# Is healthy fast food possible in America? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427 "2015-01-20T23:13:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/1 "2015-01-20T23:13:44Z")
I’m staying in Chile off and on these days. One thing I love is how easy it is to get fresh, healthy meals quickly. For instance, tonight (like most nights) I had a chicken dinner: [Yum!](http://dmf109.smugmug.com/Other/Random-stuff/i-j9rX2Ld/0/L/CA_01201519230018-L.jpg) Half a roast chicken with fresh avocado, tomato, palms (?), pickles and a few olives. For flavoring, a fresh lemon, red vinegar and olive oil. Washed down with mineral water. It was ready to eat in about 5 minutes (if not less). Total cost, about $7 USD. The only way I could get that at home in the States would be to either make it myself, or go to a sit down restaurant and pay twice as much. I was literally in and out of the place in under 15 minutes (I eat fast). So is such a place possible in the States? Even at $12 USD, I’d happily eat there a few days a week, or more. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/2 "2015-01-20T23:18:51Z")
Yes. Boloco is a great example of healthy fast food in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/3 "2015-01-20T23:31:37Z")
You could buy a whole roast chicken for around 5 bucks in many US grocery stories and/or get a similar meal at grocery stores that have salad bars/hot bars and deli counters. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/4 "2015-01-20T23:35:07Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > You could buy a whole roast chicken for around 5 bucks in many US grocery stories and/or get a similar meal at grocery stores that have salad bars/hot bars and deli counters. This was no supermarket chicken. This was juicy and delicious. However, you have a very good point. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/5 "2015-01-20T23:37:51Z")
Lots of healthy food trucks are showing up in urban areas, lots of variety and healthy options. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/6 "2015-01-21T00:43:18Z")
Yes if you make the right choices. A salad at McDonalds with grilled chicken and no dressing is filling and not many calories. I eat one for lunch all the time. Technically not fast food but fast casual but I get a Burrito in a bowl from Qdoba and when I used their site to calculate the calories it was about 600 and it is filling and nutritious. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/7 "2015-01-21T01:17:02Z")
It’s not what you eat, it’s how much of it you eat. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/8 "2015-01-21T01:27:29Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It’s not what you eat, it’s how much of it you eat. Wrong. It’s both. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/9 "2015-01-21T01:54:57Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Yes if you make the right choices. A salad at McDonalds with grilled chicken and no dressing is filling and not many calories. I eat one for lunch all the time. I find salad without dressing completely unpalatable, but salad dressings aren’t all that bad. Their balsamic is only like 30 calories for a packet, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/10 "2015-01-21T02:17:31Z")
Is a McChicken for $1 all that bad if you drink no soda and don’t buy anything else? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/11 "2015-01-21T03:40:10Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Is a McChicken for $1 all that bad if you drink no soda and don’t buy anything else? [http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts.pdf](http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts.pdf) A McChicken is 370 calories, 17 grams of fat. ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/12 "2015-01-21T04:44:42Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > A McChicken is 370 calories, 17 grams of fat. Drove through yesterday since I had no time at home even to make toast. Had a sausage biscuit @ 420 calories and irefusetolook fat grams. I knew it was bad, just didn’t realize HOW bad til I looked it up later. In my area, there is one local place making good salads, fruit cups, steamed broccoli, soup, etc. but otherwise just the major chains. I don’t like McSalads, so I find it very hard to make good choices. On the plus side, McD’s does have cuties clementines now, so I could have that with my cheeseburger, fries, and giant Coke. If they sold them a la carte, which I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/13 "2015-01-21T05:37:52Z")
