From Fast Food to Fitter Food

By Geneva Collins

Nobody needs to tell you that whole grains, fresh vegetables and healthful

desserts are as rare at a fast-food chain as Twinkies are at a Registered

Dietitians Convention. That said, fast food is just so darn, well, fast,

we all wind up in front of the takeout window more often than we'd like.

When you're on the road, chains are frequently the only choice, and now

they're more abundant than ever overseas, with McDonald's and Kentucky

Fried Chicken generating about 50 percent of their revenue abroad,

according to a recent Worldwatch Institute report.

Not all fast-food chains are created equal, however. Some offer more

healthful options than others. By healthful, we mean lower-fat dishes

(relative to those of other chains) and, ideally, some veggies to go with

all those refined carbs. ("Healthful" should also mean lower sodium, but

that's nigh impossible at fast-food chains.) We've sized up the menus at

the nation's fast-food heavyweights--to help keep you from becoming one.

(All nutrition information is from company Web sites.)

McDonald's

Although it ditched the McLean a few years back and its new burgers seem

to be growing bigger and badder, Mickey D's still offers a grilled chicken

deluxe without mayo that has only 5 grams of fat. Better yet, its grilled

chicken salad deluxe contains only 1.5 grams of fat when you dress it with

the fat-free herb vinaigrette. If you must have a burger, the plain

hamburger weighs in with 260 calories and 9 grams of fat. That's 22 grams

less than a Big Mac and roughly equal to a small order of fries.

Burger King

The nation's No. 2 chain isn't trying harder, nutrition-wise. Its burgers

and fries both pack more fat than the McDonald's versions, and even its

mayo-free grilled chicken sandwich, the BK Broiler, has 4 grams more fat

than its archrival. Worse, most Burger Kings have done away with their

salad bars.

KFC

Skip all the fried stuff and choose a piece of Tender Roast breast meat.

It packs 11 grams of fat, but if you peel off the skin you can slash that

by more than half. The Colonel also gives you a chance to sneak in some

veggies, offering corn on the cob, green beans, barbecued baked beans and

Mean Greens, all of them better than the coleslaw and potato salad. But

stay away from the Chunky Chicken pot pie. It may sound wholesome, but 42

grams of fat (a third of them saturated) lurk in the crust and gravy.

Pizza Hut

The Edge is the best crust choice of the many varieties available; no

slice (from a medium pie) has more than 7 grams of fat, and the veggie

version has a mere 3 grams and 110 calories. But who stops at one slice?

Another good choice is spaghetti with marinara sauce. In contrast,

Personal Pan pizzas, a favorite of solo diners, tip the scale at 27 to 35

grams of fat.

Wendy's

This is the burger chain with by far the most options: not only grilled

chicken and chicken Caesar salads but side salads, a grilled chicken

sandwich and baked potatoes. For the spuds, sour cream is better than the

cheesy toppings, but plain, of course, is best. Even the chili isn't too

bad--containing 7 grams of fat in a small cup. The stuffed pitas, however,

aren't as lean as you might think; they range from 17 to 20 grams of fat.

Taco Bell

A grilled chicken soft taco has a mere 7 grams of fat, but most folks

don't quit after one taco. The Fiesta and Supreme flatbread Gordita

sandwiches range from 10 to 14 grams of fat. Beware the taco salad--its 52

grams of fat (15 of them saturated) bring shame to the word "salad."

Subway

This chain has at least seven 6-inch subs with 6 grams of fat or less,

including its turkey breast, veggie, ham and roast beef subs, and its

wraps contain no more than 10 grams of fat. Load up on the lettuce,

tomatoes, onions, peppers, pickles and olives. Subway also gets kudos for

making its tuna and seafood salads with light mayonnaise.

Now you'll know where to turn the next time the food court beckons.

Geneva Collins has written extensively about nutrition topics for many

consumer publications, including Nutrition Action Healthletter, The Female

Patient and Atlantic Lifestyles, and has created healthy-eating fact

sheets for the National Institutes of Health.

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