Healthy Fast Food Substitutions

Is there such a thing as healthy fast food? Fast food is inevitable for most of you, especially if you have kids!? Its an awesome plan to have a strategy in your back pocket that allows healthy eating without breaking your food bank calorie limit for the day! Is it really possible and what should the healthy diet habits be?

Although I am not a huge fan of fast food, I am a fan of healthy eating! I do believe that you can make healthy educated choices most of the time!

First, everyone should know their calorie limit for each meal. This involves filling out your meal plan chart. Grab your calorie level that you allow for each meal. This is a range that you should aim for. This just helps you from going hog wild in your fast food ordering. Your target meal plan amount might be 800 calories, but your milkshake choice was 1200 calories. Probably not a great choice!!

Two lifestyle solutions exist from there and both involve substitutions!

Strategy #1

Take your usual order and try to fit it into your calorie budget. This is actually easier than you think but would entail actually knowing the calories. Grab a food app. for your phone, check at home on the internet, or at the fast-food place. You can make many substitutions that will lower calories. Some examples would be:

• Know the calories first of all.
• Delete calories where possible like mayo, cheese, high fat salad dressings, sour cream, butter, or crunchy salad toppings! Most places have light salad dressings!
• Avoid anything fried and substitute a grilled meat choice over fried.
• Downsize your portions. Kids meal sizing is actually a great size for adults.
• Maybe substitute a salad for the choices of fries or eliminate that milkshake that is a full meals calories. Pick and choose what would work in your calorie plan!

Each place is different, so it is difficult to give specifics. Once you work out your plan, you can use it over and over for healthy fast-food choices. A little up-front work with huge pay back!

Strategy #2

This involves giving your choices a complete overhaul and choosing healthy fast food. This would mean you would check out the menu of the restaurant. Check out the items that you would enjoy and compare their fat contents and calories. Many times you will be surprised at what you find. You can usually find a healthier doable choice! Some examples would be:

• Choosing a grilled chicken sandwich over your double burger!

• Choosing a potato topped with chili and no butter and sour cream, and ordering a side salad rather than your usual burger, fries, and milkshake.

• Choosing a turkey sandwich with lots of veggies and no cheese, rather than the tuna choice that is loaded with high fat mayo. Make tuna at home.

• Each place is different so use that app to make your decision. I usually do this before I enter the restaurant, because it takes time and I have often ordered something I did not want because I was next in line! Learn from my mistakes!

Two lifestyle solutions for healthy fast food and both can work! Either revamp your existing choice or choose a new healthier choice! Check out each specific restaurant for specific ideas!

Healthier Picks at Fast Food Restaurants

I will be visiting each one, so check back often for my healthier picks!

• Arbys

• Burger King

• Carls Jr.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill

• Dairy Queen

• Dominos Pizza

• Fat Burger

• Five Guys Burgers and Fries

• Jack in the Box

• Jamba Juice

• KFC

• Little Caesars

• McDonalds

• Panda Express

• Qdoba Mexican Grill

• Quiznos

• Round Table Pizza

• Subway

• Taco Bell

• Taco Del Mar

• Taco Time

• Wendys