10 Top tips to make your fast food healthier

With some clever choices your fast food doesn't have to be a health disaster! Burgers, nuggets and kebabs have to be the ultimate in fast food. You don’t even have to get out of your car to buy them! But they might be fast to buy and fast to eat put the health consequences of eating lots of them can last a lot longer!  McDonald’s Big Tasty large meal with banana milkshake can contain a huge 1,640 calories and 89g fat!

But, as with everything, with a few clever choices, you can have a healthier meal. Use my 10 top tips to make your fast food healthier:

  1. Don’t supersize! Restaurants now tend to ask if you want it large or even automatically assume you do. Be sure you ask for regular sized portions
  2. Anything with the words ‘big’ or ‘whopper’ or ‘double’ implies you care going to get even more calories and fat, so steer clear of those products.
  3. Doner kebabs can be high in fat. For a healthier option, go for a shish kebab, which is a skewer with whole cuts of meat or fish and usually grilled. It contains a lot less fat
  4. Go for kids portions. A kids cheeseburger, chips and coke is 165 calories less than the adult version.
  5. Ditch the chips. Instead of ordering fries, ask for a healthier side orders such as sweetcorn or beans
  6. Swap beef based burgers for chicken or fish.
  7. If you are choosing a chicken burger or wrap, go for the one that isn’t battered or breadcrumbed.
  8. If you do want a beef burger, keep it simple. These days they packed burgers with lots of extras - extra cheese, bacon strips and high-fat sauces such as mayonnaise. Instead, go for a regular, single-patty hamburger without mayo or cheese.
  9. Don’t add extras. Ordering a side portion or large onions rings can add a huge 500 calories and 25g of fat to your meal. That’s almost double what is in a cheeseburger!
  10. Choose water or orange juice rather than sugary fizzy drinks or milkshakes.

If you have any top tips, be sure to share them on my Facebook page. Next week I will be sharing some yummy recipes you can try at home to recreate your favourite burger and chip dishes in a healthier way. And in a fortnight we will be looking at Mexican food,

 

Blog, NutritionClaire Edwards