Too Busy to Cook

After a weekend/week of moving and 5 days of eating out…my body is saying, “no more fast food”! Everyone has busy weeks where they simply don’t have time to grocery shop, let alone make dinner. Well this last week, was “that” week for me. Saturday and Sunday were dedicated to packing; Monday through Wednesday was moving, cleaning, painting, spackling etc. Needless to say I didn’t have any time to cook.

But instead of not posting anything I decided to do a little digging into what kind of fast foods I could eat without committing a caloric catastrophe. I compiled a list of our fast-food favorites, and broke each item down by calories, fat, carbs, sodium and sugar content.

Some items were just as bad as I thought- Chinese Food, Taco Bell’s Cheesy Gordita Crunch (*note to self, anything with “chubby” in the name- DO NOT EAT). While others were a little surprising. For example, I would assume that crunchy tacos at Taco Bell would have more calories than soft tacos because the hard taco shells are deep fried. On the contrary, looking at the breakdown, it’s just the opposite! After thinking about it for a while I think those “extra” calories are hidden in the tortilla. Although the crunchy shells are deep fried, the crunchy shells are corn compared to the soft flour tortillas.

Another big surprise was 5 Guys Burger. I figured that since the burgers were grilled, made fresh, fresh toppings that the burgers couldn’t be thhhhhhat bad. Man-o-man was I wrong. I am not a big fan of hamburgers in the first place... typically I opt for chicken or a veggie option. But every once in a while I get a craving and about 5 months ago Frank and I tried out 5 Guys Burgers. Needless to say I was hooked. They seriously make one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. Their burgers have converted me into a burger craving carnivore. And much to my dismay I was shocked when I saw how many calories were in one of those “little” cheeseburgers. YIKES! Frank’s favorite, the Bacon Cheese burger, is about ½ of your daily caloric intake weighing in at 920 calories and 62g of fat.

On the positive side, I did eat some good things too! Whole Food’s sushi- delicious, quick, easy AND healthy! I have picked up their sushi a couple times, and it’s not always consistent. I would stay away from anything with tempura and try their brown rice rolls before you totally commit- they have a unique texture that I don’t particularly like.

Subway is kinda a given as long as you don’t indulge in their cheesy breads and creamy-based sauces. Another one, that I was happy to see, was Starbucks and McDonald’s breakfasts. I have read in the past that McDonald’s Egg McMuffin is one the best things you can get for a fast food breakfast. With 300 calories and 18g of protein, it keeps me full well into lunch.

My good friend Amanda introduced me to Starbuck’s Low-Fat Turkey Bacon Breakfast sandwich- equally delicious AND filling. It’s rarely displayed on their breakfast menu, but I haven’t been to a Starbucks that didn’t have them. I was surprised to see that Starbuck’s sandwich actually had more calories than the Egg McMuffin. But on an overall comparison, it has lower fat content and made on a whole-wheat English muffin- which pumps up the fiber content.

To read more about healthy fast food options, check out this article published on FitnessMagazine.com, “I Lost Weight on a Fast-Food Diet”. Hopefully this helps you navigate those fast-food menus, and avoid some caloric catastrophes when you’re too busy to cook.