Yes. Random ideas to follow. Cut down on the salt. (everyone) Cut the extraneous sugar out of the buns; cut down the burger bun size to the size of the small patty. Add fiber. (McDs) Make the hamburger the default, not the cheeseburger. Also, there has to be a healthier catsup available than that HFCS with a tomato waved over it. Have malt vinegar an option for fries. It’s possible to microwave an unbreaded fish square to order. Portillo’s can do this well (Chicago and some southern states). Ditto for a salmon burger. And the amount of tartar sauce on Filet-o-Fish, although the nectar of Olympus, could easily be cut back. If White Castle can deliver a veggie slider, and Burger King a veggie burger, why can’t McD’s? Beef-a-Roo is a regional fast food chain that has dishes of broccoli just ready to steam upon ordering, alone or to top a healthy stuffed baked potato. I’m certain that green beans or sweet corn could be other healthy options. (Well, perhaps not on a potato.) There are cole slaw recipes which aren’t too heavy on mayo or on sugar. Hard to eat with fingers, but a great option instead of fries. Some chains do it: all should. Wendy’s used to have flatbread/pita sandwiches in the 1990s which were delicious. I’m not a vegetarian, but I loved their vegetable wrap. A lot of Mediterranean food could be served quickly: falafel and hummus, various wrap options. Brown rice seems to be going over well for Chipotle. Sugar-free AND caffeine free options as drinks. Why in the hell are both Diet Coke and Coke Zero the only options without sugar? Would it kill McD to serve caffeine free Diet Coke? Or sugar free lemonade? Culver’s has this thought through: diet and regular root beer; diet and decaf diet Pepsi. Wendy’s has diet lemonade. The trend of sweet iced tea must die. Seriously, fast food moguls. Drop it. Then you can go all virtuous about it. Finally, I don’t think fast food breakfasts are fixable, except by substituting turkey variants for ham and sausage. A person is pretty far gone if they don’t have time to eat a Clif bar, or similar. Bagels should be shrunk, just like buns should. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/14 "2015-01-21T12:10:15Z")
McDonalds used to have meatless breakfast burritos - egg, cheese and green salsa. I miss those. And their salads aren’t bad. It’s not exactly fast food with a drive-through but I agree that you can put together a healthful meal quickly at a grocery store with a deli or salad bar. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/15 "2015-01-21T13:13:04Z")
Houston has [Pollo Campero](http://www.campero.com/) & other Latin-American grilled or fried or roast chicken places. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/16 "2015-01-21T13:55:08Z")
ah, another “healthy eating” thread on the internet. 500 different answers and everyone will insist that their answer is right. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/17 "2015-01-21T17:14:25Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > ah, another “healthy eating” thread on the internet. 500 different answers and everyone will insist that their answer is right. But your answer is wrong. How do you like those apples? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/18 "2015-01-21T17:18:13Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > How do you like those apples? Depends, can I get them gluten-free? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/19 "2015-01-21T17:27:58Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > This was no supermarket chicken. > > This was juicy and delicious. > > However, you have a very good point. The rotisserie chickens at my local supermarket are delicious. I can buy one and make many meals from it…and then soup. How are we defining “healthy”? That’s pretty important. It’s fairly easy to find a salad with some not-fried meat on it in most places. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427/20 "2015-01-21T17:36:27Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > Yes. Random ideas to follow. > > Cut down on the salt. (everyone) > > Cut the extraneous sugar out of the buns; cut down the burger bun size to the size of the small patty. Add fiber. (McDs) > > Make the hamburger the default, not the cheeseburger. Also, there has to be a healthier catsup available than that HFCS with a tomato waved over it. Have malt vinegar an option for fries. > Sugar-free AND caffeine free options as drinks. Why in the hell are both Diet Coke and Coke Zero the only options without sugar? Would it kill McD to serve caffeine free Diet Coke? Or sugar free lemonade? For most dudes, nothing wrong with salt. > **[It's Time to End the War on Salt](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-time-to-end-the-war-on-salt/)** > > The zealous drive by politicians to limit our salt intake has little basis in science Added fiber is a good idea. Cheese is good for you, in moderation. HFCS is the third ingredient in most ketchup. I do enjoy malt vinegar, but not so much on the thin style fires McD’s sells. I agree with the Sugar-free AND caffeine free options as drinks. In fact Coke makes a Minute Maid Lite which actually has real lemon juice and is quite tasty. Some places have it. Why they dont have that but instead have both Diet Coke and Coke Zero astounds me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-healthy-fast-food-possible-in-america/710427.md?page=2)