Fast Food Taste Tour
The Short Answer: The fast food companies won’t get serious about healthy food unless they believe they’re going the way of the dinosaurs. Only buy healthy fast food.
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Kicking the Fast Food Companies
There’s no sport in kicking the fast food companies around—that’s been done in works like Fast Food Nation, and Supersize Me. The ways that fast food can harm health seem unlimited—did you see the recent scare about perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) used to make fast food wrappings grease resistant? Turns out the PFCs—a possible cause of infertility, thyroid disease, and cancer—are getting into the food. Ouch!
We should pause to honor an English woman little known in the US—Helen Steel. In the ‘80s, as part of an activist group in London, Helen was handing out leaflets that accused McDonald’s of sins including 1) the exploitation of children, 2) inhumane treatment of animals, and 3) endangerment of workers and customer’s health. McDonald’s decided to make an example by first infiltrating the group and then threatening the members with a libel lawsuit if they didn’t apologize and desist. Intimidated by the overwhelming power of McDonald’s, most apologized and shut up. But Helen dug in her heels:
“It really stuck in my throat to apologize for something that didn’t deserve an apology, and I just thought, ‘Well, I’m going to fight this case come what may...”
Helen had no resources and just one ally in the beginning, but serving as her own attorney she learned enough law to fight a ten-year court battle that became a public relations nightmare for McDonald’s, produced a book (McLibel: Burger Culture on Trial) plus a documentary, and gave new meaning to the term, “asymmetric warfare”. Incidentally, the judge found in favor of Helen on the three sins listed above. (Note to McDonald’s: Resist the urge to use your corporate muscle to bully poor, single women with names like “Steel”.)
The Darkness of the World
The premise of this blog is that we can discover the best possible diet by using our common sense to integrate three venerable oracles: science, (food) tradition and scripture. Because the media is unaware or at least unfamiliar with scripture—in contrast to most Americans—it seemed important the wisdom found therein be included. Though our audience includes people of varied persuasions—some churchgoers, others not—none have protested our use of scripture.
So perhaps you will allow me to share a thought that came while sitting in church. I had been thinking about fast food, wanting to bring deeper insight to a food reviled by most, but consumed by many. At the close of the service we sang a lovely song, Abide With Me; ’Tis Eventide, written by a Presbyterian minister in the 1800s. The closing verse invokes a feeling we all have in our search for enlightenment:
“The darkness of the world I fear, would in my home abide . . .”
So what was my great thought? It was to not add to the mountain of criticism already flung at the fast food companies, rather to shine a little light. Because of their size, these companies have the power to do good also. McDonald’s became the world’s biggest buyer of apples when they added fresh fruit to their menu. My beautiful wife suggested that we go taste the healthful foods offered by these companies. It was the last thought I might have had, but I was intrigued and we set out on a tasting tour. There were a few requirements: we wanted food that was low in calorie density (one calorie per gram was our goal); more fresh produce than meat; not deep fat fried or even fried; and breads must be whole grain, with more fiber than sugar.
Fast Food Tasting Tour
We started at the chain with the most outlets: Subway. The guys running Subway must be smart because they beat the rest of the industry to the health movement with Jared, the guy who lost hundreds of pounds eating Subway sandwiches and exercising, the focus on food with less than six grams of fat, and the addition of whole-grain breads. Is their food really healthier? Maybe not; their meats are mostly processed and they have a wall-to-wall display of Frito-Lay chips. But there is the tuna sub, which we ordered on whole-wheat bread with cucumbers, green peppers, onions, spinach, tomatoes, banana peppers, and vinaigrette dressing. It was pretty healthy and tasted good. My only complaint was the amount of mayonnaise mixed with the tuna (a 50:50 mix per the attendant). Subway offers salads also, but they didn’t look appealing. The shop was clean and well managed.
Our next stop was Taco Bell, the outlet with the cheapest prices. You can buy your food fresco style now, which replaces cheese with fresh tomato salsa. We had the Chicken Fiesta Taco Salad, fresco style. It didn’t look that good, the tortilla shell was tasteless, and the greens were just iceberg lettuce. I’ve eaten plenty of their tacos in the past, but I fear Taco Bell is falling behind.
I’ve never been a fan of Wendy’s square hamburger patty but we got a surprise: Wendy’s does salad better than anyone else. We had the Apple Pecan Chicken Salad, and it was an attractive, tasty dish. The greens were mixed, the Pomegranate Vinaigrette dressing and toasted pecans were delicious. The restaurant was clean and attractive; I’d come just for the salads.
Carl’s Jr. has changed; I thought it was a hamburger outlet (remember the Famous Star, or the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger?) but the menu we saw was mainly Mexican food: burritos, enchiladas, taco salad, etc. Carl’s hasn’t gotten serious about healthier foods. We ordered the Cranberry, Apple, Walnut Grilled Chicken Salad, I think, it was okay, but the cranberries and walnuts were missing. Did I get the order wrong, or were they cutting costs? I don’t know but it wasn’t in the class of Wendy’s salads. On the other hand, the YouTube Charbroiled Turkey Burger advertisement featuring Miss Turkey shows they understand their audience.
Our last stop was McDonald’s, the favorite fast food of kids, thanks to Ronald. McDonald’s has a line of salads plus the Fruit and Walnut Salad, a snack. We were full of salad so tried the Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap. It was good but of marginal healthiness (white flour tortilla, too much chicken, too few greens). On further thought, it was like all their food: too many calories, not enough wholesome stuff. We tried a new drink, a strawberry-lemonade freeze. It was beautiful to see, but sickly sweet with synthetic flavors that left a chemical aftertaste. Mark Bittman reported a similar outcome earlier this year when they added oatmeal, titled the “bowl full of wholesome”, to their menu. McDonald’s has the resources to really make a difference in the world but lacks the will to promote anything not sickly sweet.
