Chances are, you're doing some traveling this Summer and toting along healthy on-the-go snacks. But there's always a chance you'll find yourself hungry on the road with no choice but fast food.
Thankfully, many fast food chains are selling surprisingly healthy salads, but beware: fat and calorie bombs also abound. Of course, you're best off avoiding creamy salad dressing and opting for vinaigrettes: one pack of McDonald's Newman's Own Low-Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette has 40 calories and 3 grams of fat, while the brand's creamy Southwest dressing has 100 calories and 6 grams of fat per packet. If you opt for the creamy kind, try cutting the portion in half. Find out which salads have the most health appeal and which ones to avoid when you read more.
| Food | Serving Size | Calories | Fat (g) | Saturated Fat (g) | Sodium (mg) | Sugar (g) | Carbs (g) | Protein (g) |
| Arby's Market Fresh Santa Fe Salad With Popcorn Chicken, No Dressing or Tortilla Strip | 12.1 oz | 415 | 17 | 5 | 806 | 6 | 37 | 25 |
| *Arby's Market Fresh Martha's Vineyard Salad, No Dressing or Almonds | 11.6 oz | 273 | 9 | 4 | 609 | 17 | 25 | 22 |
| *Burger King TenderGrill Chicken Garden Salad, No Dressing or Croutons | 10.3 oz | 240 | 9 | 3.5 | 720 | 3 | 8 | 33 |
| McDonald's Bacon Ranch With Grilled Chicken, No Dressing | 11.3 oz. | 260 | 9 | 4 | 1,010 | 5 | 12 | 33 |
| *McDonald's Caesar Salad With Grilled Chicken, No Dressing | 11 oz. | 220 | 6 | 3 | 890 | 5 | 12 | 30 |
| Quiznos Flatbread Chopped Salad With Roasted Chicken Honey Mustard and Dressing | 1 salad | 1,070 | 71 | 13.5 | 1,770 | 15 | 69 | 37 |
| Taco Bell Fiesta Taco Salad, No Shell | 1 lb 0.8 oz | 460 | 23 | 9 | 1,520 | 9 | 41 | 23 |
| *Wendy's Garden Sensations Mandarin Chicken, No Almonds, Noodles, or Dressing | 11 oz. | 180 | 2 | 0.5 | 630 | 12 | 16 | 24 |
| Wendy's Garden Sensations Homestyle Chicken BLT With Croutons and Dressing | 14.7 oz. | 780 | 53 | 14 | 1,740 | 14 | 42 | 37 |
* FitSugar pick
Lowie
Fornarina
The Body Shop
Oh cool, recently, on a road trip I got a ceaser salad with grilled chicken from Mc.D. and I only used half the dressing.(It was really good too)
1I brought healthy food with me, but I ran out.
I think the packs of dressing that they give you with salads at most fast food places are way too much for the amount of salad you get. I always use only about half the pack, even if it's a lighter dressing. I hate wet soggy salads.
2What on EARTH is making that Quizno's salad so high in calories??? I love that salad - I usually have them leave the cheese off and I only use a little of the dressing but even then I have to be around 800 calories. Is it the flatbread???
3Why do all fast food salads have meat in them? They clearly don't care about providing vegetarian options. I suppose it's better than hiding the meat products, like McD's frying french fries in beef fat for so many years in secret...
4I love the McD's Southwest Salad but I didnt see it mentioned on the list. It's not bad, but I scrape off all the tortilla strips and cheese and use less dressing. The chicken in fast food salads sometimes grosses me out so I usually dont eat it all. Anonymous, you can ask for no meat, the Southwest Salad from McD's is good w/out meat!
5I eat a lot of wendy's chili when I'm on the road. I think it's only two hundred some calories, and it has fiber from the beans and protein from the meat. Plus if you just sip it out of the bowl it's easy to eat while driving.
6starlotus713 I am pretty sure it is the flat bread that is making Quiznos salads so high in calories. They really do give you a lot of bread. Also the honey mustard dressing isn't too great. I will get that salad,not eat the bread and get their fat free balsamic and ask for more veggies and it is still pretty good.
7Another fan of the McD's Southwest grilled salad, without dressing. the best FF salad out there.
8Wendy's taco salad is the sh*t. It comes with reduced fat sour cream and it doesn't even need dressing. So yummy!
9Great breakdown, thanks!!
10The Wendy's mandarin chicken salad is the only fast food salad I'll eat. Love it!
11I have to say, another veggie here who is bummed that no one has vegitarian options. Wendy's used to have a big summer salad or something like that.. but they got rid of it. Now there are no options at fast food places unless you go to subway or panera or something of that ilk.
12Wow, staying the heck away from Quizno's! I'm a big fan of Potbelly's vegetarian salad with non-fat vinaigrette. Sometimes I have them add turkey for protein but I suspect that shoots the sodium levels way up!
13Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.