A Guide for Making Healthy Fast-Food Choices

Cara Stewart, RD, LDN, member of the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery team, provides a guide for how to make a fast-food meal as healthy as possible.

There’s no denying that preparing food in your own kitchen is the easiest way to lose weight. When you cook at home, you control exactly what goes into your meals and you can stick to pre-planned portion sizes.

But the reality is that eating at home isn’t always possible. Whether you’re tight on time, out of groceries or just not in the mood to cook, it is possible to maintain a healthy diet while occasionally eating fast food.

This guide helps you make the healthiest possible fast-food choices.

Choose:

• Salads
• Grilled chicken sandwiches
• Open-faced sandwiches
• Chili, bean and broth soups
• Water or other unsweetened beverages 

Avoid:

• Fries
• Chips
• Cream soups
• Sugar-sweetened soft drinks
• Fried, crispy or crunchy sandwiches
• Upsized meals
• Double meat
• Bacon

You should also feel comfortable making special requests. You can modify many fast-food meals to reduce the calories or fat as well as increase the healthy nutrients.

Here are some examples of healthy special requests.

Ask for:

• Light salad dressing
• Hold the mayo or other special sauces
• Whole wheat bun
• Hold the cheese
• Grilled not fried
• Extra vegetables on sandwich
• Fruit on the side

While it is possible to incorporate fast food into a healthy diet, it is important to remember that fast-food meals must be an occasional occurrence and not a staple of your diet.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for new, healthy options on fast-food menus. More people are becoming interested in weight loss and healthy eating, and restaurants are paying attention. Healthy items like yogurt, veggie burgers and fruit are appearing on menus around the country, giving you more options for healthy food choices than ever before.

- Cara Stewart, RD, LDN