Is it possible to eat low calorie healthy food at a Fast Food restaurant? The answer to that question may depend on your definition of low calorie and healthy. What is low calorie for one person may not be for someone else. What is healthy on the other hand may be a little more universal.

The healthiest foods are rich with nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants. These foods are minimally processed and have no unnecessary added chemicals or dyes. The best way to get healthy food is to buy fresh, local, and organic whenever possible and to prepare the food yourself. However, that ideal situation is simply not a reality for most people.

More likely than not you are busy. You work hard as a student or employee or business owner. In addition you may have a home or family to take care of. Often there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do what you might prefer to do if the circumstances were different.

Fortunately, the average American consumer is more aware than ever of the importance of eating healthy and has a better understanding what is healthy food as opposed to what is not. As a result, nutrition conscious consumers have been speaking up when it comes to having healthy restaurant meals that can be prepared and served quickly yet don’t have an unreasonable number of calories.

Fast food restaurants have been paying attention to this trend for healthier food and have come a long way in making improvements in what they offer. The restaurants that have made the most changes with providing healthier menu items along with smaller portions sizes are doing well while other restaurants that have been slow to change seem to be losing market share.

I first wrote about healthy low calorie restaurant food items more than a year ago when a relatively small number of “healthier” menu items were available . Since then, there’s been an increase in the number of “healthier” menu items. The biggest spike, however, seems to have been in just the past few months. Maybe it has something to do with the changes in menu board calorie labeling in New York City.

New Yorkers have been astonished by the actual calorie content in some of their favorite fast food choices. A new study discovered that when customers knew the calorie counts as a result of the prominent display on menu boards in New York, they ordered an average of 52 calories less. (American Journal of Public Health, August 2008) What may be even more revealing is another study in which customers ordered meals with fewer calories when the menu was labeled but ONLY on Mondays and Tuesdays! (The Economist, 2008)

I’ll leave it up to you to decide if a menu item is healthy or not. I prefer to simply be thankful that Fast Food restaurants are making an effort and offering “healthier” choices. Just like everyone else I have times when I am away from home and need to eat quickly. Fast food is a necessity. What’s exciting is that we now have a bigger selection.

I’m not advocating eating fast food often. However, when you do you’ll want to be armed with the knowledge to make your best choices. An informative article I came across recently may be of help “12 Rules of the Road for Your Favorite Fast-Food Restaurant”. Although the suggestions in this article are good they may not be enough if you are on a low calorie diet. What I prefer to do is keep a list in mind of the restaurants with better choices (healthier and low calorie) and know which menu items are the best bet.

Image via Wikipedia One of the newest and least expected restaurants to join the ranks of those offering healthier fare is Dunkin Donuts. The Dunkin Donuts Company has listened to their customer’s recommendations for change and responded with new menu itmes! They now offer a Dunkin Donuts Smart menu called DDSMART.

In addition to reduced calorie beverages and a healthier multigrain bagel (not low calorie), the highlights of the new menu are two Egg White Flatbread sandwiches. One of the sandwiches features turkey sausage with spinach and reduced-fat mozzarella. The other is a Veggie with peppers, onions, mushrooms, and reduced-fat cheddar cheese. Both sandwiches have less than 300 calories each, nine grams of fat or less, and are served on a toasted multigrain flatbread.

The town I live in no longer has a Dunkin Donuts restaurant. So I guess I won’t be able to give these a try for a while. Someone let me know if they actually taste good.

Starbucks has changed the standard or “default” milk added to drinks from whole milk to reduced-fat milk. That’s a significant reduction in calories but you can take that a step further. If you want milk with your coffee ask for the non-fat milk. Don’t make my mistake and ask for skim or the person you order from might misunderstand and give you “soy” milk instead of “skim” milk. Soy is a good choice but typically has more calories. (Healthy Low Calorie Beverages 100 Calories or Less)

New menu items at other restaurants to look for include:

Chicken Fajita Pita on Whole Grain (Jack in the Box, 307 calories)

Tortilla Soup Trio (Vegetarian tortilla soup, soft taco, and diet beverage for 360 calories, Qdobe Mexican Grill)

Naked Taco Salad (Choose chicken or grilled veggies for about 340 calories with the fat-free picante dressing for 45 calories at Qdobe Mexican Grill)

Chargrilled and Fruit Salad with Reduced Fat Berry Balsamic Dressing (290 calories, Chick-Fil-A’s)

Thin Crust Medium Cheese Pizza (2 slices for 280 calories from Domino’s Pizza)

For more low calorie restaurant choices read my previous articles. Menu items do change but hopefully most of the recommendations are still available:

1. A Low Calorie Restaurant Food Guide
2. Low Calorie Sample Menu and More
3. Healthy Restaurant Food: Is it Low Calorie?