We skipped KFC because I couldn’t find anything on their website that looked good. I have enjoyed their cole slaw and baked beans in the past but both have too much added sugar, 17 or 18 grams, about 4-1/2 tsp per serving.
A word about the people that work in the fast food outlets: they’re good kids, they work hard for very little money and most smile when they talk to you. Their life is hard but they don’t complain—I came away with a greater respect for them.
I had planned to make the Healthy Change for fast food similar to sugary drinks—to limit it to once a week or less. Unfortunately, I doubt the fast food companies will make serious changes unless they sense a real chance they’re headed the way of the dinosaurs. Here's one way to make the darkness of the world go away:
Please comment and share experience finding healthy food away from home.
Need a reminder? Download our Healthy Change reminder card. Print and fold, then place in your kitchen or on your bathroom mirror to help you remember the Healthy Change of the week.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 2:55PM | by Skip Hellewell | 30 Comments | Share Article | in fast food, healthy change | Email Article
Reader Comments (30)
Oh and @ tiff, we choose not to eat at Carl's Jr too, because of their disgusting ad campaigns. Nice to know I'm not the only one who feels that way. :-)
This is something that I feel very strongly about. I started a healthy life competition with family and friends and whoever wanted to join up in January and one of the main objectives was to cut fast food out of our lives for the most part. When you think about it, fast food doesn't taste good, isn't that cheap and isn't good for the environment so why do we buy it?! I agree that there are those emergency situations and when that does happen, the best options I've found are the salads at Chick-fil-a or Wendy's but I try to make those few and far in between. After living in Japan, I know that there can be fast and convenient options that are healthy (loved that you could buy a roasted sweet potato on a stick or edamame!)
It's been awesome to see everyone in the competition eat less fast food and realize that we can avoid it most of the time and not even miss it!
As one who is working hard to overhaul my and my family's eating habits, I have also been in hot pursuit of healthy fast food alternatives. There are times when we need to grab nourishment on the run, and our three favorites have been already cited by readers above:
Absolutely, unequivocally Number One: Chipotle Grill. Everything is fresh, fresh and made on-site. You select the ingredients you want as you go through the ordering line. My favorite is the chicken salad: a bed of chopped Romaine lettuce, grilled onions/green peppers, black beans, to-die-for grilled chicken, fresh pico de gallo, and a dusting of Jack cheese. The salad comes with a small portion of lime/chili dressing that is so good I could drink it. If I'm feeling the urge, I might add a half scoop of their fresh guacamole. I usually use about half the dressing.
Number Two: Starbucks. While we are not coffee drinkers, we occasionally indulge in other drinks, such as a blended Naked juice (juice with finely-crushed ice) or iced herbal tea. But the food selections are the main draw: depending on the day, you can choose a small platter of fruit, cheese, whole grain crackers, or a tomato/pesto/mozzarella panini. They also have single serving bags of almonds and fruit by the piece. For a sweet tooth, they offer three-bite sweets ... my favorite is the lemon square which weighs in at 130 calories ... just enough when you want to goodie. (Skip, your thoughts on buying ONE treat versus a whole bag has changed my life.)
Number Three: Wendy's chili. Not sure what the nutrition info is, but it seems like the better choice as it's full of beans and tomatoes. I don't get the added cheese or sour cream.
That's my two cents. Love the post and all of the comments.
I laughed at this because just last weekend we were desperate for food for our kids and stopped at McDonald's. My husband was enticed by the photos of the strawberry lemonade. Even my daughter (who loves sweets) said it was disgusting.
I am a fan of Wendy's salads.
We stopped eating fast food a long time ago. On occasion we would give in and grab a burger from a less than quality establishment and found ourselves running to the bathroom almost immediately. Now if we are looking for something quick and easy we will go to the Whole Foods deli and grab a salad or soup or some other prepared food. I think part of the problem with people's desire for fast food, is their lack of wanting to get out of the car.
I don't think anyone's mentioned this, but we eat so infrequently at fast food restaurants that when we DO, it's to eat, well, fast food. I cook the good stuff at home. I made the salads at home. I even have "quick" meal items at home for when I need something fast (whole wheat pasta, cut-up veggies, fruit). So when we take the kids to Culver's (a midwest thing) after a soccer game once a season, we all want hamburgers and fries--something I DON'T make at home. Or when we go to And when I go visit my family in CA once a year, I want an In-n-Out burger . . . not something healthy :). For our family, it's junk food, and every once in a blue moon, we hanker for some junk food.
Christina—I've gone this long without mentioning In-n-Out, but I'm totally with you. Please note that they are the first (to my knowledge) to cook French fries in trans fat-free oil plus they're fresh. (McDonald's precooks them in a central factory, flash-freezes them, then deep fat fries them for serving at the restaurant.) There is a fundamentally different philosophy behind In-n-Out and the typical fast food company and we should celebrate that. (It would be nice if the buns were whole wheat.) And they have scripture references in their drink cups too! Best to you.
Macy, thanks to your comment we started our tour of the fresh-fast-food cafes last night at the local Chipotle Grill. Best.
Thank you for "researching" for us! I too am not a big fast-food eater but, on occasion, find myself pulling into one of these listed for a quick bite. Your research and recommendations will come in handy.
What a great post. Our family eats at home the vast majority of the time and haven't eaten fast food in months, but sometimes it's just necessary (albeit due to lack of planning) to eat fast food. It was nice to see the better options. And I agree, the kids that work there do work hard for very little money.