From McDonald’s to Chipotle, more smart choices you should make at your family’s favorite restaurants
Eat This:
Whopper Jr., no mayo, with onion rings (small)
- 430 calories
- 19 g fat (6 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)
- 700 mg sodium
Hold the mayo, and the Whopper Jr. becomes one of the better burgers
in the fast-food world, offering a substantial patty and a heap of produce for under 300 calories.
Other Picks
Chicken Tenders (5 pieces)
- 210 calories
- 12 g fat (3 g saturated, 2 g trans)
- 600 mg sodium
Ham Omelet Sandwich
- 290 calories
- 13 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
- 870 mg sodium
Vanilla Milk Shake (Value Size: 12 floz)
- 310 calories
- 11 g fat (7 g saturated)
- 43 g sugars
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Not That!
Cheeseburger with French fries (small)
- 560 calories
- 29 g fat (10 g saturated, 3.5 g trans)
- 1,160 mg sodium
- 3 g fiber
Burger King
bucks all established
fast food rules by serving onion rings that actually
have fewer calories than fries. In this case, a small order
of rings will save you
90 calories and 2 grams of trans fats over the
small fry.
Other Picks
Tendergrill® Chicken Sandwich
- 510 calories
- 19 g fat (3.5 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
- 1,180 mg sodium
French Toast Sticks Kids Meal with syrup
- 680 calories
- 24 g fat (6 g saturated, 3 g trans)
- 590 mg sodium
Vanilla Oreo® Sundae Shake (small: 16 fl oz)
- 610 calories
- 24 g fat (16 g saturated)
- 78 g sugars
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Eat This:
Crispy Steak Tacos, with tomato salsa and romaine lettuce (3)
- 395 calories
- 14 g fat
- (3.5 g saturated)
- 940 mg sodium
Combat Chipotle’s massive portion sizes with a few savvy tricks: Always opt for the crispy tacos, which have 75 fewer calories than the soft ones, and always opt out of cheese and sour cream, which add an extra 230 calories to a meal.
Other Picks
Chicken Burrito with black beans, salsa verde, cheese, and romaine lettuce (1⁄2 burrito)
- 380 calories
- 13 g fat (5 g saturated)
- 913 mg sodium
Burrito Bowl with pinto beans, carnitas, green salsa, and lettuce
- 368 calories
- 16 g fat (3 g saturated)
- 1,884 mg sodium
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Not That!
Chicken Soft Tacos with corn salsa, cheese, and romaine lettuce (3)
- 670 calories
- 25 g fat (10.5 g saturated)
- 1,735 mg sodium
Most people
automatically assume
steak is worse for you than chicken, but that’s not always the case. At Chipotle, the chicken
actually has 10 more calories than the steak. It’s not much, but it’s
a good reminder that it’s never
safe to assume — especially
with nutrition.
Other Picks
Vegetarian Soft Tacos with black beans, tomato salsa, guacamole, and cheese
- 755 calories
- 36 g fat (12 g saturated)
- 2,453 mg sodium
Chicken Salad with black beans, cheese, and dressing
- 775 calories
- 48 g fat (12 g saturated)
- 1,888 mg sodium
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Eat This:
Kid’s D-Zone Smiley Alien Hotcakes with meat
- 340 calories
- 12 g fat (5 g saturated)
- (5 g saturated)
- (5 g saturated)
Friendly shaped
foods can distract parents and
kids from suspect nutrition,
but these hotcakes are
surprisingly decent.
Choose bacon over sausage
for the meat and save
96 calories and 7 grams
of fat per meal.
Other Picks
Kid’s D-Zone Cosmic Cheeseburger™
- 341 calories
- 20 g fat (6 g saturated, 1 g trans)
- 580 mg sodium
Sirloin Steak Dinner with mashed potatoes and vegetable blend
- 450 calories
- 16.5 g fat (5.5 g saturated)
- 1,150 mg sodium
Root Beer Float
- 280 calories
- 10 g fat (6 g saturated)
- 47 g carbohydrates
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Not That!
