Road Trip Healthy Fast Food Choices

The weekend road trip, an upcoming spring break romp, or a lengthy summer adventure — any and all of these will include a stop at an interstate “easy on, easy off” fast food restaurant. You don’t have to succumb to the large fries each time.  Here are the less-famous healthy fast food choices that will keep you around the 300-calorie mark for each meal.

McDonald’s

McDonald’s has long been the pariah of the fast-food industry, but they’ve done the most to create healthy options and make all nutritional facts easily available.  Their site is the most intuitive and transparent.  It’s still up to YOU to make a healthy order while smelling those fries sizzling in grease.

Breakfast

Fruit & Maple Oatmeal: 340 calories

Fruit ‘n’ Yogurt Parfait: 150 calories

Fruit & Walnuts: 210 calories

Egg McMuffin: 210 calories (but contains 33% of your daily sodium)

Sausage Burrito: 300 calories

Hash Browns: 150 calories each

Small Orange Juice: 150 calories

 

Daytime

Premium Caesar Salad: 90 calories (add 100 for chicken)

Premium Southwest Chicken & Bacon Ranch Salads: 140 calories each

Chicken McNuggets: 190 calories

Snack Wraps: 250-270 calories, depending on sauce (add 80 calories for crispy chicken)

Hamburger: 250 calories (add 50 calories for cheese)

Small Fries: 230 calories (yes, SMALL fries)

Baked Apple Pie: 250 calories

Real Fruit Smoothies: 200-220 calories

Roast Iced Coffee: 140 calories

Iced Mocha Drinks: 280-290 calories

 

Wendy’s

The nutritional site for Wendy’s is bold, colorful, and not as easy to choose and access each food choice — though the “add to order” click delivers a handy chart to comprehensively see how the meal stacks up.  Breakfast options are not yet available on the nutritional menu.

Jr. Hamburger: 250 calories

6-piece Spicy Chicken Nuggets: 280 calories

4-piece Chicken Nuggets: 180 calories

Small Chocolate Frosty: 300 calories

Grilled Chicken Go Wrap: 270 calories

Value French Fries: 230 calories

Sour Cream & Chive Potato: 320 calories (get the sour cream o.t.s. and you’ll cut this down)

Apple Slices: 40 calories

 

 

Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A’s nutritional information is the most helpful from a lifestyle perspective.  They offer advice about planning your meal ahead of time, and also link to suggested menu options for low-cal, low-fat and low-carb eating.  

Here are the snapshots of their low-cal suggestions.

Arby’s

Arby’s offers both a Meal Builder and an at-a-glance nutritional chart .pdf.  Their famous Classic Roast Beef sandwich is below 400 calories, but adding sauce or bumping up to any other roast beef sandwich takes most lunch/dinner options out of the “healthy serving” range.

Turkey Classic: 280 calories

Chopped Farmhouse Salad w/Roast Turkey: 230 calories

Side Salad: 70 calories (dressings range from 20-210 calories. Whoa.)

Jr. Roast Beef Sandwich: 210 calories

Jr. Ham & Cheddar Melt: 210 calories

Jr. Chicken Sandwich: 310 calories

Curly Fries (value size): 240 calories

Jr. Vanilla Shake: 280 calories

Apple Slices: 35 calories

 

While I don’t stress about calorie counting, I do know how I feel when I order a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Large Fries, and Coke Vs. a Snack Wrap, Side Salad, and Water.  If you are a calorie counter, you know that these options aren’t perfect but are better than the meal deals.  Even if you don’t count calories in advance, make up your mind toward healthy fast food choices before pulling up to the drive-through window or standing at the counter and (call on your willpower!) smelling those terrible, terribly yummy french fries.

Safe and healthy travels to you!

 

Related Posts…

So Much Family Travel

My Train Trip in Pictures

Why Should My Family Eat Seasonally?

 

 

Tags: arby's, chick-fil-a, fast food, Featured, healthy eating, healthy food, mcdonalds, road trip, travel food, wendy's