Tips for Eating Fast Food

I hope you don’t eat fast food, but if you do, here are a few healthier options from the American Heart Association. Below that you can see some healthier choices at family restaurants.





Tips for Eating Fast Food

grilled chicken sandwich

Fast food used to mean fried food, but today food franchises are offering people more healthy alternatives. Chef salads, grilled chicken sandwiches and frozen yogurt are just three examples.

Tips

Beware of topping burgers with cheese, special (mayonnaise-based) sauce and bacon — they add saturated fat and calories.

* Pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, mustard and catsup add flavor without the fat.
* Steer clear of fried fish sandwiches.
* A baked potato can be a healthy option, but have it with low-fat sour cream instead of butter, full-fat sour cream or cheese.

Instead of Try

Danish


Small bagel

Jumbo cheeseburgers


Grilled chicken, sliced meats or even a regular 2 oz. hamburger on a bun with lettuce, tomato and onion

Fried chicken or tacos


Grilled chicken or salad bar (but watch out for high-calorie dressings and ingredients)

Fried chicken pieces


Chicken fajita pitas

French fries


Baked potato with vegetables or low-fat or fat-free sour cream topping

Potato chips


Pretzels, baked potato chips

Milkshake


Juice or low-fat or fat-free milk or a diet soft drink. (Limit beverages that are high in calories but low in nutrients, such as soft drinks)









Tips for Eating at Family Restaurants

garden fresh salad

Too tired to cook? When you pack the family off to one of the many mid-priced "family style" restaurants, keep these healthy selections in mind.

Tips

* Avoid dishes with lots of cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise.
* Instead of fried oysters, or fried fish or chicken, choose boiled spiced shrimp, or baked, boiled or grilled fish or chicken.
* Choose bread or pita pockets over croissants.
* Salads make great meals, but be careful of the dressing.
* Split a large entree with another family member. You’ll save dollars — and calories!
* Try to avoid all-you-can-eat buffets because you're more likely to eat more than you need.

Instead of Try

Cream soups


Broth-based soups with lots of vegetables

Quiche and salad


Soup and salad

Buffalo chicken wings


Peel-and-eat shrimp

Fried chicken sandwich


Blackened chicken sandwich

Chicken fried steak


Veggie burger

French fries or potatoes and gravy


Baked potato; potatoes without gravy; rice without gravy; cooked greens made without salt pork or lard

Creamy coleslaw


Sautéed vegetables or tossed salad

Hot fudge sundae or ice cream


Non-fat yogurt, sherbet or fruit ice

End







Have a pleasant day and a fabulous weekend,