Evaluating America’s Top 10 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants (Part 1)

I recently stumbled upon this article from Health magazine: America’s Top 10 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants.  As I looked through the list, I was pleased to see one or two restaurants listed that I have written about on this blog, such as Panera Bread,  Chipotle, and McDonald’s.

Surprisingly, there were more restaurants listed that I haven’t covered, and a few that I have never even heard of, much less visited.

Time to investigate.

Jason’s Deli

This place snagged the number two spot on Health’s list.  Apparently 1/5 of Jason’s food is organic, and they offer foods which are normally foreign to the fast food world, such as spinach and whole wheat wraps.  They get bonus points from me since they offer nutritional information on their website, and the menu really does look delicious: I’ll take the spinach veggie wrap and a cup of vegan french onion soup, please!

Au Bon Pain

I’ve never visited, but I imagine it to be similar to Panera Bread.  I love that they offer a menu made up only of small plates, all for under 200 calories.  And really, with ingredients like chickpeas and blue cheese on the menu, how can you even call this fast food?

Noodles & Company

This place offers whole grain linguini and organic tofu, as well as more traditional ingredients like macaroni and cheese or pasta salad.  I’m sold on the variety of options and their under 500 calorie menu.

Do you think “fast food” and “healthy” are two worlds that can co-exist?