Healthier Fast Food
Fast food chains are here to stay and because of busy lives, no time to cook meals at home and other responsibilities people have, they will continue eating fast food. This is a fact of life but what about your healthier fast food options?
Burgers are often criticized for the meat high in saturated fat but it is often the other ingredients to blame: mayonnaise, sweet white bread, cheese, bacon, high sugar ketchup and the size of it as well as the french fries served with the burgers.
Making fast food healthier is quite a challenge. Fast food is often low in nutrition and very high in calories, sodium, trans fats and saturated fats even in small servings, and they are related to a few serious health problems and chronic diseases if consumed regularly. One serving of Big Mac meal with coke and fries and a Maccas pie has more saturated fat than you are supposed to eat in two days.
- You will find the nutritional profiles of what is served at common fast food chains on the internet on many websites. So you can make your choices accordingly if you are suffering from a chronic illness, trying to lose weight or simply trying to live a healthy life.
- Some fast food restaurants started serving salads and giving whole meal options to consumers. When you pick a salad from the salad bar at Mc Donalds, try not to smother it in oil and creamy dressings. Choose lighter dressings and use a little bit of olive oil.
- Avoid ordering Coke, Pepsi, Fanta or lemonade with your meals at the fast food restaurant. Diet versions are even worse as they contain harmful sweeteners that will not help you stop your sugar cravings. Go for orange juice and other fruit juices instead. Do not forget to drink water at every meal.
- It is usually in the name.. Check the name of your meals first. Anything that has fried, deep-fried, creamy, Alfredo at the front cannot be good for you and will be loaded in calories. Always go for meals that include grilled / roasted / broiled meat and vegetables / greens.
- What about a grilled steak sandwich with some salad on the side and juice. It doesn’t sound so bad, does it? Better than that double whopper with fries and diet coke. But if you really have to have that Whopper or Big Mac, ask without mayonnaise in it and get low fat mayo, mustard and /or ketchup to add it yourself if you need to. Foods served at fast food restaurants are already quite salty, so you simply do not want to add more salt.
- Avoid buffets at fast food, regular or classy restaurants at all times. It is human nature to overeat at buffets to get what they pay for. One needs to have a really strong will to resist the temptation to indulge at buffets. If you must have a buffet meal or happen to be invited to one, do not overload your plate, choose healthier foods and eat until you are full and stop immediately, have a drink.
- Even better, learn to stop before you are full and wait a couple of minutes, then you’ll realize you are already full. This is how your mind and body work.
- Ask for a small serving, choose smaller portions, kids’ size burgers and get more if you are still hungry after eating the small burger and salad with low-calorie dressing or baked potato and drinking your water or orange juice.
- With pizza, get less cheese and choose the ones that have healthier toppings- Mediterranean vegetables. With Mexican, get the salsa with your meal and not the cheese sauce. With burgers, ask for extra tomato, onion and lettuce and no mayo or cheese or bacon.
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