Fast Food Salad?

Weird post I know, but not so weird if you have been driving a lot lately trying to find some healthy fast food options. I have been doing Weight Watchers since June and have really liked it. I really enjoy cooking healthy food and finding healthy options everywhere I go. So today I thought I would share some of my fast food knowledge. I gained a lot of fast food information this year when I was really living on a budget and when fast food was often what was most accessible and affordable. So here is my review of four different fast food salads.

Rated from my least favorite to favorite.

#4 Sonic's Sante Fe Grilled Chicken Salad

I purchased this salad in Wichita Falls, TX when driving from Dallas to Amarillo. I ordered it and was pretty disappointed with it. The chicken itself was fine, but it had melted the cheese into the salad before I even got it. The cheese was gross, because it is the same kind they use on their coney dogs. Gross. The lettuce was also questionable. Overall not my favorite. It might be the location though.

Nutrition--Calories 310--Fat (g) 12--Fiber--6 WW points--6

Dressing--The only one at Sonic with any hope to spare you fat and calories is the fat free Italian.calories 40--Fat 0--Fiber 0 WW points--1

#3 Arby's Farmhouse Grilled Chicken Salad

Catlin and I went to Arby's this weekend after attending church in Brenham. I used to get the turkey sandwich here thinking it was a healthy option. After some research I discovered it is actually one of the most unhealthy things on the menu. So this time i opted for a grilled chicken salad. It came with bacon in it but I took it out. Overall the taste of this salad was pretty good.

Nutrition Calories 229--Fat 11--Fiber 3 WW points 5

My big problem with this salad is the dressing. I asked to look at the nutritional information for the dressings and I was disappointed. None of them were fat free and the Balsamic dressing, which is usually a healthy option was not healthy at all. I ended up getting the balsamic dressing and using a tiny amount.

Balsamic Dressing Calories 130--Fat12--Fiber 0 WW points--4 (perfect example on how dressing can ruin a healthy salad)

#2 Chick-Fil-A Chargrilled Salad

I love Chick-Fil-a. They are a great place with quality ingredients. Even their food that is fried isn't terribly unhealthy. This salad is usually something I pick up at the airport. It has always been fresh and good. No complaints.

Nutrition Calories 180--Fat 6--Fiber 3 WW points--3

Dressing- My favorite is the fat-free honey mustard
Calories 60--Fat 0--Fiber 1 WW points 1
Overall the healthiest salad on the list.


#1 McDonalds Southwestern Grilled chicken salad

I came across this salad by accident. This year I walked by a McDonalds everyday on my way to work. I never stopped thinking that all they had a fried nastiness. One day however, my roommate Lu and I found a coupon for buy one premium salad get one free. We were feeling healthy that day so we tried it. I have always been skeptical of fast food chicken, thinking that it is more likely than not not real chicken, but I gave this a chance. The salad is very good. The chicken is warm and it has a great black bean and corn relish. It is so good that is really doesn't need too much dressing. I would eat this salad any day for lunch. It is not quiet as healthy as the chick-fil-a salad, but the taste i think is much better.

Nutrition Calories 320--Fat 9--Fiber 6 Weight Watcher Points--6

dressing Newmans Own Balsamic

calories 40--Fat 3--Fiber 0 WW points 1

Hope you enjoy my extended research on fast food salads. I will add more if I come across anything to go on the list.

Rebekah

Long time.

Since it has been since about May since I have posted on here there should be a lot for me to update you on.

In May my good friend Lauren "Hall" Gaines and her husband Chris came and visited. We did a whirlwind tour of Southwest Philly complete with cheesesteak and water ice
In July three of my Roommates and I rode what is called a casino bus all the way to Atlantic City. The way we heard this was supposed to work was that we payed $30 for the ride and when we got a casino we would be given $30 in casino money that we could cash out whenever we wanted. What really happened though was that we were mislead and that we had to gamble the entire $30, which none of us really wanted to do. We ended up playing the slots and miraculously made enough to pay back the $30 we spent to get there. Other than that Atlantic City was fun. We walked to boardwalk and sat on the beach.

My roommates and I had a lot of good times. One night for our weekly family night I suggested that we do 80's glamour shot night. As you can see it was a big hit. We always found weird ways to entertain ourselves over the course of the year.

For my roommates Lu's birthday we had a banana pudding party and invited all of our neighbors. We made a huge tub of pudding and sat outside all night visiting and eating. It was a lot of fun.

We finished our year well. We spent weeks packing and cleaning out our house. It was bittersweet to pack up our lives and say goodbye to the neighbors that meant so much to us. I really learned to live simply and well this year, and it was hard to close this chapter in my life. We ended the year with a week long retreat with all the other Mission Year teams from our area in the Pocono Mountains. It was relaxing and fun. After that my roommates and I played in Philly for a few days, and I might or might not have gotten a tattoo. Then I came home. I have been in TX for a little over a week. I spend last weekend with Brooke and Averie in the mountains and tomorrow I am heading down to College Station for Brooke and Kelley's graduation. I will start work in Arlington on August 29th. Life is back.

Something else that shaped my year happened in July. My grandma had a staff infection that she got in early June. She was put into long term care and was there about three weeks to control the infection. When she was about to be released in early July she started to get violently ill. Things moved really quickly and they found out that she had another internal infection that had gotten into her bloodstream. She got sick on a Sunday and we pretty much knew by Tuesday that she wasn't going to make it. They moved her into hospice on Wednesday, which is the same day I got in from Philly. She was in hospice a week and it was really hard to watch her die. The bright part of it was the amazing time I got to spend with my family. Literal hours upon hours of togetherness. My grandma was an amazing woman and it was wonderful and bittersweet to celebrate her life with others that loved her.

Rebekah