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How to Approach Fast Food Wisely

An Excerpt from Healthy Lunchbox: The Working Mom's Guide to Keeping You and Your Kids Trim (LifeLine Press, 2003)

By Rallie McAllister

Pages: 1 2 3

Most fast food restaurants offer "light" menus and low-fat selections. You're always better off choosing from among these items. Fried foods and those served with high-fat condiments like mayonnaise, "special" sauce and tartar sauce need to be approached with extreme caution. If the restaurant doesn't offer a light menu, your best bet is to choose salads with low-fat dressings or grilled chicken sandwiches. When it comes to ordering soups, choose the broth-based varieties rather than those that are cream-based.

Don't Be Afraid to Special Order
Wherever you end up eating, ask for all condiments to be served on the side rather than slathered on your food by the chef, who is likely to be as indifferent to the lining of your arteries as he is to the circumference of your waistline. A single tablespoon of regular mayonnaise or salad dressing contains about 9 grams of fat and 100 calories, so you'll want to use these condiments sparingly, if at all. Although vegetables are usually safe choices, their nutritional value is significantly diminished if they're overcooked to the point of disintegration or if they're swimming in lakes of oil or butter. Ask for your vegetables to be served plain and lightly steamed, so that they'll be reasonably nutritious and free of added fat.

While fish and chicken entrees sound nutritionally safe, you have to pay attention to the methods in which they are prepared. The fried versions of either food put them in the same class as burgers, and drowning fish or chicken in creamy sauces or butter can demote them to the nutritional status of high-fat desserts. To ensure that they remain low in fat and cholesterol, order your fish or chicken entrees baked or grilled.

Pages: 1 2 3

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