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.
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!
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?
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?
Uncovered: Hard Rock Cafe
For unknown reasons, I’ve made it my personal mission to visit a Hard Rock Cafe whenever I visit a new city. Recently I explored Hard Rock in Seattle and was pleasantly surprised with a new addition to their menus: calorie counts!
A caesar salad for almost 800 calories?! No thanks.
How about another salad? They’re all healthy and low calorie, right?
Hmmm, these were still a little over my lunchtime calorie budget.
After scanning the menu, I found an unexpected winner:
Less than 500 calories for Hard Rock’s grilled vegetable sandwich? I had been fooled by grilled veggies before, so this was a pleasant surprise.
I even had room for a beer 
Hard Rock, thank you for supplying calorie information for all your delicious menu offerings, and for going above and beyond providing it for your beers, too!
Question of the Day
Do you visit Hard Rock Cafes when you are in a new city?
Nutrition in Unexpected Places: IKEA
It’s true–you can now shop for dresser drawers AND eat some Swedish meatballs for 686 calories.
Is it just me, or are calorie counts turning up in the most surprising places? Ball games, food trucks, and now home decorating stores? It’s official: nutrition information is ubiquitous.
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