams of
sodium. So deciding which salad is the best option for you is really a personal
opinion.
Small Honey
Bourbon Chicken Sub (pictured)
360 calories
23 g protein
6 g fat (6 g
saturated, 0 g trans)
1,000 mg
sodium
51 g
carbohydrates (2 g fiber, 13 g sugar)
Small Veggie
Guacamole “Classic”* (vegetarian)
450 calories
13 g protein
25 g fat (8
g saturated, 0 g trans)
940 mg
sodium
44 g
carbohydrates (3 g fiber, 5 g sugar)
