Yes, it’s true! These lunches are great options for those days when you just can’t get around to packing your own — because it definitely happens.
Pret A Manger / Starbucks / CK for BuzzFeed
And sometimes that’s just not realistic and not gonna happen. And if you DO find yourself with fast food as your only option, wouldn’t it be nice to know which food choices you can make that are the healthiest for you? (Fun fact: It might not be the salad!)
Here’s how to think about what “healthy” means for this particular article:
When it comes to fast food, “healthy” basically means food that offers you a decent combination of macronutrients, without going overboard on calories or potentially harmful things (like sugar or sodium, for people who have high blood pressure). The key here is moderation, with ideally some benefits if possible. With all that in mind, here are the parameters for the foods below:
• Low in calories: For lunch, that means about 500 calories or less.
• Protein, to help you build muscles: Each of these meals has at least 10 grams of protein (ideally more!).
• Low in sodium (or at least not HIGH in sodium): We aimed for less than 1,000 milligrams of sodium per meal (which is high already, yes). Unfortunately some of the options are a bit higher than that — for anyone with high blood pressure, these are definitely not ideal.
• Low in sugar (or at least not HIGH in sugar): Each of these meals has less than 20 grams of sugar.
• No trans fat: Trans fats are related to heart disease, so each of these meals comes with 0 grams trans fat.
Another thing: I’m also assuming that you’re not ordering sides or any sugary drinks. If you combine these meals with just water, and don’t add a side of fries or what have you, then you can get a decent lunch without overloading on things you don’t need or that might make you feel kind of gross.
And on a final note: Obviously you should eat whatever you want to eat. This is just a helpful guide to people who are trying to make healthy decisions about their food and would like some help.
PBS / Via pbs-food.tumblr.com
McDonald’s
OK, so. The key here is to keep your orders small, and make sure not to order a side of fries or soda or apple pie to round out the meal. You won’t be getting any veggies here (beyond what’s on your sandwich), but you will be getting some protein, and keeping your serving sizes in check. Hey — you do what you gotta do. McDonald’s DOES offer a few salads that all come in under 500 calories, but the dressings that go with them bring the sodium totals up well above 1,000 milligrams. It’s really a personal call whether you’d rather eat more veggies and more sodium, or less veggies and less sodium when dining here.
Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich (pictured)
360 calories
32 g protein
6 g fat (1.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
930 mg sodium
43 g carbohydrates (3 g fiber, 11 g sugars)
Chicken McNuggets (6 piece) With Honey Mustard Sauce (1 package)
340 calories
13 g protein
22 g fat (3.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
655 mg sodium
24 g carbohydrates (2 g fiber, 5 g sugars)
Here are McDonald’s nutrition facts in case you want to check out some other options.
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