What are healthy foods to order when you eat out at fast food restaurants and taquerias?

In an ideal world, we’d all be able to pick fresh produce from our own garden, cook some fish caught during leisure hours each day, and eat whole grain breads and pastas we make ourselves at home. But since real life gets in the way of all that, we often go to McDonald’s or Subway instead.

Alas, fast food is the way by which millions get their meals everyday. The clear disadvantage is that processed meals of all kinds – from all types of restaurants, as well as most of what’s sold in grocery and convenient stores – comes with far more fat, simple carbohydrates (e.g., French fried instead of baked potatoes with nutrients and fiber still intact) and sugar, usually with the fiber discarded in the food manufacturing process, long before it reaches your mouth. Of the more than $222 billion Americans spend in restaurants each year, more than $118 billion is spend on convenience foods such as Big Macs and Chalupas. The Center for Science in the Public Interest found in 2002 that as a population, we consume about 34 percent of our calories in meals outside the home, a proportion that climbs to 45 percent for the most “heavy user” demographic, men in the 18 to 39-year-old age bracket.

So does that mean all is lost when we grab a quick meal at Burger King, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Arby’s, Subway or Quiznos? What about the taquerias – i.e., taco and burrito shops such as Taco Bell and el Pollo Loco (the original use of the term was for street vendors of similar menu items)?

Fortunately, there’s almost always something you can get at quick service restaurants that should at least tide you over until you have access to better food (like, something a little more complete at home, such as described in my Hub article, “Energy Density: Reduce calories yet satisfy your appetite with foods high in fiber and water”). When you think of a fast food visit as a stopgap measure, something to tide you over, it can cut caloric and fat intake into a half or even a third of calories you might otherwise consume.

Below are several menu suggestions for many restaurants, but you’re best prepared if you know a few rules of thumb:

1. Chicken and turkey are often, but not always, your best selection for low-fat. Avoid breaded and fried versions, instead opting for grilled (some chains still bread grilled versions, so be on your guard).
2. Sometimes, but not always, roast beef can be a low-fat selection. National fast food chains are required to provide nutrition information in brochures and on their websites, which will help you distinguish between fatty and lean roast beef.
3. The word “salad” associated with a protein (chicken salad, tuna salad, etc.) almost always connotes mayonnaise was used as an ingredient. Avoid: it can up the fat content tenfold. Find flavor instead in lemon juice, spicy garden vegetables, and mustard.
4. Skip the fries. A moderately sized serving at most fast food joints are 300 calories, minimum. These are processed carbs with no fiber – they digest pretty quickly, shoot up your blood sugar levels then crash you just as fast, leaving you hungry again in just a couple of hours.
5. Search for items that include lots of vegetables in them. Ideally, that would be the salad entrée. But watch out for fat in the dressings – that can add up significantly if you’re not careful.

Top chain best menu choices

To repeat, the major national chains have nutrition content posted on websites and in posters or brochures available (as required by law) in their restaurants. Keep in mind that for non-athletic people, average daily caloric intake levels should be 2000 (women) to 2500 (men) calories per day; increase that according to physical activity level. Here are some best menu choices from the most prolific chains:

McDonald’s

Chicken McGrill – ordered with no mayo, it has 6 grams of fat and 24 grams of protein, 300 calories in total

Premium Grilled Chicken Classic – 10 grams fat, 32 grams protein, 420 calories

Hamburger (regular) – 10 grams of fat, 12 grams of protein, 280 calories total

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad – 7 grams fat, 26 grams protein, 210 calories total. Watch what salad dressing type you choose (vinaigrettes are usually the best choice)

Fruit and yogurt parfait: 4 gram fat, 8 grams protein, 280 calories total

Asian Salad with Grilled Chicken – 10 grams fat, 32 grams protein, 300 calories

Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken – 9 grams fat, 33 grams protein, 260 calories

Bacon Ranch Salad (no chicken) – 7 grams fat, 9 grams protein, 140 calories

Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken – 6 grams fat, 30 grams protein, 220 calories

Caesar Salad (no chicken) – 4 grams fat, 7 grams protein, 90 calories

Snack Size Fruit & Walnut Salad – 8 grams fat, 4 grams protein, 210 calories

McDonald’s Dressings that are low fat

Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette – 3 grams fat

Newman’s Own Low Fat Family Recipe Italian – 2.5 grams fat

Newman’s Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger – 2.5 grams fat

Burger King

Chicken Whopper with no mayo – 9 grams fat, 38 grams protein, 330 calories total.

Hamburger – 13 grams fat, 17 grams protein, 320 calories

Whopper, no mayo – 28 grams fat, 34 grams protein, 610 calories

Wendy’s

Ultimate Chicken Grill sandwich with no mayo – 8 grams fat, 24 grams protein, 309 calories

Chili, large size – 9 grams fat, 25 grams protein, 300 calories

Spicy Chicken sandwich with no mayo – 15 grams fat, 27 grams protein, 430 calories

Mandarin chicken Salad with low-fat honey mustard dressing – 18.5 grams far, 25 grans protein, 270 calories

Taco Bell

Note that with Taco Bell and most traditional mom-and-pop Mexican taquerias, refried beans come with virtually every menu item, per tradition. But health-mex-style chains (el Pollo Loco, Chipotle Grill, Rubios and others) are incorporating more Carribean-style whole black beans into their menus, which reduce overall fat content by 75 percent. Still, the Taco Bell rings in more locations than all others, offering the following best choices.

