Healthy Fast Food

Healthy fast food is no longer an oxymoron. The nation's largest chains are tackling criticism of their role in the nation's obesity epidemic by offering low-calorie, low-fat, high-nutrition options. Now, it's up to you to make the right choices at the drive-through window. But it's good to know that, at those times when you need to grab lunch fast or you have a car full of hungry kids and no time for a sit-down meal, you don't have to feel guilty.

Many restaurants highlight lighter menu items, making selection easy. When they don't, you need to do some detective work. If you have a favorite fast-food chain that you visit regularly, it pays to go online and troll through the nutrition information most restaurants provide.

HealthGuide.org provides good general guidelines for finding lower-calorie options at various kinds of chains. For example, choose grilled meat at fried chicken joints, and omit cheese and sour cream at the burrito shop.

You can even indulge in a good ole hamburger once in a while without busting a gut or your calorie budget. AskMen.com offers a list of the best burger options at McDonalds, Wendy's Junior and Burger King. An original Whopper (hold the mayo) is just 310 calories, for example.

You can even find a reasonable lunch at KFC, according to Fitness. A Honey Barbecue Sandwich and mashed potatoes with gravy adds up to 420 calories and 12.5 grams of fat. As an example of the interesting tidbits you can find by poking around these sites, KFC's mashed potatoes and gravy is actually a healthier option than their cole slaw. The latter contains 190 calories and 11 grams of fat, including 2 grams of saturated fat, while the spuds have 120 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, and 1 gram of saturated fat.

McDonalds introduced real-fruit smoothies,  A small Strawberry Banana Smoothie has 210 calories, and the large, 22-ounce size packs 330, making it a healthy meal in itself.

But sometimes, the names and descriptions of menu items can be highly misleading. Doesn't Jack in the Box's Steak and Egg Burrito sound like a packed-with-protein kind of breakfast that will get you off to the right start? Uh uh, according to WebMD. It has 790 calories and 48 grams of fat. Ouch! Instead, select the Breakfast Jack, or the egg and muffin breakfasts available at most quick-stop restaurants.

And keep your eye out for an emerging trend: fast-food restaurants that focus on fresh and healthy, like Blendz and Stonyfield Café.

It's great to know that you can grab a quick bite without ruining your diet.