With Memorial Day behind us, summer vacations lie ahead -- with ample opportunity for nutritional mischief on the road. This year, consider stopping at a fast-food establishment to grab a healthful meal.
Pressured by advocacy groups, public officials, lawsuits and consumer preference, many fast-food chains are offering more nutritious fare, from fruit and low-fat yogurt parfaits to salads with low-fat dressings and grilled shrimp.
Whether you travel turnpikes, back roads, through airports or train stations, here's a guide to help you eat smart when you're tired, hungry, hectored by cranky kids and surrounded only by fast-food icons.
But first, two tips:
* Expect high sodium. Even some entree salads packed 900 milligrams and more without dressing or croutons that boost levels higher. The recommended level is 2,300 milligrams daily for people age 45 or younger; 1,500 for those older and for people with high blood pressure. Snack on fruit high in potassium (bananas, oranges and raisins) to help balance the sodium.
* Resist the urge to super-size. Doing so can easily add up to a day's worth of calories and more than a day's worth of fat.
Here we go:
* Burger King. The "have it your way" chain was the first to introduce a veggie burger to its menu. The patty, with standard toppings, has 420 calories and 16 grams of fat -- but only three of those grams are saturated fat, and none are the unhealthful trans fat. High in protein, the veggie burger also has seven grams of fiber and 1,100 milligrams of sodium. Our testers liked it.
If you're hankering for meat, skip the Angus Steak burger (570 calories) and have the single burger. At 310 calories, 13 grams of fat (five of them saturated), minimal trans fat and half the sodium of the veggie burger, it's a better alternative.
For nearly a day's worth of veggies and fewer calories than most of the burgers, choose the salads. They have about 200 calories without dressing (which adds 70 to 130 calories per packet) or garlic Parmesan toast (70 calories).
* McDonald's. The small burger (260 calories), cheeseburger (310) and Chicken McGrill (400) are the caloric bargains among sandwiches. Even the fried Filet-o-Fish (400) is OK for a splurge. It packs 18 grams of fat, but 13 of them come from healthful fats. Save 90 calories and nearly two grams of saturated fat by skipping the tartar sauce. Note that most, if not all, of the chain's fried fare has some trans fat.
