If you want to be sure you are eating healthy low calorie food, your best bet is to buy fresh whole foods with little or no processing and prepare your own meals! But who wants to do that all the time? What do you buy to eat if the only thing you have time for is a quick meal of fast food? To help you out I’ll share with you what I might select for reasonably healthy low calorie fast food choices at 8 different restaurants.
I just finished doing an extensive search of menu items for a number of the top fast food restaurants in this country (United States). Although I did come up with some reasonable choices, I can’t stress enough the need to limit how often you choose fast food. The overwhelming majority of menu items are high calorie and not particularly healthy or low calorie and devoid of nutrients.
When you are eating out, it sometimes works well to buy a full serving of a higher calorie meal and save back half or more for later. However, this is not a good idea for most fast food restaurants. As a general rule, you would still get far too much sodium and saturated fat even in a half size portion!
I will admit my goal may have been unrealistic. I wanted to find menu items that would provide a nutritious meal for 350 calories or less. That proved to be pretty much impossible. But if your goal is to stick with a 1200 to 1500 calorie diet there isn’t a whole lot of wiggle room so to speak!
In a previous article I provided some basic guidelines when it comes to purchasing frozen entrees. I had suggested looking for meals with no more than 700 mg of sodium. (See Best Low Calorie Frozen Entrees ) High sodium is a common reason why it is so hard to find healthy low calorie fast food meals.
As for beverages, keep in mind that your best bet for a healthy low calorie beverage is water or unsweetened tea or coffee. If you get accustomed to that idea you could save yourself countless hundreds of calories over the course of a year! (See Weight Loss and Beverages and Healthy Low Calorie Beverages ).
Quiznos
Honey Bourbon Chicken Sub – 300 calories
2 grams sat. fat
790 mg sodium
2 grams dietary fiber
16 grams protein
You may be able to add a slice of cheese for an additional 50-60 calories and gain some calcium along with a little more protein.
You might think Sammies (small sandwiches) would be a good choice at Quiznos. So did I. Then I noticed that each Sammie has a whopping 6 to 10 grams of saturated fat WITHOUT any additional cheese or dressing. That’s takes up almost my whole allotment for the day. (I try to keep my saturated fat intake to no more than 10-12 grams.)
Subway
Subway Club Sandwich – 160 calories
1.5 grams sat. fat
880 mg sodium
4 grams dietary fiber
18 grams protein
60 mg calcium
3.6 mg iron
The club sandwich includes roast beef, turkey, ham, chopped lettuce, baby spinach, red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, olives, and carrots.
Although the calorie count is low, I don’t recommend having two of these sandwiches because of the high sodium content. If you do take out, consider adding a carton of soy or almond milk and a piece of fruit to round out the nutritional balance (bring from home or buy at a local grocery store).
Wendy’s
Broccoli and Cheese Potato – 340 calories
1 gram sat. fat
430 mg sodium
9 grams dietary fiber
10 grams protein
200 mg calcium
3.6 mg iron
I find the calorie count for this item to be a little questionable. I would suggest asking for the cheese sauce to be provided on the side so you have some control over how much you get. Otherwise it’s a good choice.
McDonald’s
1 Regular Hamburger with no Cheese – 260 calories
1 packet of ketchup – 10 calories
Side Salad – 20 calories
Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette – 40 calories
Iced Tea – 0 calories
Total = 330 calories
If you prefer to not have a hamburger there are a couple of other choices to consider:
Fruit and Yogurt Parfait – 160 calories
Fruit and Walnut Salad – 310 calories
Taco Bell
1 Tostada – 250 calories
(A flat, crunchy corn tortilla topped with refried beans, red sauce, crisp lettuce and cheddar cheese.)
3.5 gram sat. fat
730 mg sodium
1-gram dietary fiber
11 grams protein
As with the Subway Club Sandwich, I recommend supplementing this menu item with a carton of soy or almond milk and a piece of fruit from home or a local grocery store.
Arby’s
I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the nutrition information available for Arby’s menu items! For the Market Fresh Sandwiches, Wraps and more you can find a calorie count for each individual ingredient. That makes it easier to discover the ingredients that will work best for you. (Please see my update below!)
Santa Fe Salad with Grilled Chicken - 305 calories
Santa Fe Salad includes cherry tomatoes, red onion rings, diced grilled chicken naturals, pepper jack shredded, roasted corn and black bean mix, iceberg/romaine blend, mixed salad greens, cheddar shredded.
30 grams protein
6 grams sat. fat
621 mg sodium
6 grams dietary fiber
260 mg calcium
2.5 mg iron
Another good choice at Arby’s is Martha’s Vineyard Salad made with cherry tomatoes, diced grilled chicken naturals, diced apple, cheddar shredded, cranberries, iceberg/romaine blend, mixed salad greens. You get all this for only 277 calories a serving.
I picked the Santa Fe Salad as the top choice because it offers slightly more nutrients for the calories. Both salads are a couple of the healthiest salads I’ve come across with Fast Food.
[Update August 2010: Since publishing details about the Arby's Salads I've found conflicting reports about the calorie and nutrient content. I can't even find a definitive listing from Arby's to verify the information. This is why we need to have the calories (and nutrition information!) available on the menu boards at fast food restaurants. It's just too difficult to figure it out! Unfortunately, we will have to be patient a little while longer for the calorie counts. The FDA has given chain restaurants an extension on the original deadline for providing this information to the public as outlined by law in the new Health Care Bill.]
Hardee’s
I recommend avoiding Hardee’s if at all possible! They have little to nothing that fits with a healthy low calorie diet. The best I could find is a breakfast item.
Frisco Breakfast Sandwich minus one slice of American cheese – 360 calories (otherwise 420 calories)
This sandwich is made with a cooked folded egg, thinly sliced ham, American cheese, Swiss cheese, and sourdough bread. (A slice of American cheese has about 60 calories and a slice of Swiss Cheese about 50 calories.)
I don’t have the nutrient breakdown for the sandwich minus one slice of cheese. However, even with one less cheese slice, the sandwich would likely be a good source of protein, some calcium, and a little dietary fiber. The sodium content is likely to be high (more than 800+ mg of sodium).
Jamba Juice
I’m not a big fan of Jamba Juice. Although the fruit blends may sound good, in reality you’re basically getting a lot of calories and sugar. The most nutritious low calorie choice I could find is for a blueberry and yogurt blend.
Bright-Eyed and Blueberry Blend – 280 calories
This blend is made with soymilk, nonfat plain yogurt, frozen strawberries, and frozen blueberries. The calcium in this menu item is surprisingly high. It leads me to believe they are in some way supplementing this item with additional calcium.
0 grams sat. fat
90 mg sodium
3 grams dietary fiber
1 grams protein
900 mg calcium
1.8 mg iron
I hope you find this list of healthy low calorie fast food choices to be helpful when you are faced with lots of choices but little information. Calorie counts will be available on the menu boards in fast food restaurants not too long from now but you won’t have easy access to other nutrition information without doing some digging ahead of time. So if any of the items I’ve mentioned appeal to you, you may want to jot them down on a 3 x 5 inch index card and carry it with you in your purse!
Would you like some ideas for healthy low calorie brown bag lunches?
Preparing Low Calorie Brown Bag Meals
Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy food!
