Guilt-Free or Almost Guilt-Free Fast Food Meals

Fast food" doesn't have to mean "the worst food you could eat". It is possible to stop by a fast-food restaurants for a quick and inexpensive lunch or to bring the kids for breakfast on a Sunday morning without violating too many of the healthy-eating rules with which so many of us are well familiar but too often don't comply.

Fast-food restaurants these days offer salads. They usually offer some kind of fruit slices packaged with children in mind but nice for adults as well. Wendy's offers little bowls of mandarin oranges, Burger King offers applesauce, and McDonalds offers apple slices. Orange juice and low-fat milk have always been offered at fast-food restaurants, both of which are good for kids or adults. Adults who are more concerned with fats and calories than nutritional value have always had the choice of coffee or tea. Today water is offered as well.

For people who do eat burgers there is always the option of selecting a simple hamburger plain or with mustard and pickle, neither of which add a lot of fat or calories to the burger. There's the option of not eating the whole bun. For people who don't want to eat a burger there's the option of asking for something like a Whopper Junior with cheese without the burger; although Burger King does offer a veggie burger too. McDonalds now offers their wraps, which do contain a chunk or two of chicken cooked in batter, but requesting the wrap without the chicken would get the McDonalds lunch guest a wrap with a little salad in it with or without dressing. A small serving of low-fat milk and a small salad with just a little dressing or a light dressing isn't a bad lunch.

Over-sized salads drenched in heavy dressing aren't always the lowest in calories and fat, but a salad with the right dressing or only a little dressing does make a healthy meal, and there is always the option of splitting a salad with a companion by using the salad lid as a plate for a companion or requesting a cup or empty box for additional companions. There are always plastic knives available for cutting in half something like a plain fish sandwich and sharing that with a companion. Children often like the ingredients of their salad separated, but it doesn't take too long to pull out tomato slices or use a fork to separate out the carrot shreds or chicken chunks to let a child has salad "your way". When it comes to doing things like splitting items or separating out salad ingredients, the good thing about fast-food restaurants is that you can do things there that etiquette would prohibit in nicer eateries.

It is usually possible to get an eggs-only breakfast without having the hash browns or other fried foods or meats that are sometimes offered. Fast-food restaurants often offer cereal at breakfast time as well. A breakfast of scrambled eggs (Burger King uses a microwave for its scrambled egg mixture) and orange juice is not all that "evil" for many people, particularly if they only eat breakfast out occasionally.

Whether its a side salad and a low-fat milk, tea and apple slices, or an eggs-only breakfast with orange juice; it is possible to enjoy the advantages of the casual, quick, fast-food restaurant without taking in all the exorbitant amounts of fat and calories associated usually associated with fast food. It just takes putting a little thought into choices.