Chicken Fiesta Burrito – 12 grams fat, 17 grams protein, 370 calories

Steak Fiesta Burrito – 14 grams fat, 15 grams protein, 370 calories

Bean Burrito – 11 grams fat, 13 grams protein, 370 calories

Chicken Soft Taco – 7 grams fat, 13 grams protein, 190 calories

Chicken Gordita Nacho Cheese – 13 grams fat, 15 grams protein, 290 calories

Steak Gordita Nacho – 14 grams fat, 15 grams protein, 290 calories

Kentucky Fried Chicken

What can you say about a fast food chain that about 15 years ago shortened its name to an acronym to hide the word “fried” in its brand, then heavily promotes its Famous Bowl concoction of mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, friend chicken pieces and cheese, all in one container (34 grams of fat, 720 calories)? But fear not, not every menu items is food porn:

Tender Roast Sandwich with no sauce – 5 grams fat, 31 grams protein, 270 calories

Honey barecue-Flavored Sandwich – 6 grams fat, 21 grams protein, 300 calories

(one) Drumstick – 8 grams fat, 14 grams protein, 140 calories

Whole wing – 9 grams fat, 11 grams protein, 190 calories

Arby’s

Most of the sandwiches and wraps at this chain clock in at 30 and 40 grams or more of fat, and that’s before you add the mayo or other sauces (add another 11 or more grams of fat with dressings). Your lowest-fat options are in two salads:

Martha’s Vineyard Salad – 8 grams fat, 26 grams protein, 277 calories

Santa Fe Salad with Grilled Chicken – 9 grams fat, 29 grams protein, 283 calories

But be careful about which dressing you choose: Light Buttermilk Ranch Dressing has only 6 grams of fat, but regular Buttermilk Ranch Dressing has 34 grams of fat. Raspberry Vinaigrette has 14 grams of fat, your next best option.

Subway

Subway made a good reputation for itself a few years back as the healthier alternative to burgers and burritos. That can be true, but that means no mayo and no oil – however, doubling the meat portion increases the protein content does not double the fat (for people who want that, such as men who exercise), thankfully. The chain wins a lot of points for a broad selection of lower-fat, moderate-calorie offerings. An even smarter way to make a meal here that is more filling is to get the soup (for more on that, see also the article on Energy Density by this Hub author).

Six-inch sub sandwiches (includes wheat bread, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, pickles and olive, but no oil or mayonnaise). DM means “double meat,” which as the numbers illustrate does not double the fat content.

Ham – 5 grams fat (DM: 7 grams fat), 18 grams protein, 290 calories

Oven Roasted Chicken Breast – 5 grams fat (DM: 8 grams fat), 24 grams protein, 310 calories

Roast Beef – 5 grams fat (DM: 7 grams fat), 19 grams protein, 290 calories

Subway Club – 6 grams fat (DM: 8 grams fat), 24 grams protein, 320 calories

Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki – 5 grams fat (DM: 7 grams fat), 26 grams protein, 370 calories

Turkey Breast – 4.5 grams fat (DM: 8 grams fat), 18 grams protein, 280 calories

Turkey Breast & Ham – 5 grams fat (DM: 7 grams fat), 20 grams protein, 290 calories

Veggie Delite – 3 grams fat, 9 grams protein, 230 calories

Low-fat 12” sub

Ham – 10 grams fat, 37 grams protein, 570 calories

Subway’s mini sandwiches, toasted and untoasted, are all low-fat (under 15 grams) and low calorie, with the following exceptions: Chicken & Bacon Ranch, Italian BMT, Meatball Marinara, Spicy Italian, and Tuna Mini Subs.

Quizno’s

Inexplicably, the Quizno’s website does not supply nutrition information. So the following information was obtain from other websites, which cannot be verified:

Honey Bourbon Chicken, small – 6 grams fat, 24 grams protein, 359 calories

Sierra Smoked Turkey, small – 6 grams fat, 23 grams protein, 350 calories

Turkey Lite, small – 6 grams fat, 17 grams protein, 334 calories

Chili Con Carne, Regular sized (no roll) – 14 grams fat, 26 grams protein, 355 calories

El Pollo Loco

The crazy chicken has some crazy good choices:

BBQ Flame-Grilled Chicken – 9 grams fat, 36 grams protein, 246 calories

BBQ Flame-Grilled Chicken Leg – 4 grams fat, 12 grams protein, 89 calories

BBQ Flame-Grilled Chicken Wing – 5 grams fat, 11 grams protein, 97 calories

BBQ Black Bean BRC Burrito – 11 grams fat 13 grams protein, 418 calories

Classic Chicken Burrito – 14 grams fat, 30 grams protein, 500 calories

Good luck – it’s a fast food jungle out there. Better to know what you’re eating than to blithely grab and go.

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Russ Klettke is author of “A Guy’s Gotta Eat, the regular guy’s guide to eating smart” with Deanna Conte, MS RD LD (Marlowe & Co., 2004; available where books are sold and in hundreds of public library systems in the U.S., Canada and Europe). The book focuses on ways to eat healthier for people who might otherwise eat processed and fast foods.