500 Calorie Choices at Fast Food Joints

I'm only posting this 500 calorie fast food menu so I can look it up on my phone when I'm running around. Deal with it. Hope it can help you too.

Here are some of the recommended Eat This! fast-food meals under 500 calories:

Less Than 500 Calories at Dunkin' Donuts
Ham, Egg & Cheese English Muffin Sandwich with English Breakfast Tea
350 calories
15 g fat (6 g saturated fat)
1,045 mg sodium

English muffins have a fraction of the carbohydrates of a bagel, and none of the trans fats of the donuts and croissants. The antioxidant-rich tea is also a great way to begin your day.

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Less Than 500 Calories at Hardee's
BBQ Chicken Sandwich with a small side of Cole Slaw
490 calories
16 g fat (3g saturated fat)
1,340 mg sodium

Barbecue sauce and a reasonably-sized side dish keep this meal in the safe zone. Just opt for a water, rather than a Hardee's shake or malt, and you're good to go. And if you want to steer clear of the liquid disasters that can blow up your waistline without your knowing it, be sure to check out some of these other worst beverages in America.

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Less Than 500 Calories at KFC
3 Crispy Strips with Green Beans and 3" Corn on the Cob, and a Medium Diet Pepsi
475 calories
22.5 g fat (6 g saturated fat)
1,200 mg sodium

Order a side of green beans for a good source of vitamins K, A, and C—key players in maintaining strong bones and reducing cancer-causing free radicals. The corn on the cob will also help fill you up with minimal added calories. Just beware the dipping sauces—choosing BBQ over Ranch can save you over 100 calories.

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Less Than 500 Calories at McDonald's
Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich with a Side Salad with Newman's Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette, and a Medium Iced Tea
480 calories
13 g fat (2 g saturated fat)
1,945 mg sodium

Counting calories doesn't mean your meal is healthy. For example: The Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich matches the Quarter Pounder without cheese when it comes to caloric content—but the chicken has no trans fats, while the burger does. Choose the sandwich and side salad for a good combination of protein and veggies.

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Less Than 500 Calories at Pizza Hut
Two Slices Thin ‘N Crispy Pizza (12") with Quartered Ham & Pineapple, and Medium Diet Coke
360 calories
12 g fat (5 g saturated fat)
1,110 mg sodium

Regardless of which pizza chain you favor, ham and pineapple is one of the most trusted combinations you can order. Ham adds extra protein to balance out the crust's carbohydrate load, while pineapple adds low-cal sweetness and a dose of antioxidants.

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Less Than 500 Calories at Taco Bell
Two Fresco Soft Beef Tacos with Mexican Rice, and a bottle of water
470 calories
17 g fat (6 g saturated fat)
1,760 mg sodium

Order almost any menu item "fresco" style and the Bell boys will replace cheese and sauces with a chunky tomato salsa, cutting calories and fat by at least 25 percent. Beyond being nutritious, salsa is also cheap—check out our list of the other healthiest cheap foods you can eat. Finally, the Mexican rice adds a tasty little side (just 110 extra calories) that'll help fill you up without filling you out.


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Less Than 500 Calories at Wendy's
Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich with Mandarin Orange Cup and small Nestea Sweetened Iced Tea
500 calories
7 g fat (1.5 g saturated fat)
983 mg sodium

This is the healthiest sandwich on the menu. Don't order your chicken spicy, though: That's their cue to fry, rather than grill, your bird, tacking on an extra 9.5 fat grams. Adding a small citrus fruit cup side is also a great, low-calorie way to add sweetness—and cold-fighting vitamin C—to your meal.

Pizza investigation needed!

While on vacation, I had some pizza and got to wondering about my previous posting about Sbarro's and pizza slices. Now, I know there may be local places that sell pizza slices, but they're few and far between or they open and close in the blink of time. Well, I did a quick search and there are some spots in Chicagoland that offers NY-style pizza by the slice AND white pizza. WHITE PIZZA! They serve white pizza up at Pizza-Ria, a franchise outfit with several locations in Chicagoland. I definitely need to make a pizza run to one of these.

Then there's Ian's Pizza, in Wrigleyville. I'll definitely try to swing by before or after my next Cubs game, but I don't have high hopes. I suspect drunken Cubs fans are discriminating enough to truly judge a great slice of pizza. Really, they just want dough to soak up Old Style.

I also found Pronto Za. Oh no they didn't. Any place that calls pizza "za" is not to be trusted for quality pizza. It's sacrilege. As if that wasn't offensive enough, slices are $3.50 a pop! Yep, we've got a gourmet joint (with specialty choices including Marguerita, Crabcake and Monkey Mango) pretending to be old school. Not working. And it's no coincidence websites on "protozoa" also came up in my finding "Pronto Za." Symbolic and ironic.

I will figure out a way to investigate these so-called by-the-slice shops and report back on my findings. Based on my previous samplings, the offerings will probably be chewy crusted and cheesy white (sans cheese bubbles), but I'll keep an open mond (and open taste buds).