Dr. Tim Says....

How to Eat Healthy at Fast Food Restaurants

I have to admit that I seldom eat at fast food joints. I much prefer to eat great food and it’s worth the time to either cook it myself or find a better alternative to fast food.

Even though I travel a great deal, part of my success in avoiding mediocre food away from home is the same as when I am at home – planning! I am writing this on an airplane today and my lunch was carryon from home. I simply made my sandwich this morning as I usually do. Fast food restaurants are now very expensive and not only did I save money, I had a much better meal: it both tasted better and was better for me.

I have created this list of selected items from common fast food restaurants for you to use when you must eat out. I have kept it pretty straightforward and the only information included is calories and fat. The items listed fall generally under 400 calories or so and under 15 grams of fat. If you are going to be stuck eating at such restaurants this is a fairly good guideline to use for any meal.

Burger King is not the only restaurant that will “let you have it your way”. It’s pretty easy to get substitutions at traditional places like McDonalds and Wendy’s. They will make your meal healthier if you just ask. Subway is a good choice for this because you are in complete control of what is going on your sandwich.

Fast Food Restaurant Food Lists

Baja Fresh [ PDF ]
Boston Market [ PDF ]
Burger King [ PDF ]
Chick-fil-A [ PDF ]
Cosi [ PDF ]
Kentucky Fried Chicken [ PDF ]
McDonald's [ PDF ]
Subway [ PDF ]
Taco Bell [ PDF ]
Wendy's [ PDF ]

Download the entire list in PDF format. Don't have Adobe® Acrobat Reader®? Download it now.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Dr. Gourmet
October 26, 2005

Last updated: 02/02/06