Eating McHealthy: It can happen at Mickey D’s
Published 6:00 pm Thursday, July 5, 2018
Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich
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Southwest Salad with Buttermilk Crispy Chicken
As I do most days, last Friday I packed a lunch to take to work. My lunch bag was filled with an almond butter and blackberry jelly sandwich on wheat, a snack bag of mini rice cakes, a carrot, a granola bar and a piece of Dove chocolate. I was good to go.
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When I began to get hungry around noon, though, I realized my lunch wasn’t anywhere in sight. I had left it at home on the kitchen counter.
As I was considering my foodless plight, my co-worker Rita announced that she was heading to McDonald’s on Broad Street to pick up a quick bite. I invited myself to ride along with her, silently vowing to get something healthy — no matter how good the burgers and fries smelled.
Just two miles away from the American Press, the McDonald’s at 2602 Broad St. is a speedy and convenient pit stop for busy newspaper employees and those of us who have forgotten our lunch.
And every time I’ve been to this McDonald’s, the employees working the drive-thru windows have been exceptionally friendly and nice. Expect them to greet you with a smile and a kind word because they most likely will.
Not that I go to McDonald’s often, but when I do go, it’s usually to get a French vanilla cappuccino or an Egg McMuffin as a special treat. The egg McMuffin is my one fast-food weakness. What can I say? Sometimes I just have to have one. That egg, cheese and Canadian bacon on a toasted English muffin is simply awesome.
Still, being a somewhat self-professed nutrition-minded healthy eater and all, I’m aware of the stigma attached to fast food, and I’ve always felt a tad guilty eating it.
I may have to rethink that stance, though, because McDonald’s is making it possible to order food I can feel good about eating.
That means nutrition snobs like me don’t have to wear dark sunglasses and hide behind the lapel of a trench coat when going through the drive-thru at McDonald’s.
Not when the restaurant is serving up artisan grilled chicken sandwiches like I had Friday. When I saw a photo of this sandwich on the drive-thru menu board for $4.99, I immediately knew it was the sandwich for me. It looked simple, delicious and light — and it was.
It consists of a marinated, grilled chicken breast with fresh tomatoes and romaine lettuce on a toasted artisan bun. That’s it. The chicken is juicy, as in have-a-napkin-ready juicy. The whole thing is 380 calories, according to the nutrition calculator on the McDonald’s website. I loved it and would definitely get it again.
The only negative thing I could find after researching it is that it contains nearly half of a person’s daily recommended sodium intake, but that could be said about lots of things at lots of restaurants. All in all, I felt it was a good fast-food restaurant choice.
Rita also went with a fairly healthy meal: the Southwest buttermilk salad with crispy chicken for $5.99. The salad is made with white meat chicken filet. It’s layered with black beans, roasted corn, tomatoes and poblano peppers, then sprinkled with cheese, tortilla strips and cilantro. All that sits atop two types of lettuce, baby spinach, baby kale and carrots. The salad is 520 calories. Adding the entire packet of Newman’s Own Southwest dressing that comes with it brings the calorie count up to 630 calories.
Rita did add the dressing because she said, “It’s the salad dressing that makes it.”
Not convinced yet? Here are a few other healthier choices to try at McDonald’s:
• A plain hamburger.
• Fruit and maple oatmeal.
• Bacon ranch grilled chicken salad.
• Fruit ‘n’ yogurt parfait.
• Low-fat milk jug.
• Four chicken McNuggets and a side salad.
• Apple slices.
The McDonald’s at 2602 Broad St. is open 4:30 a.m.-2:30 a.m. every day. The phone number is 337-433-8622.
