While it’s easy to strive for a healthy, all-encompassing diet, our busy lives don’t always allow for a home-cooked entree at every meal. When you’re constantly on the go and craving fast food you can still find options that won’t wreck your diet. Dieticians recommend the following items when dining at McDonald’s to help keep your waistline happy just as much as your taste buds.
Egg White Delight
The Egg White Delight first made its appearance in 2013 as part of healthier menu options from McDonald’s. While this option is great by subbing egg whites for added protein and less cholesterol, you can make some additional customizations to your Egg White Delight for maximum health benefits.
For example, order an open-faced Egg White Delight, which uses only half of the muffin. You can also ask for a non-buttered muffin, which even further removes fatty calories while still remaining just as tasty.
Sausage Burrito
The Sausage Burrito found on the breakfast menu is a great go-to item when cravings strike. The burrito is the perfect portion size, which is often one of the biggest issues dieticians and nutritionists point out as to what makes something unhealthy. Controlling portion sizes can help with weight-gain woes.
This breakfast burrito is not only a nice portion size but contains protein-filled eggs and tons of vegetables. Nothing beats getting in a serving of veggies first thing to start your day off on the right foot.
Egg McMuffin
Just like the Egg White Delight, you can order this dish custom as well. Ask for the Canadian bacon to be removed as well as the butter on the muffin. This simple removal can allow for a significant decrease in not only saturated fats, but sodium too. For an extra oomph of health, order it open-faced to remove one of the muffin buns—this will eliminate a whole mess of unnecessary carbs in your meal. The whole egg, cheese slice, and muffin allows for enough nutrients to jumpstart your day.
Fruit and Maple Oatmeal
While the Fruit and Maple Oatmeal at McDonald’s may not necessarily be your first choice when it comes to fast food noshing, it is not only chalked full of fiber and heart-healthy oats, but tasty too. The dried fruit that comes with is a perfect addition to sweeten up your breakfast choice while also helping you get in some vitamin C.
Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad
Salad is often synonymous with a healthy option, but not all salads should be taken as healthy for face value. The Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad is a good example of a healthy salad, but only when you ease up on the salad dressing. Don’t use the entire packet and, if at all possible, only eat half of the bacon. For those with high blood pressure, the bacon may have too much sodium, so indulge a little, but not a lot.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
There’s nothing quite like indulging in a burger from McDonald’s, but if you want to ease your dietary guilt need choose a chicken sandwich instead. The important caveat to this is that you should always go for grilled chicken and not a ‘crispy’ version. The crispy adds tons of extra fat and carbohydrates that add no nutritional value to your body.
When you get the Grilled Chicken Sandwich, also make sure to ask for no sauces. Mayonnaise or aioli is often slathered on packing on the fat and calories. Instead, ask for a side of hot sauce, extra pickles or additional veggies. Even ask for an open-faced sandwich to amp up your health game even more.
Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad
A wildly popular option among nutritionists, the Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad is a great option. Again, use the salad dressing sparingly and also skip the tortilla crisps. Some even suggest avoiding the salad dressing altogether and instead use salsa, which will add the flavor you seek without the extra calories. Then dive into the fiber-filled salad that contains black beans, corn, grilled chicken and nutrient-filled salad.
No matter what you order when you’re on the go, you can make easy substitutions to increase the health factor of your meal. Don’t forget that McDonald’s along with all other restaurants are now required to include the nutritional value of menu items, which helps make your decision easier.
