![]() The cheeseburger you get at a McDonald’s in Orlando is exactly the same as the one you get at a McDonald’s in San Francisco, Montreal, or Little Rock. The category, referred to broadly as fast casual dining, is growing more quickly than any other segment of the market.įor more than fifty years, eating at fast-food restaurants has been an almost clinically impersonal experience: the food is rapidly prepared, remarkably cheap, utterly uniform, and served immediately. Sweetgreen and places like Lyfe Kitchen, Chipotle, Smashburger, Five Guys, Shake Shack, and Dig Inn now occupy the rapidly expanding middle ground between restaurants with tablecloths and the giant fast-food chains. But millions of diners, fuelled by concerns about their health and the state of the environment-and propelled by a general distaste for industrially produced and highly processed food-have begun to shun the ubiquitous chains that have long shaped the American culinary character. Many people wouldn’t have considered it food at all. Ten years ago, no American would have regarded a bowl of vegetable scraps dressed with lime-cilantro or spicy pesto vinaigrette as fast food. “Decent prices matter, too.” The women were working their way through one of the restaurant’s seasonal specialties-the “wast ED” salad, which consists almost entirely of carrot peels, broccoli stalks, roasted bread heels, cabbage cores, and other ingredients that are usually tossed out. “We want what we eat to be healthy and tasty,’’ Davis said. “Nothing fancy,’’ Davis told me one recent evening, as she took a sidewalk table next to mine at Sweetgreen in Nolita. Like many of their millennial peers, Kathleen Davis and Andrea Nguyen eat out a lot. While there are ways to make your fast-food burger healthier, regularly eating fast food isn’t part of a healthy diet.Michael Donahue, co-founder of Lyfe Kitchen, wants to convert customers “who have always thought healthy food has to taste like straw.” Photograph by Andrew B. That said, remember that even with these tweaks, fast food is still highly processed, high in salt, and may be made with low quality ingredients. Opt for other condiments and toppings to add flavor and texture, such as mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle ( 25, 26). ![]() If you’re counting calories, you can easily shave about 100–200 calories off of a burger by skipping the mayo and cheese. It’s a great low carb option, even if you’re not following a keto diet. This is also a great option to reduce your calorie and refined-carb intake. Many fast-food restaurants get these requests regularly and will package up your burger on a tray with a knife and fork. To make almost any burger keto-friendly, just ask for a lettuce bun instead of a standard bun. However, if you’re counting calories, feel free to stick to a single patty. The extra patty nearly doubles the protein content of the burger without adding extra refined carbs, making it a more filling meal ( 10). Many of the burgers on this list contain two patties. Here are some ways to choose a healthier burger at any fast-food restaurant: Maximize protein Here are the healthiest fast-food burgers of 2021. ![]() However, if you are a strict vegan, be aware that there will likely be cross contamination with animal products from a shared grill at most of these restaurants. We included some plant-based and keto-friendly options on this list, too. The calorie content isn’t the only metric to determine how healthy a food is, but excessive calorie intake can lead to unwanted weight gain and its associated health risks ( 11). All of the burgers on this list contain fewer than 700 calories. ![]() Protein helps keep you full, giving your burger some staying power ( 10). With the exception of the low calorie burger and plant-based slider on the list, we included fast-food burgers that have at least 20 grams of protein. Although we included some burgers from smaller, more regional chains, most of the burgers on this list are from restaurants you can find in large cities and small towns across the United States. The burgers we’ve chosen meet the following criteria:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |