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Eating at fast food restaurants is an unavoidable part of life, even when you’re trying to eat healthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over one-third of American adults eat fast food on any given day, and if you’re one of those 35% of the pie, experts say you just need to choose wisely when perusing the menu and be informed about the realities of what you’re eating and how its being prepared.
Even some of the “healthier” orders like fish or salads can be deadly Did you know that the BK Big Fish Sandwich clocks in at 51 grams of carbs, and the Chicken Garden Salad contains 870 calories and 1,605.1 milligrams of sodium? Yes, it’s even tricky to use your own best guess when ordering off the menu options. Well, you don’t have to; here’s exactly what our health experts say to order instead when visiting a Burger King dining room or drive-thru next:
King Jr. Hamburger
Registered dietitian and environmental health specialist Trista Best explains that unfortunately Burger King discontinued their grilled chicken option in 2019, which would be her recommendation for eating health at the fast food chain.
"Considering this is no longer an option and every other menu item aside from the burgers are fried, I recommend choosing the King Jr. Hamburger," she advises. Why? This burger is made by sending it through their flame broiler where a fair portion of the grease is able to be removed, she explains. Well, that sounds good!
Best also offers the following calorie-saving tips for assembling your sandwich. "Bypass the cheese to lower the saturated fat and calorie content a bit more," she recommends. Genius! So--where does that get you in terms of final calories and fat content? Best explains that the "relatively healthy meal" will come out to 240 calories and less than 10 grams of fat with the modifications. Nice!
