Fast Food

• When you see the words "super size" remember – that's what these foods will do to you! Avoid super-sizing anything but your determination.
• Choose side salads with low fat dressing, by far the best option at any fast food restaurant.
• Go for water, or a sugar free beverage. A regular size soda will add at least 250 calories to your meal, and who wants 250 calories of pure sugar?
• Salad bars can be a friend or an enemy. It's easy to pile on calories and empty carbs in the forms of croutons, bacon bits and cheese.
• When in doubt, check the nutritional information. It's usually available upon request, or posted near the cash registers.

Following are suggestions for some popular fast-food outlets:

• Burger Joints
  • At McDonald's, the fruit and yogurt parfait is a decent choice. Getting it without the granola saves you 100 calories. As a side benefit, it's on the $1 menu!
  • Also at McDonald's, an excellent choice for a sandwich is the chicken pita sandwich. Get it without the cheese and sauce, and ask for a package of their barbeque sauce or honey mustard to use instead.
  • Jack-in-the-Box also serves a pita sandwich, called the Chicken Fajita Pita. This is by far the best item on their menu for the diet conscious. Get it without cheese or added cream sauce.
  • Stay away from cheese, bacon, and so called "special sauces." The only thing special about them is their especially high fat content.
  • At Wendy's, the "Garden Sensational Salads" are not what you'd hope for in a salad. The Chicken BLT salad with croutons and honey mustard has 690 calories and 47.5 grams of fat. The Mandarin Chicken Salad has 620 and 36.5 grams of fat! Holy Fat Heaven! Solution: get them WITHOUT the nuts and dressing, request the fat-free French or low fat honey mustard dressing instead. Amazing what you can do with just some small changes.
  • Also at Wendy's is one of the best choices for a side dish – a baked potato. Don’t ruin a great food, though, with added butter or sour cream. Enjoy your potato with salsa, barbeque sauce, or fat free honey mustard dressing. Or just plain, with some salt.
  • If you are very hungry, and you know that you want to eat two burgers, try this instead. Order one hamburger with two meat patties on it, instead of eating the two burgers separately and consuming an extra (empty-calorie) bun that you don’t need. Your hunger will be satisfied and you will have saved yourself all that extra junk.
• Chicken franchises
  • Most places these days offer a roasted, rotisserie, or grilled version of chicken, so that you don’t have to resort to the fried chicken. A piece of fried chicken with the skin on it has about double the fat and calories as grilled or baked chicken with the skin removed.
  • Usually, you can get a grilled chicken sandwich. Get it without the mayo or sauces, no cheese, or you can even try it with half the bun removed.
• Mexican Fast Food
  • With Mexican food, if you use your good sense you will prevail. Avoid cheese, sour cream, chips, and added oil. Stick with lean cuts of meat, grilled veggies, and don’t overdo it with the tortillas. Watch your portions of rice, too.
  • The best choices at Taco Bell are the soft tacos. Both chicken and steak are a relatively healthy choice, especially when you ask them to leave the cheese off. Another reasonable choice is the light chicken burrito. Also, Taco Bell is now offering to prepare any item "Fresca Style", which means replacing cheese and fatty sauces with nonfat salsa.
  • If given a choice between corn tortillas and flour, always go for the corn. They're made with about one third the fat of flour tortillas. (Carb counts are about the same, and pretty high, so take it easy on these. Cutting off large chunks of extraneous material works very well.)
  • Watchwords to beware of – chimichanga (a burrito that has been deep fried); taquitos (small fried rolled tacos); floutas (the same as a taquito but made with a flour tortilla instead of corn); nachos (fried chips smothered with cheese and sour cream, and sometimes beef and beans); grande (BIG!). Nachos in particular are very popular, and VERY BAD – high fat, high carbs, high in trans fatty acids. Your basic nutritional nightmare.
