Fast Food Roundup: Canadian Pit Stops
A few weekends ago, on the drive back from my long weekend camping trip (a cold one at that!), I was presented with a familiar situation: hungry as all hell, but still hours away from home or a decent place to eat. Along the highway we were seeing McDonalds, Tim Hortons, Wendy’s… not very fitting for paleo oriented food tastes. I’m guessing that I’m not the only one confronted with this when on the road. Now, being able to skip meals is a great benefit of intermittent fasting, but there comes a time when you just have to pull a munch.
We ended up stopping for a coffee and gas, and I noticed a KFC in the plaza corner. Heck, why not stop in and see what they had to offer? After all, I hadn’t been in ages, and they eliminated trans fats so it must be safe to eat now (sarcasm). More on what ensued below.
Inspired by this moment, I decided to write a bit of a roundup on some potential choices available at the major fast food chains that litter the highways pretty much everywhere. Given that menu choices can vary significantly from country to country, I should be clear that this applies only to Canada. I’m sure things would play out similarly if I were to use info from other countries, and up here were quite used to being lumped in with Americans for everything imaginable, but for now I guess this one goes out to Canadian readers! The four chains looked at are perceived to be the most successful ones in the country. Of course others such as Burger King, Taco Bell, etc. deserve honorable mention. (I doubt they offer much different and besides, they just aren’t as common.)
It’s funny that the most reviews/guides about making healthier choices at fast food restaurants compare mostly the fat content of each selection, calories at best, but not carbohydrates. A plain cheese pizza slice at half the fat of a meat lovers is a much better choice right (sarcasm again)? Clearly theres a need for a real look at what might be not so brutal menu items.
There are some other considerations you might want to make depending on your situation. Cost was left out. And I haven’t considered nutritional details such as sodium content (you can bet its high in all of them so why bother?). Or maybe you are trying to really limit calories (weight loss) or maximize calories (mass gain) and in that case your choices might differ from mine.
Lets get started and see what we can find.
KFC
I was so hungry that I considered just going for a big cheat (bucket of fried chicken?). But they did have a few salad options, other than their trademark triad of “traditional salads”. Their grilled chicken caesar salad looked simple enough. A bed of romaine lettuce with unbreaded grilled chicken strips on top. Croutons and dressing on the side. Its always a good idea to be weary of salad dressings and the huge dose of vegetable oils (omega 6s like crazy) they usually pack. Can’t express how pleased I was to see their caesar dressing ingredients (going from memory here):
canola oil, egg yolk, parmesan cheese, vinegar, xanthum gum
Of course I’d prefer olive oil to canola, but I don’t think canola is something to be too afraid of the odd time, having a decent o-3 to o-6 ratio compared to other vegetable oils. Although Scott points out some of the reasons to stay away from it in his recent Ten Oils and How to Use Them post.
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad:
Pro: 40g
Fat: 11g
Carbs: 7g
1 Mighty Caesar Dressing Packet:
Pro: 0g
Fat: 28g
Carbs: 4g
Total of Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad + 1 Mighty Caesar Dressing Packet:
kCal: 555
Pro: 40g
Fat: 39g
Carbs: 11g
Verdict: Not a bad macro breakdown, though I wish they were more forthcoming with their ingredient lists online.
McDonald’s
On to the most successful fast food chain in the world: McDonald’s. Right off the bat I have to give the Canadian website credit for having a great food calculator that gives detailed ingredient lists with a nutrient breakdown for each item.
The two salad choices here are between a caesar and garden. Unfortunately both use iceberg lettuce as the base and with some romaine, a bit of a letdown. The difference between the two is the caesar has parmesan cheese and bacon, as well as croutons. Given the plethora of additives in these extra items, as well as the tomato and red onion on the garden salad, tips the scale in its favor.
Garden Entrí©e Salad with Warm Grilled Chicken:
Pro: 22g
Fat: 2.5g
Carbs: 10g
Ingredients:
Lettuce- Shredded Iceberg lettuce.
Tomato Slice- Sliced tomato.
