As life becomes more hectic, you may have less time to cook your favorite, healthy meals at home. Sometimes dinner needs to be something chosen quickly from a local fast food restaurant. If you have an Arby’s fast food restaurant nearby, you may be tempted to make a selection from their ever expanding menu. Although there are lots of unhealthy choices on the Arby’s menu, there are some healthy food options that can satisfy your hunger without blowing your diet. Here’s how to eat healthy at Arby’s fast food restaurant:
Choose from a salad option.
Arby’s has several tasty, entrée sized salads that won’t break your calorie budget. The Santa Fe Salad with Grilled Chicken will give you a nice serving of protein and vegetables at only 283 calories and 9 grams of fat. Another good salad choice is the Martha’s Vineyard Salad which is a tasty mixture of romaine lettuce with sweet apple bits, grape tomatoes, and cranberries. It’s topped with fresh grilled chicken and cheddar cheese. You can save some calories and fat by having them hold the cheese. Be careful with your dressings on these salads. You can blow a perfectly healthy meal by selecting the wrong salad dressing.
Go for the junior or kid’s size sandwich.
Arby’s offers a junior size roast beef sandwich in some locations. The calories in this tasty little sandwich are under 300 and you’ll get a nice serving of protein. Arby’s fast food restaurant also offers a kid’s portion mini Market Fresh Turkey and Cheese sandwich which is a reasonable choice. If you hold the cheese, the sandwich becomes quite a healthy offering.
Pick the right sandwich.
If you want a full size sandwich, your best choice calorie wise would be the Arby’s Ham and Swiss Melt sandwich with 273 calories and 6 grams of fat. If you prefer roast beef to ham, you can select the Arby’s Swiss Melt that substitutes roast beef for the ham. Add a side salad and you have a quick and healthy meal that’s high in protein and calcium.
What to Avoid
Arby’s large order of French fries was rated the most unhealthy of all fast food restaurants with a calorie count of over 600. The toasted subs sound deceptively healthy although their calorie counts are all well over 500 calories. This also holds true for most of the Market Fresh sandwiches and wraps. The fried chicken tenders are best avoided if you’re looking for ways to eat fast food healthy. It also pays to be careful with your selection of drink. A large soft drink can pack a lot of calories with almost no nutritional value. A better choice would be the unsweetened ice tea with a touch of artificial sweetener added.
Fortunately, there are ways to eat healthy at fast food restaurants such as Arby’s which means you can have a quick meal and still maintain your diet and your good health. Next time, you’re in a rush, pull into Arby’s fast food restaurant and won’t feel an ounce of guilt.