  • If you love the taste of Taco Bell's Chalupa, try the Gordita instead. Neither is a good choice, as they are made with a thick taco shell similar to a pita (read, too many carbs!) However, a chalupa is a fried version of this shell, and a gordita is simply the soft shell. A Baja Chicken Gordita, for example, has 340 calories and 18 grams of fat. Not great, but if you compare it with the Baja Chicken Chalupa at nearly 400 calories and 26 grams of fat, you will see where we're going with this. Even if you want to "cheat", try and cheat with the smarter choice.
  • Baja Fresh is one of our favorite places for Mexican style food. Reason: they have a great salad/salsa bar. Get something from the counter, then fill up on all those great veggies and salsas at the salsa bar.
  • Remember: some choices can seem healthful, but are actually anything but. Example: Del Taco's Deluxe Chicken Salad sounds good, right? But... it has 716 calories and 19 grams of fat!! Wow.
  • Bottom line: Make sure you always ask what's in the food that you are purchasing.
• Sandwich Fast Food
  • Subway stores feature six or seven different sandwiches that are low in fat and calories. Even the ones not included on their low fat menu can be made to your specifications, without cheese or the higher fat sauces. Watch the bread... if you ask, they will scoop out the soft middle which greatly reduces the empty-concentrated-carb load. Make sure to have some lean protein in whatever you order (their turkey slices are great).
  • Stick with meats from recognizable sources. You can easily recognize turkey and chicken breast, and lean roast beef. Stay away from the overly processed meats that have dubious origins, such as salami, bologna, cappicola, and pepperoni.
  • Arby's can be tricky – almost everything that they serve is high in fat and calories. Go for the Roast Chicken Deluxe, or the Roast Turkey Deluxe, and avoid any extra junk they may offer.
  • When ordering a sandwich as it exists on a menu (as opposed to specifying your own combo) ask to know exactly what condiments are used. Avoid mayo and added oil like the land mines that they are!
  • Choose whole grain breads as opposed to nutritionally-empty white bread. They basically taste the same, but the whole grains will give you extra fiber, and a few less calories. Get the middle doughy part scooped out, which eliminates more calories in a way that you'll never even notice. Pita bread or wraps are also good choices.
  • Tuna fish is a great choice, but mayonnaise-laden tuna salad is not. Don’t let a good fish swim in greasy mayo! Also off your list should be greasy egg or chicken salads. Wait to eat these at home, where you can prepare them yourself using fat free mayo.
  • Stick with the lighter side of condiments, such as mustard, ketchup (no fat, but it is sugary, so eat in moderation) relish, horseradish, and low fat dressings. Never mayo!
  • Stuff your sandwich full to bursting with veggies. They will fill you up and give you needed fiber and good nutrition.
  • Order the small size sandwich, or share the large. You can always order more if you find yourself still truly hungry at the end of your meal.
  • Adding cheese just adds an unnecessary slice of fat.
  • For your chips, always go for the baked variety. Of course, no chips at all is best, but if you need to munch on a few, the baked varieties will save you from the high-trans-fatty-acid extra fat.
• Seafood Fast Food
  • Fish is wonderfully healthful food, but, as with most things, it all depends on how you prepare it. Most "fast food" seafood is deep fried, and therefore full of added oils that are rancid and ruinous to your health. If it is not grilled, broiled or baked, stay away.
  • Long John Silver's has wrap sandwiches, but they are not a particularly good idea. Go for the cooking method they call "flavor-baked." And skip the mayonnaise-based tarter sauces.
  • Round out your meal with smart sides like corn on the cob (no butter) or steamed veggies. A baked potato with salsa is also a good choice. Try to eat only half of the potato – you can always eat the other half if you are truly still hungry.
• Pizza Parlors