Grilled Chicken Portion- Chicken meat, water, seasoning (salt, sugar, rice starch, hydrolyzed corn protein, spices, flavour {autolyzed yeast extract, salt, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate}, dextrose, garlic powder, carrageenan, autolyzed yeast extract, chicken fat, dehydrated cooked chicken powder, silicon dioxide, caramel, onion powder, corn maltodextrin), modified rice starch, sodium phosphates. Cooked on a grill lightly seasoned with trans fat free cooking spray (Canola oil, water, salt, modified palm oil, whey powder, soy mono and diglycerides, potassium sorbate, citric acid, artificial flavour and colour (annatto, turmeric), vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E)
Red Onion rings- Red onion
Romaine Lettuce- Romaine lettuce.
The 10g carbs likely comes partially from the veggies but also from the mega additives in the chicken!
Then there is the ranch versus caesar dressing. I’d choose the caesar, although it has more ingredients (more additives), because it has less carbs (4g vs 9g), a bit of olive oil, and “anchovy extract” in there. Also has 0.1 g more trans fats than the ranch, but heck, choose your poison.
NEWMAN’S OWN® Caesar Dressing:
Pro: 2g
Fat: 18g
Carbs: 4g
Ingredients:
Water, soybean oil, vinegar, blend of parmesan, romano, and granular cheeses (part skim milk, bacterial cultures, salt, enzymes, whey, lactic acid, citric acid), fructose, egg yolks, corn starch, salt, dehydrated anchovy (dextrin, anchovy extract, salt), olive oil, spices, lactic acid, worcestershire sauce [distilled vinegar, molasses, glucose, water, salt, caramel colour, garlic powder, sugar, spices, tamarind, natural flavour (fruit source)], xanthan gum, dehydrated garlic, dehydrated onion. Contains sulphites.
Total of Garden Entrí©e Salad with Warm Grilled Chicken + 1 NEWMAN’S OWN® Ceaser Dressing:
kCal: 336.5
Pro: 24g
Fat: 20.5g
Carbs: 14g
Verdict: Pretty skimpy on the protein and fat if you ask me. Slightly more carbs than the KFC choice too.
Tim Hortons
I had to include Timmys in here. By far the most common road pit stop in the country. But is there anything on their menu that won’t add a notch to your diabetes belt?
New “yogurt with berries”? Don’t get excited, they’re “low fat” and have about 30g carbs per serving! I’m not even going near their new breakfast sandwiches. What’s left, aside from their baked goods, is their soups and chili. I went through each of their soups and no surprises here- they are all low fat, low protein, high carb. Might fit right in with the government food pyramid, but not fit for a real meal. Last chance is the chili.
Tim Hortons Chili:
kCal: 300
Protein: 26g
Fat: 19g
Carbs: 17 g
So you can see you at least get a moderate protein serving, and there is slightly more fat than carbs. And the carbs are at least from a more complex source (likely the beans and tomato paste). Again, the detailed ingredients are not provided so they lose points there. Plus, it comes with a useless bun that you have to feel guilty about not eating. But I don’t think its much of a contender anyway.
Verdict: stick to their coffee.
Wendys
Having navigated a few fast food menus already and knowing what to expect, I’ll skip right to their chicken salad options. They have five salads with chicken options. Three have either corn kernels, noodles, or taco chips in them. Remaining is the Chicken Caesar and the Chicken BLT. I would go with the BLT version because, on top of the Caesar ingredients (romaine, grape tomatoes, cheese), it has a spring greens mix, cucumber, and bacon which accounts for nearly 10 more grams protein. It breaks down like this:
Chicken BLT Salad:
Pro: 34g
Fat: 18g
Carbs:10g (assuming we leave out the croutons)
Pretty consistent with our other results. Now if you avoid the Honey Mustard Dressing that comes with the salad and ask for the Creamy Ranch instead, you can get less than half the carbs:
Creamy Ranch Dressing:
Pro: 1g
Fat: 20g
Carbs:4g
Total Chicken BLT Salad + Creamy Ranch Dressing:
kCal: 538
Pro: 35g
Fat: 38g
Carbs:14g
Verdict: Coupled with the fact that they don’t provide ingredient lists, and their macronutrient ratios are inferior to the other options, I don’t think Wendys has an edge over the competition.