Kid’s D-Zone Big Dipper French Toastix™ with syrup
- 770 calories
- 71 g fat (13 g saturated)
- 1,094 mg sodium
Normally there isn’t a
huge nutritional discrepancy between pancakes and
French toast, but clearly that doesn’t hold true at Denny’s.
We suspect it’s the heavy batter job they do on the bread and
the amount of oil they use to
fry up the toast that push
these stix over the edge.
Other Picks
Kid’s D-Zone Little Dipper Sampler with applesauce and marinara sauce
- 566 calories
- 27 g fat (13 g saturated)
- 1,504 mg sodium
Lemon Pepper Tilapia with vegetable rice pilaf
- 983 calories
- 51 g fat (12 g saturated)
- 4,323 mg sodium
Kids Oreo® Blender Blast Off
- 580 calories
- 29 g fat (15 g saturated)
- 72 g carbohydrates
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Eat This:
Chicken McNuggets with Apple Dippers and Caramel Dip (6 nuggets)
- 355 calories
- 15.5 g fat (3 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)
- 705 mg sodium
Apples are never
as tasty as when they’re paired
with caramel (which adds a
meager 9 grams of sugar).
These apples have another secret: They’re preserved with calcium ascorbate, a blend of calcium and vitamin C. The end result is
a pinch of calcium and
310 percent of your child’s
vitamin C.
Other Picks
Honey Mustard Snack Wrap® grilled
- 260 calories
- 9 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
- 800 mg sodium
Egg McMuffin
- 300 calories
- 12 g fat (5 g saturated)
- 820 mg sodium
Kiddie Cone
- 45 calories
- 1 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
- 6 g sugars
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Not That!
Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (3)
- 770 calories
- 71 g fat (13 g saturated)
- 1,094 mg sodium
The only thing premium
about these strips is the caloric price you pay to eat them.
A thicker layer of crunchy
breading puts each
strip at 133 calories, compared
to just 45 per McNugget.
Other Picks
Cheeseburger
- 300 calories
- 12 g fat (6 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
- 750 mg sodium
Hotcakes with syrup and margarine
- 570 calories
- 13.5 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
- 665 mg sodium
McDonaldland® Cookies (2 oz)
- 250 calories
- 8 g fat (2 g saturated)
- 13 g sugars
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Eat This:
Single Burger with Everything
- 430 calories
- 20 g fat (7 g saturated)
- 870 mg sodium
This burger
falls decidedly into the
big kids’ category, but ounce
for ounce, it’s one of the best
burgers in the fast food world.
Cut out another 40 calories by
nixing the mayo and replacing
with ketchup or
barbecue sauce.
Other Picks
Small Chili with a broccoli and cheese baked potato
- 540 calories
- 8 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
- 1,240 mg sodium
Crispy Chicken Sandwich
- 330 calories
- 14 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
- 670 mg sodium
Jr. Cheeseburger
- 270 calories
- 11 g fat (5 g saturated)
- 690 mg sodium
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Not That!
Chicken Club Sandwich
- 540 calories
- 25 g fat (8 g saturated)
- 1,360 mg sodium
Chicken doesn’t
always trump beef,
especially when it’s dressed with bacon and cheese.
At 320 calories, the Ultimate Chicken Grill sandwich
is the best chicken
sandwich on
the menu.
Other Picks
Southwest Taco Salad with reduced fat sour cream
- 670 calories
- 39 g fat (16.5 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)
- 1,530 mg sodium
Crispy Chicken Nuggets (5 pieces) with Honey Mustard Nuggets Sauce
- 360 calories
- 27 g fat (5 g saturated)
- 740 mg sodium
Homestyle Chicken Go Wrap
- 320 calories
- 16 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
- 860 mg sodium
For Taco Bell, KFC, and more, check out Eat This Not That!
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