  Pizza is not really a good idea, in general. But you can make choices that will make the meal at least decent, instead of deadly.

  • Always go for thin crust, to save the empty carbs. Sicilian, or deep dish, Chicago style pizza is an absolute no no! Not only are these full of empty-calorie white flour, that flour is also soaked in oil!
  • Tell your server that you want less cheese. Or, ask if they offer a fat free cheese.
  • Get your pizza with as many vegetables as will fit on a slice. Veggies are full of healthful fiber, and will help fill you up, so that you eat fewer slices.
  • Meatballs could be a good source of protein, but watch the oil content. Avoid the highly processed meats such as pepperoni and sausage.
  • It is a great idea to start your meal with a salad, which will fill you up so that you eat less pizza. Beware, though, the antipasto salad – it is usually swimming in oily vinaigrette, and filled with cheese and fatty meats. When we say salad, we mean SALAD, as in a conglomeration of things that grow in the ground.
  • Don't make the assumption that something that sounds healthful is healthful. Domino's "Veggie Feast Pizza" is a good case in point. It sounds good. But turns out that it has more fat and calories than a normal, cheese only pizza, because they add extra cheese to this massive fare. Asking questions will empower you to make decisions that ARE right, not just those that SEEM right.

Fish

• You cannot go wrong eating fish, if it's prepared correctly. Enjoy your fish broiled, baked, or grilled, but not fried. Remember – "battered" is simply another word for "covered with breading and fried".
• Try to stay away from creamy tarter sauces and melted butter. Season your fish with fresh squeezed lemon juice, or a bit of cocktail sauce.
• Shrimp and shellfish can be good choices, but watch the preparation methods. Frying anything takes the health right out of it.

French

• In French restaurants, the word or prefix "entr" means appetizer. Steer clear of buttery choices such as escargot, and fatty options such as pate. Instead, choose to begin with a clear consomme(a broth soup) or bouillabaisse, a fish soup. Even bouillabaisse isn't a perfect choice, but it is a lot better than most appetizer selections.
• "Plat" signifies the main course. Go for a broiled, or grilled fish, chicken, or beef choice, and watch the sauces. Avoid creamy sauces, and anything that is butter based. Filet mignon is a good protein rich choice.
• You will sometimes see the word "nouvelle", which indicates food that is prepared in the modern style. Usually this means lower fat, and smaller portions.
• A delicious salad, such as Salad Nicoise, is a great choice. Just remember to ask for your dressings on the side, and skip the cheese and excess oil.
• Coquilles St. Jacques is a very healthy choice, as the scallops are simply prepared in a wine sauce.
• Steak frite – At a French bistro, you might find steak and fries on the menu. The steak itself is not a problem, but the fries will derail your whole plan. Ask for a baked potato instead.
• Fois Gras – it may be a delicacy and it is a protein source, but fois gras, which is just fattened duck's liver, is in NO way a diet smart option.
• Stay away from barnaise sauce, which is made with egg yolks and butter.
• Wine is good – just don't overdo it. A typical 5 ounce serving contains about 100 calories.

Greek and Mediterranean

CHOOSE:

• Kabobs: skewered pieces of grilled meat, chicken or fish. Try them without the fattening Tzatziki sauce (a yogurt sauce usually made with full fat yogurt).
• A Greek salad can be rendered a healthful choice simply by minimizing the dressing and excess feta cheese.
• A gyro is a pita sandwich, usually made with ground beef or lamb. It can be a healthy choice without the yogurt sauce. As a general rule, chicken and grilled beef have less fat in them than ground meats. Tear off any excess pita bread before you eat it.

AVOID:

• Spanakopeta, which is a spinach pie made with feta cheese and eggs. Though spinach is a very healthful food, the cheese and greasy phyllo dough make this dish too fattening for a good meal.
• Moussaka. This eggplant dish may seem like a good choice, but the eggplant is fried and the bechamel sauce usually boosts the fat content to unmanageable proportions.
• Too much olive oil. Yes, olive oil is one of the most healthful oils. But it's still oil, so don't overdo it.

Ice Cream

• There are few good alternatives to ice cream, because even in reduced-fat versions, when they reduce the fat they generally add more sugar. Try to stick to fresh fruit if you want a sweet end to your meal. Freezing a banana, some strawberries, or melon balls can give you the same icy cold, satisfying sensation as ice cream.
• However, if you are simply dying for a frozen treat, stick with fat free sherbets or sorbet. Keep your portion size small (about half a cup is what the nutritional label will describe.) Try to find them sugar-free (artificially sweetened).
• Seek out ice cream and other frozen sweets made with no sugar. They're out there. If you can find one that also controls its fat content, you're home free. But it's not easy. Ice cream just isn't a healthful food... that's the way it is. (Actually, it's not a real, natural food at all... you will not find ice cream growing on a tree, or walking around in a field.)
• Smoothies seem healthful, especially with all the fresh fruit and vitamin boosts that you can get these days. If you read the nutritional information that is usually available, though, you will see that these treats are quite surprisingly high in calories, and loaded with sugar. Move on.
• The usual suspects found at the toppings counter will derail any attempt to lose weight. Sprinkles, chocolate chips, and other candy bits are all just sugar in different shapes. If you must add something, add crushed nuts because at least that is a natural food.