Best Fast Food for Travelers
Eat Healthy when you Travel for Business or Pleasure
With business travelers so often eating on the road and in airport terminals, one can't afford to eat whatever on every trip. If you want to avoid modern lifestyle diseases like obesity and arteriosclerosis, a healthy diet is for everyday. Even when traveling. It doesn't take much more effort to order a wrap with extra veggies at Subway, or to lose the bun on a trans fat-free burger at Wendys.
Even fast food chains are smartening up enough to offer healthy options and ban trans fats from their food.
Subway - With a credo of Eat Fresh, and a formerly fat spokesperson like Jared, one would guess Subway to be a healthy contender. One would be about right. Avoid the sodas and the chips, and stick to the fresh stuff Subway does best - choose healthy turkey wraps, make huge meat and cheese hogies out of the whole wheat rolls, and load up on the free veggies of your choice. Don't be afraid to ask for more tomatoes, bell peppers or olives - whatever floats your boat. This is actually nutritious food you are asking for more of, gratis. Don't forget to have the staff add salt and pepper, mustard, oil and vinegar, basil and a shake of grated parmesan cheese.
Wendy's - Since they banned trans fats from their meats and fries, the Wendy's chain has shot up to the top of the list of healthy burger joints. Ask for the low carb burger option and you get a container to eat your bunless burger, along with extra lettuce and tomato, with a fork.
Arbys - This somewhat macho-oriented food joint has delicious chicken salad wraps with grapes and walnuts in them. Very good, even healthy. Also, Arbys has a wide selection of interesting salad choices.
McDonalds - The Golden Arches now offers some really decent salads, including the grilled Chicken Cobb Salad and fruit salads with walnuts. Drop the bacon from the Grilled Chicken BTL (wheat bun). You can get bunless burgers/chicken for low carbing. The fruit and yogurt granola parfait makes a great breakfast, snack or dessert.
Taco Bell - Beans are loaded with fiber. Their "fresh salsa" - you have to ask for it - has Vitamin C. Beans mixed with rice actually make a complete protein. Get extra tomatoes (more Vitamin C) and lettuce (more fiber), add some chicken and rice to a tortilla and you're off with a healthy tummy for the day.
KFC - Get the chicken meals sans breading and skin, and add green beans with corn. Or try the Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwich. More good news - KFC has dropped the trans fats.
Pizza Hut - An okay salad bar completes this list of healthy food choices at typical American fast food joints. Since you only get one salad bar trip for your price, experiment with an engineering bent to get as much salad onto that small bowl as possible. This is an art form for many travelers.
Other Key Tips to Junk Food Joint Navigating:
- Drink lots of water and avoid soda.
- Go for chicken and turkey choices instead of burgers as a rule for heart-healthy travel.
- Lean roast beef options are also better than burgers.
- Grilled anything is better than flame-broiled or fried.
- Fried foods are not your friends. Avoid french fries, onions rings and any kind of "nugget".
- Ask for extra veggies.
- Have your meals in a bowl (without the buns) if you are low carbing or simply trimming extra starch from your diet. Ask for a fork, too.
- Avoid the high fat sauces and dips where you can. Be like Sally when she met Harry: get things "on the side".
More articles on Business Traveler Menu Options.
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