Fast Food Best Practices

If you like fast food on your lunch hour, or on the way home from work or school with the kids, here are some ways to minimize the harm these foods can do.

McDonald's
Instead of this - 6-piece Chicken McNuggets with Ranch dressing and a large order of French fries
Order this - Same McNuggets, but without the Ranch (use Barbecue instead) and cut the fries down to the medium size. But if you want to do even better, get their Cobb Salad with grilled chicken. And use a low-fat vinaigrette dressing instead of anything creamy.

Burger King
Instead of this - A whopper with cheese and a salad
Order this - Order a regular hamburger from the kids' menu. This alone will cut out about 500 calories because they are smaller. But if you want something even better, get the Tender Grilled Chicken Sandwich. Refuse any creamy sauces, and ask for extra lettuce and tomato.

Wendy's
Instead of this - Baked potato slathered with sour cream, butter, cheese, and bacon, with a chocolate Frosty milkshake on the side.
Order this - Put chili, broccoli and low fat sour cream on the potato instead. That cuts out a lot of the fat and calories, but you can do better. Cut out the sour cream completely, and have plain chocolate milk instead of a shake.

Kentucky Fried Chicken
Instead of this - Extra Crispy Chicken Breast with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy.
Order this - Get a wing and a leg, Original Recipe, as these have fewer calories than the breast meat. Or, have the Honey BBQ chicken sandwich, with potatoes and NO gravy, with green beans and corn on the cob on the side. Eat your vegetables!

Subway
Instead of this - Any subway sandwich with all the toppings.
Order this - Get it on a wheat roll, and use all the veggie toppings you like. Just forget the cheese, mayo and the bag of chips that comes with it. A good choice overall would be the Veggie Delite or the Turkey Breast sandwich. Also, order from the "6 Grams of Fat or Less" section of their menu.

Taco Bell
Instead of this - Fried tacos with beef and cheese
Order this - Always go for tacos with the soft shell. They haven't been fried. Also, avoid the cheese and ask for salsa instead. And no, don't get any sour cream or guacamole either.

As long as you order carefully, you can still eat out with your friends at the fast food places.