Fast food follow-up: what's left to eat?

Remember when all fast-food burgers and fries were small, all the chicken was fried, and the only decision was whether to get a shake or a Coke?

More than three decades--and billions of burgers--later, the choices are better...and worse.

Fast food chains are tripping over each other to build bigger burgers. Fries have swollen to "super sizes" that have as many calories as a Big Mac. Chicken, fish, and potatoes are no longer fried in beef fat, but the vegetable shortening clogs arteries almost as much.

What's more, restaurants have dropped some of the improvements of the early '90s. McDonald's has canned its McLean Deluxe burger, which was made from lean meat. The company's grilled chicken sandwich has put on 140 extra calories from a thick layer of mayo. And its shakes and ice cream cones are no longer low-fat. Likewise, Taco Bell's Border Lights menu is gone.

And yet, if you look hard enough, you can find some new fast foods that are worth crossing the street for. The best of the lot: Wendy's Fresh Stuffed Pitas. They join a handful of salads, baked potatoes, grilled chicken sandwiches, and selected subs on the short list of fast food that's not half bad.

It's the usual fast-food refrain: one more item you can try...a dozen more to avoid. Here's a rundown of what's hot, and what's worth a closer look.

Burgers, etc.

It's tough to walk out of a fast food restaurant without blowing at least half a day's artery-clogging fat. A large fries will do it. So will a Big Mac, a Whopper, a Burger King Chicken Sandwich, or nine Chicken McNuggets.

So what are fast food chains doing? Late last year, McDonald's introduced the Arch Deluxe burger. Even without the bacon, it's worse than a Quarter Pounder. And MickeyD is testing the Big 'N Tasty--make that the Big 'N Fatty--its version of Burger King's Whopper.

Meanwhile, Burger King has rolled out its Big King burger to battle the Big Mac. "It's like a Big Mac, only it has more beef than bread," says the ad. Just what America needs: more beef to clog arteries and raise the risk of colon and prostate cancer.

"We think it's a bigger, better Big Mac," boasts a company spokesperson.

With nearly double the Big Mac's sat fat, it's more like a bigger, badder Big Mac.

Wraps

A pita (pocket) bread or flour tortilla stuffed with salad, chicken, fish, or other foods often has less artery-clogging fat than a burger, an order of nuggets, or a fried chicken sandwich. But some wraps are better than others

Wendy's Fresh Stuffed Pitas lead the line-up. While most chains think salad is synonymous with iceberg lettuce, Wendy's dares to add carrots, red cabbage, cucumbers, red onion, broccoli, and romaine. Try skipping the dressing. You should still have flavor to spare. Just beware of Wendy's Classic Greek Pita. To your heart, its fete cheese looks like a Quarter Pounder.

Most other companies' wraps have fewer vegetables. Taco Bell stuffs its Fajita Wraps mostly with rice. But if you hold the fajita sauce--they taste fine without it--they almost get a Better Bite.

Unfortunately, you can't order KFC's Chicken Twister without sauce And Long John Silver's fried fish, chicken, or breaded "popcorn" shrimp is greasy and unappetizing ...with or without the sauce. Despite its healthy image, Au Bon Pain's Southwestern Tuna Wrap has more sat fat than two Quarter Pounders, plus 950 calories to pad your waistline. Au Bon's delicious

Summer Turkey Wrap, on the other hand, is the lowest-fat wrap we found.

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

"McDonald's has ruined its grilled chicken sandwich," writes NAH reader Mrs. Allen Nitz of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. "It used to have three grams of fat and now it has 20 grams."

What happened? McDonald's now adds more than a tablespoon of mayo to its sandwich. The added fat isn't saturated, but it piles on an extra 140 calories.

A grilled chicken sandwich is still better than almost anything else on the menu. A few chicken tips:

* At McDonald's, order the Grilled Chicken Deluxe without the mayo or ask for a package of light mayo. It will add just four grams of fat and 40 calories.

* Go elsewhere. A KFC BBQ Flavored Chicken Sandwich, Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Arby's Light Roast Chicken Deluxe or Grilled Chicken BBQ Long John Silver's Flavorbaked Chicken Sandwich, Hardee's Grilled Chicken Sandwich, or Dairy Queen Grilled Chicken Sandwich all have roughly half the fat of McDonald's Grilled Chicken Deluxe.

* Don't go to Burger King. Its BK Broiler has nine more grams of fat than a Grilled Chicken Deluxe. Or get the BK without mayo and add mustard, ketchup, or the barbecue dipping sauce that comes with the Chicken Tenders.

Subs

Subway offers seven six-inch subs with no more than six grams of fat...ifyou skip the cheese, mayo, and oil. Get them with onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers instead. Tuna and other prepared-salad subs aren't on that list. But if you like them, at least get them at a Subway that uses "light" mayo to make the salads and to smear on the bun.

Main-Dish Salads

Arby's, Burger King, Hardee's, Jack in the Box, McDonald's, and Subway all offer decent chicken salads. But only Wendy's Grilled Chicken Salad adds far more vegetables than just lettuce. And you get a warm soft breadstick to make it a meal.

Just remember to get fat-free or low-car dressing on whatever salad you order. Four tablespoons of regular can coat it with 15 to 35 grams of fat, 250 to 750 mg of sodium, and as many calories as six Chicken McNuggets.

Baked Potatoes

Wendy's Broccoli & Cheese, Bacon & Cheese, and Sour Cream & Chives potatoes have the least artery-clogging fat...unless you order your spud plain. But with so much sodium in the bacon and cheese, your best bet may be the Sour Cream & Chives.

If a potato doesn't fill you up, get it with a salad.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Fast Track

Within each category, we've ranked the foods from lowest to highest percent of calories from saturated fat. Runaway sodium level meant no "Best Bites." "Better Bites" got less than ten percent of their calories from saturated fat and less than 40 percent of their calories from total fat. That sounds high, but it allows in a few wraps that are loaded with vegetables.

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The information for this article was compiled by Wendy Melker, Ingrid VanTuinen, and Aaron Buurma.