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How to Approach Fast Food Wisely
An Excerpt from Healthy Lunchbox: The Working Mom's Guide to Keeping You and Your Kids Trim (LifeLine Press, 2003)
By Rallie McAllister
If you find that the very survival of you and your kids seems to depend on the occasional consumption of fast food, you don't have to cut it out all together – you just have to make judicious, nutritious choices.
Order Food to Go
You can reduce the associated fat and calorie content to a significant degree by eating the food at home rather than at the restaurant or atop the dashboard dining facilities in your car. Studies show that people tend to consume more food when they're eating away from their own kitchen tables. When you bring fast foods home, you can supplement the meal with side orders of fresh fruits and vegetables, saving yourself 15 to 30 grams of fat by simply foregoing the fries. Instead of guzzling the 32-ounce soda that comes with the meal, you can opt for a glass of water, saving yourself around 300 calories and several tablespoons of sugar. Avoid Buffets
If you want to keep your fast food and your good health, avoid all-you-can-eat buffets like the scourges to humanity that they are. If this type of establishment holds any appeal for you at all, you might be able to diminish it a significant degree just by spending a few minutes in the parking lot, watching the portly patrons come and go. Chances are that you won't see too many thin, healthy looking folks frequenting these modern-day shrines to gluttony. Forego the Fries
When you're eating out, you'll have some important decisions to make. A super-sized serving of French fries may have as many as 30 grams of fat. For some folks, this is almost an entire day's supply. Are the fries worth it? If they aren't you'll need to forget the fries and stick with the leaner choices on the menu.