Fast Food Frenzy
Posted on 12.12.09 by Libby
by: Andrew Brown
The Low Down
The college-aged population is a fast-paced, high-demand, low-income and hungry demographic. We’re a group of people that spends the majority of our time sitting at a computer or behind a book, and the time that isn’t spent there is often used to over-hydrate ourselves on a mix of cheap liquor and cheaper beer. This leaves exercise and sleep absolutely out of the question, with only a few minutes to grab a bite to eat here and there.
These factors combine to leave us with an option between the stereotypically awful, freshman 15 fulfilling campus dining halls or a nearby fast-food restaurant. Given the longtime reputation of burger joints like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s, we often assume that there’s no healthy alternative to the standard double-decker burger with cheese, mayo, bacon, special sauce, extra special sauce, unknown origin sauce… But over the past few years our choices have increased drastically.
Everyone remembers Supersize Me and the near fatal 3 times a day consumption of McDonalds’ products by Morgan Spurlock - and McDonald’s remembers too. McDonald’s has long had the honor of being America’s #1 consumer of beef, pork and potatoes… and they are now the largest purchaser of apples in the US! Yes, McDonald’s sells apples, not deep-fried, not ranch-covered, just plain fruity apples.
McDonald’s has always been an innovator in the fast food business and, as the world’s most recognizable brand, obviously has one hell of a marketing department. It’s no surprise that they recognized the trend of healthy eating developing throughout the country as rates of obesity increased and its related health problems became more publicized.
Then, Taco Bell rolled out their healthy Fresco menu. If the home of the 79 cent taco with -20% lean beef, sour cream and cheese decides its consumers should be counting calories, it’s time to take a hint. Taco Bell’s new Fresco menu says that if you can come to the home of all things cheesy and get a menu item with a single digit fat serving, any fast food joint is capable of change. Here are my attempts at eating healthy, before knowing the actual nutritional info from each meal. Be sure to read each blurb for tips on cutting down the calories and fat.
Subway
The Choice:
12 in. Sweet Onion Chicken Terriyaki
Honey Oat Bread with Pepper Jack Cheese
Peppers, Onions, Lettuce, Tomato, Sweet Onion
Sauce
The Damage:
Calories: 862
Fat: 20g
Protein: 62g
Good Stuff: Veggies upon veggies upon veggies
and 13g of fiber make this sandwich the
biggest nutritional bang for your caloric buck.
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly:
Subway has long been my go to joint for
healthy fast food and this sub will leave you
feeling very satisfied without raising your cholesterol
too much. If you want to be just like
Jared and even this leaves you feeling guilty,
lose the cheese and wrap it up and you’ll cut
your calories and fat content almost in half.
And yes you want it toasted, why wouldn’t
you?
McDonalds
The Choice:
2 Grilled BBQ Chipotle Chicken Snack Wraps
1 Side Salad with Low Fat Italian Dressing
The Damage:
Calories: 660
Fat: 38g
Protein: 40g
Good Stuff: Salads are really good for you,
right?
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly:
The Snack Wraps were pretty delicious (by
McDonald’s standards), were extremely filling
, even for being relatively good for you (by
McDonald’s standards). The side salad was
definitely a better choice than the fries based
on both a nutritional and a cost basis (1 dollar!).
On the nutritional downside, over half
your calories in this meal come from Fat. Finally,
to order the aforementioned items you
do have to stand in a McDonald’s that smells
of those oh so delicious French Fries, so the
salad is an extremely tough sell.
Chipotle
The Choice:
Chicken Fajita with Roasted Chili Corn Salsa
and Cheese
The Damage:
Calories: 965
Fat: 38g
Protein: 54g
Good Stuff: Chipotle’s “Food with Integrity” philosophy means that all 965 calories were organic, sustainable, naturally raised and all that other good stuff
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly:
I managed to muster up all the manliness inside of me to devour the entire burrito. I enjoyed every bite of the chunky meat, spicy salsa and roasted veggie goodness that was my Chipotle burrito. However, after viewing the nutritional content of my burrito, it became much more obvious to me why it took an hour nap to be able to function after lunch. A healthier alternative would be to lose the burrito shell and save yourself about 300 calories, but that does make it much more difficult to eat with your hands. Although my mission of eating healthy failed at Chipotle, my conscience felt a lot better knowing that my chicken was humanely raised before being minced into bite sized pieces and devoured by yours truly.
Pita Pit
The Choice:
Gyro Pita
Peppers, Onions, Tomatoes, Tzatziki
Sauce, Cheddar Cheese
Good Stuff: Veggies, I suppose?
The Damage:
Calories: 760
Fat: 42g
Protein: 35g
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly:
If my Gyro Pita was made by a Greek person, it
would have been the best gyro I’ve ever had,
but since it was not, it will have to settle for
the number two spot. The meat was delicious
and the Tzatziki sauce was incredible. All of
the veggies in the Pita tasted like they had just
come off the vine and were sliced right before
they were put on my Gyro. Unfortunately, the
pita I chose was the least healthy one on the
menu. If you were to ditch the cheese and go
with a healthier alternative, Pita Pit has 10 pitas
with under 10g of fat. Overall, Pita Pit had
the best veggies I’ve ever had on a five-dollar
sandwich.
Arby’s
The Choice:
Market Fresh Roast Turkey & Swiss Sandwich
The Damage:
Calories: 708
Fat: 29g
Protein: 40g
Good Stuff: It’s Market Fresh!
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly:
The Market Fresh menu at Arby’s has some of
the most enticing food photos I have seen in
my entire life. According to the picture next to
the menu, my roast turkey sandwich would be
approximately 2ft x 1ft and have no less than
5 lbs of oven roasted turkey on it. Although it
did not quite hit these dimensions, the sandwich
alone more than filled me up for lunch.
The spicy horseradish and mayo spread made
the sandwich really pop and the veggies were
above par. Over half the calories of the sandwich
come from the Honey Wheat Bread, but
it was worth every bit. It was probably the
crispest, tastiest bread I’ve had at a major
fast food joint and is just as solid as many of
the specialty bread joints out there. If you’re
really counting, you can lose the mayo and
save yourself some calories, but this sandwich
stacks up pretty well with the competition as
is.
Final Word
For as highly publicized and touted many fast food joints Healthy Choice menus are, you can often respect your body just by looking at what’s on their normal menu. You can go to McDonald’s and get a Big Mac Value Meal…just get it without that Special Sauce (it’s special for a reason). Swap out fries for a salad and a 20oz high fructose syrup delight for a bottle of water and you’re looking at a McDonald’s meal with under 600 calories and 25g of fat. If you’re more in the mood for meaty and cheesy goodness in the form of a sandwich or sub, consider wrapping it up, it’s always a safe option. Long story short, fast food doesn’t have to be as detrimental to your continued existence as some people would have you believe. A little research and common sense will have you eating McDonald’s every day and not starring in a waist down B-roll during an obesity piece on CNN.
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