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No one goes to McDonald’s expecting to eat a super healthy meal. But what are the best options to choose – if you find yourself heading for the big M, and don’t want to blow your healthy streak?
This is exactly the conundrum that registered dietitian Kelsey Kunik explored in a recent blog post where she explained what she eats when she visits the fast food favorite with her kids.
“My two kids are Happy Meal fanatics and I occasionally give in to their (constant) requests to eat there,” she wrote.
There are “a few options on the menu” that she feels good about eating “from a nutritional standpoint.”
Registered dietitian Kelsey Kunik has revealed the three things she would choose from a McDonald’s menu that keep her on a healthy track
Although she doesn’t recommend eating McDonald’s every day, fast food fans will be happy to hear that she believes it can be part of a healthy diet.
First on Kunik’s list is an Egg McMuffin, which contains 310 calories, 6 g of saturated fat and almost no sugar, while containing 17 g of protein (about a third of that in a chicken breast).
‘This looks like a breakfast I would make at home,’ she writes. ‘With just an English muffin, egg, cheese and a slice of Canadian bacon. It’s relatively low in sodium, has 17 grams of satiating protein, and even offers three grams of fiber.
‘By choosing the Canadian bacon over sausage, I save four grams of saturated fat and a lot of fat.’
For lunch or dinner, Kunik says she opts for a McCrispy Chicken Sandwich. It contains 470 calories – roughly equivalent to chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables – and contains 26g of satiating protein. It is low in fat but contains two teaspoons of sugar.
A dietician has revealed the healthiest options on a McDonald’s menu, which include the Egg McMuffin and the McCrispy Chicken Sandwich
Another disadvantage is the high sodium content, which can be problematic for blood pressure. “I don’t love that this is the one sandwich that has 50 percent of the recommended sodium limit,” she writes.
But: ‘Nutritionally, it has enough protein and calories to keep me full for hours and only has 5 grams or 27 percent of the daily recommended intake of saturated fat, which is pretty impressive for a fried sandwich.
‘If someone wants to limit their sodium intake, I would recommend eating this sequence sparingly and paying extra attention to sodium in other meals throughout the day.’
And if you want a sweet treat, go for a plain vanilla cone, advises Kunik.
While high in sugar (twice as much as a Krispy Kreme donut), one cone offers just 200 calories and five grams of fat.
“It’s just enough to satisfy a sweet craving without adding unnecessary calories, added sugar or saturated fat,” says Kunik.