Healthy Tips For National Fast Food Day

Strap on a bib, loosen your belt and prepare your arteries to be clogged, because it's National Fast Food Day! Time to gorge on fried, greasy foods like hogs at a feeding trough! Or is it? At FastFoodNutrition.org, we're dedicated to helping you make smarter decisions with your eating habits. Today we present a few tips to help you make sure your National Fast Food Day meal doesn't come with a side of weight gain.

Eat This: Chipotle Burrito Bowl
Not That: Chipotle Burrito

Chipotle fans love the spiced meats, salsas and beans in a Chipotle Burrito. But getting all of those delicious, fresh ingredients served in a bowl instead of a tortilla can save you a whopping 300 calories. To put that in perspective, to burn off the calories from the tortilla, an average adult would have to run almost 3 miles!

Eat This: McDonald's Fruit n Yogurt Parfait
Not That:McDonald's Vanilla Shake

Are you craving something sweet and creamy from McDonald's? You could order a shake, but opting for a Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait will be much healthier. A small shake has more than twice the calories and seven times the fat of the parfait!

Eat This: Burger King Whopper Jr
Not That: Burger King Original Whopper

If you must have a burger, exercise a little portion control and opt for the Whopper Jr. You'll still get all the flavors of the original Whopper, but with nearly 50% fewer calories. And as an added bonus, the smaller burger is less likely to leave you in a food coma or feeling uncomfortably full after.

Eat This: Taco Bell Fresco Grilled Steak Soft Taco
Not That: Taco Bell Grilled Steak Soft Taco

Are you craving a steak taco? There are two on the Taco Bell menu, and one has the clear nutritional advantage. The Grilled Steak Soft Taco packs almost 70% more calories and 300% more fat than the Fresco Grilled Steak Taco.

Eat This: Papa Johns Thin Crust Pizza
Not That: Papa Johns Original Crust Pizza

Going for the thin crust will reduce the number of calories in your cjeese pizza by 20%.

Eat This: Subway Honey Mustard Sauce
Not That: Subway Mayonnaise or Ranch Sauce

If you're looking to add some flavor to your sandwich, go for the fat free honey mustard. It has roughly a quarter of the calories of the mayonnaise. Thinking about ranch? Don't! That has almost 11x the calories of the honey mustard!

Eat This: Arby's Jalapeno Bites
Not That: Arby's Curly Fries

Fried jalapeno bites might not be considered health food, but they are a smarter choice than the curly fries at Arby's. A 5-piece order of jalapeno bites has almost 50% fewer calories than a medium order of curly fries.