The restaurant industry has done a huge amount of work in recent years to try and convince potential customers that it is possible to eat on the go and still enjoy a healthy and balanced diet. The industry suffered a lot of damage to its reputation from films like Super Size Me and books like Food, Inc. during the 2000s, and has been doing a lot of work since then to try and turn the tide back in their direction.
Like most news stories, there are two sides to this one. It is definitely true that it is possible to eat healthily from restaurants that prepare food quickly. However, you need to have a fair amount of knowledge about what actually constitutes as healthy food in order to make the right decision when you are eating out. There are a number of food chains that seem content to lead their customers astray about what actually constitutes healthy food when they are putting their menus together.
If you want to avoid eating the unhealthy stuff, then its important to look at a breakdown of what’s actually in the food you are ordering. Depending on the
state that the restaurant is located in, this might be easier said than done. Some states mandate that calorie information is printed on menus, others allow restaurants to make this information available on request only. In general, the easiest way to short-circuit any of these issues is to go straight to the website for the restaurant chain you are eating at. Most websites will have a nutrition chart (it may be hidden, so expect to do a little bit of digging when you get there) that will not only tell you the basic calorie count of what you are eating, but will also give you information about what the breakdown is. This is important information if you are trying to balance the nutrients in your overall diet. There is no point in hitting your daily calorie limit exactly if everything that you take in is fat!
At the end of the day, the old adage applies that everything is ok in moderation and that it is having a well balanced diet that actually matters most. Make sure that you think about everything in your diet and not just what you put in your mouth in restaurants, and you are far more likely to meet your goals.