Fast Food Best and Worst Items to Order
By the time you finish reading this you will be shocked by the calorie, fat ad sodium content in the popular fast food items you may order. You will also know the best fast food items to order if you stop for fast food.
The hectic life people lead forces even the healthiest of eaters to eat out every now and then. When you eat fast food how bad or good are the things you order? Do you know how many calories, sodium or fat grams are in your favorite fast food? Wonder where the extra pounds are coming from? Your fast food choices may be contributing.
With the nations obesity epidemic growing and as hard as people work to get in shape or watch what they eat, it is important to know the nutritional information on your fast food.
You may be surprised at calories, fat and sodium in some items that appear to be a relatively “healthy” fast food choice.
Fast Food Chain Item Calories Fat Grams Sodium (mg)
TACO BELL
Smart Choices
Crunchy Taco Fresca Style (no cheese, no sauce) 150 7 360
Crunchy Taco 170 10 560
Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco Fresca Style 170 4 710*
Grilled Steak Soft Taco Fresca Style 170 5 560
Gordita Baja Steak Fresca Style 230 7 570
Watch Out!
1/2 lb Beef Combo Burrito 470 19 1620
1/2 lb Beef & Potato Burrito 540 25 1660
Grilled Stuffed Burrito Beed 720 32 2140
Nachos Bell Grande 750 36 1400
Fiesta Taco Salad 860 46 1800
Fiesta Taco Salad without Shell 490 25 1530
Mexican Pizza 540 31 1040
MCDONALD’S
Smart Choices
Hamburger 260 9 530
Chicken Nuggets 4 piece 170 10 450
Chicken Nuggets 6 piece 250 15 670
Fruit & Yogurt Parfait 160 2 85
Egg McMuffin 300 12 860*
Side Salad 20 0 10
California Cobb with Grilled Chicken 280 11 1120*
California Cobb without Chicken 160 9 410
Small Fries 250 13 140
Newman’s Own Low Fat Basalmic Vinaigrette 40 3 730**
Watch Out!
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese 730 40 1330
Premium Crispy Club Chicken Sandwich 680 29 1830
Large Fries 570 30 330
Chicken Select Premium Breast Strips 3 piece 380 20 930
Chicken Select Premium Breast Strips 5 piece 630 33 1550
Creamy Ranch Sauce 200 21 300
Big Breakfast 730 46 1470
Deluxe Warm Cinnamon Roll 590 24 660
Chocolate Triple Thick Shake Large 1160 27 510
When ordering you can simply change your dressing on the salad to save calories and fat. The low fat dressing is 160 calories and 18 grams of fat per serving less than the ranch dressing.
ARBY’S
Smart Choices
Fruit Cup 34 0 0
Jr. Roast Beef Sandwich 273 10 740*
Mini Market Fresh Ham & Cheese Sandwich 228 5 916*
Mini Market Fresh Turkey & Cheese Sandwich 235 5 798*
Ham & Cheese Croissant 274 12 842*
Watch Out!
Roast Beef Sub 722 41 2211
Turkey, Ranch & Bacon Sandwich 834 37 2258
Large Roast Beef Sandwich 547 28 1869
Chipolte Chicken Sandwich Crispy 680 37 1228
Philly Beef & Swiss Sub 669 35 1943
5 Piece Chicken Tenders 630 31 1977
Buffalo Dipping Sauce 20 1 1600
Ham, Egg & Cheese Sourdough 678 35 2105
KFC
Smart Choices
Roasted Caesar Salad without Croutons or dressing 220 9 850*
Roasted BLT Salad without Croutons or dressing 210 7 900*
Hidden Valley Fat Free Ranch 35 0 410
Honey BBQ KFC Snacker 220 3.5 490
Honey BBQ KFC Sandwich 300 6 920*
Chicken Breast without Skin or Breading 140 3 410
Watch Out!
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing 200 20 470
Triple Crunch Sandwich 650 34 1640
Extra Crispy Chicken Breast 460 28 1230
Large Popcorn Chicken 560 31 1790
Crispy Twister 670 38 1650
* Denotes high sodium content item listed under smart choice selection.
Most large chains have a nutritional information page on their website. You can look and see what the nutritional information is on the things you commonly order and also pick the items that would be smarter choices for your diet and health.
Changing your normal fast food order could save you hundreds, or even thousands, of calories per meal and help you shed or fend off extra pounds. Eat healthy and live happy.