And the Winner is…
KFC’s Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with Mighty Caesar Dressing
KFC takes it for a few reasons:
- most protein, lowest carbs out of the four options
- uses romaine lettuce
- dressing has some pretty good ingredients (relative)
- lots of fat available in the dressing if you need calories, use less if desired
- the chicken is probably no better than at McDonald’s, but thats just the best you’re going to do at a fast food joint
There you have it, a look at some of the lesser fast food evils, and an option that I wouldn’t feel too guilty about stopping for in the absence of a better destination.
About Scott
Scott Kustes loves to cook and loves to eat. He started Real Food University to help you get maximum enjoyment out of the meals that you eat. To find out more about how he has rebelled against the fast food culture and counting calories or carbs, join the Real Food Revolution.
18 Reader Comments
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Hi, i stopped at Wendy’s this weekend and had the mandarin orange chicken salad and thought it was great. All the nutritional information is on the website and is very detailed. It even allows you to customize the nutritional value. As an example, I didnt add the crispy noodles or the sesame dressing. I thought this was a great salad giving 290 calories, 14 gms fat, 20 gms carb and 25 gms of protein.
thanks
cj
heres the link: http://www.wendys.ca/food/Nutrition.jsp
Nice CJ. No doubt there is lots that could be added.. it would be neat to have people chime like this.
I would go hungry before I ate one of those pathetic factory grown creatures they call chickens.
I think it’s very interesting to see what different people choose, given the same choices. There’s always a trade off in these things.
I’ll try the KFC salad, assuming the US version has canola, too. The last packet I looked at was soybean oil, not canola. Although, it’s been about a year.
With McDonald’s, I go with the Newman’s Own Light Balsamic, instead. The ingredients list is still bad stuff (soybean oil, for instance), but with only 40 cals in the whole packet, how much bad could be in there?
In the Caesar dressing, look how far down the list the olive oil is found. Why did they even bother, except to be able to say there’s olive oil in there. Soybean oil is the 2nd thing on the list.
Roland
I don’t understand why more traditional media doesn’t take these fast food goliaths to task on their ingredients like this.. seems like it wouldn’t take much to shame them in to a race to the top to cut out some of the ridiculousness. I guess the fact that soybean oil is still thought of as a good thing is a problem tho..
I wanna see a company with real chicken on offer get straight to the point in a TV ad: “Here is whats in our chicken: chicken. McDonalds: chicken, corn, sugar, xyz #45, blah, blah.” Tell me that wouldn’t be effective.
No kidding – I did not know that the “chicken” had all that crap in it! It’s false advertising! They should at least have to say “processed chicken.”
Why would Wendy’s put Honey Mustard and not Ranch on the BLT salad to begin with? Do most people put mustard on a BLT?
All store bought dressings also have the oil problem – so few are made with something other than soybean oil (at least in the US – and I think Roland is right about the US KFC dressing). I have just taken to making my own vinegrette with olive oil, some good mustard, vinegar, and herbs. In fact, I might start taking it with me!
Oh, and if something come with a roll or bread, just tell them to leave it off. At least then it doesn’t go to waste, even though no one should eat it
Travel olive oil is key.. I went on a six day bike trip last summer and at the beginning bought a small bottle of olive oil to carry.. just kept stopping along the way at grocery stores to get meat+veggies, a little evo and there you have it. Still have the little bottle that I just refill.
So much information…great post!
Mark Salinas
Healthy Living Today
I agree with Greg, There is no reason to ever eat thoese dressing unless you want to go back to just eating food not for health. Soybean oil is just not good for you anyway you sum it up.
You can pick up travel packets of almonds/macadamia/hazelnuts (to a lesser extant cashews which have a poorer but better then soybean oil fat breakdown) anywhere all of which have much better fatty acid ratios then any of these dressings and don’t have any of the fun additives too.
You also seem way too comfortable with transfat, most everyone agrees they are far worse then carbs. I would also seriously go with the fact that eating oatmeal + nuts is far better then you then eating trans fat at all(and yes I’m a paleo diet person also, it’s just trans fat is the bottom of the bottom in terms of nutrition).
Hello ,there iam new to your site and it is very interesting.What diet would you recomend for a guy 5feet 10 300lbs to go on .Atkins,Zone i need to lose alot of fat.Or some other plan Thanks Bill
It saddens me just how many Mcdonalds I’ve seen here in Singapore.
The Romans built grand buildings, the Chinese built a wall that spanned almost through a continent, and Americans built Mcdonalds.
Chuck, I don’t think Greg’s saying he’s okay with trans fats, just saying that at that point, an extra 0.1g isn’t going to do any additional harm.
Bill, check out this post. Go with real, unprocessed foods. If you want to give the diet a name, Paleo is the one I’d choose.
Allen, let’s not completely disparage the US. We’ve also built one of the greatest economies ever.
Cheers
Scott
chris
iam going to start the paleo diet today.But i do lift weights 3 days a week so i need a after workout carb you said fruit only fills the liver glycogen would sweet potatoe be ok after to fill the liver and muscles and still consider it paleo?
Bill, you don’t need a post workout carb, especially if your goal is fat loss. Don’t eat for 60-90 minutes after working out…let your body burn the fat for energy. Sweet potatoes are Paleo, but again, you don’t need a PWO carb. I rarely have a carb immediately after working out.
Cheers
Scott
Scott,
Have you seen the picture of super mike on art devanys site at 55?he just gets leaner and leaner i wonder how he works out and eats to look like that?And i will not have a post workout carb meal,do you think i should stay away from fruit for a while till i lose some weight.Just eat meat, eggs,and green veggies intill i get my weight down.
Thank You Bill
My husband received a navigator device as a gift. It does help us with our food choices on the road, too. Sure, most of the registered listings are chain restaurants, but I also discovered that it could locate Trader Joe’s grocery stores along on our route, like an advance scout. I can always find acceptable picnic or quick & easy foods at TJ and they have basic utensil and napkin supplies available for “take-out”. I also found Chipotle Grill restaurants in some areas I have traveled, that I never would have known about without the navigator device.
I just tried Burger Lounge a few weeks ago, which I think was recommended by a reader of this blog. Wish it was closer, because it was a huge step above the norm for fast casual (order at counter, food delivered to table). Dine-in meals are served on real plates, too, not disposables. Burger Lounge burgers are delicious and generously sized, made with TallGrass pastured beef. Turkey burgers and chicken tenders “on a stick” are available, too. Even their vegetarian burger is made of quinoa, not soy, though I didn’t try it. Burgers come with a Lounge bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, House-made 1000 Island dressing, and Cheddar or American cheese. The salad was delicious and generous (I was told the dressings are made at the restaurant). I requested my burger without a bun (grilled onion can be requested, too but I found that out too late), and a Caesar salad of romaine (should have shared the very large salad with my companion). From viewing other diners’ burgers, the BL buns are not the usual doughy white pillows one usually finds – they look like custom made bread rolls.
I’ll confess I had a few onion rings, shared with my companion, which were absolutely delicious, with a slightly breaded coating (Japanese whole wheat panko crumbs) that contained grated parmesan cheese and minced parsley (attractive). BL fries in peanut oil (no trans fat) which is not the worst oil in the world, especially for an infrequent meal. The fresh-cut french fries (not frozen) looked great (I spied other diners’ fries), but I’d stay away from those, as they are coated with a breading, too, to make them crispy, and that just adds to the starch of the potatoes.
Some independent sodas were offered, which I can’t recommend because of the sugar, but I applaud the alternative selection option, in addition to the usual soda suspects. Beer and white are also available, as well as some Italian bottled waters. I just had plain carbonated water from the soda fountain dispenser with a wedge of lemon, though.
Burger Lounge isn’t as cheap as the big chain fast food places, but it isn’t as expensive as a sit-down restaurant, either. I think the price is quite fair for their higher quality-than-usual ingredients (burgers are US$6.95, salads are $6.95 and $7.95).
www dot burgerlounge dot com (no affiliation, of course)
Anna, that sounds like a great restaurant and the price is certainly something you can’t complain about. Quality is something that’s always going to cost a bit more. I’ll have to check that out next time I’m out that way. A few onion rings never hurt anyone either…as long as they’re tasty.
Cheers
Scott
[...] few weeks ago, Greg showed us some decent choices at Canadian fast food joints (which mostly hold true in The States too), but let’s go farther than that. Perhaps other [...]