Healthy Makeovers of Your Favorite Fast Foods

Jeanne Cullen, MS, RD, CD, CDE

Do you find it hard to resist certain comfort and fast foods that you crave but know you should not have… and then feel guilty when you do eat them… and when you check your blood sugar after eating some of these foods, it isn’t usually in the target range that your doctor recommends? 

This article is going to show you how you can make a few comfort foods and fast food favorites a bit healthier for your waistline and your blood sugar.

First of all, no food is entirely off limits for people with diabetes. The trick is knowing when to splurge and when you should resist the temptation. It is unrealistic to think that you will never let a fast food cheeseburger and fries cross your lips again.  All of us have a favorite food that we don’t want to give up. Certainly if your blood sugar is in good control, you should be able to have a high fat, high sodium meal every once in a while, right?

The important phrase here is ‘once in a while.’ Fast food dining has become an everyday thing for many people. Eating fast foods so often can be a problem if we have diabetes and heart disease, because these foods are high in saturated fats, sodium and refined carbohydrates.  Many fast food restaurants are putting some healthier options on their menus, so be sure to get updated food composition tables from your favorite fast food restaurants so you can compare the calories, fat, saturated fat, sodium and carbohydrates to help you make the best choices.

Here are a few nutrition guidelines to keep in mind as you think about modifying some of your favorite high fat, high calorie foods while still keeping the taste you love.

Lean Meat Makes a Difference When it comes to animal protein, go with the leanest meats you can find. The leanest cuts of beef are the round and the loin of beef.

When shopping for ground beef for hamburgers, look for 7-9% maximum fat ground beef. This will come out to 8-9 grams of fat per 4 oz hamburger patty, compared with your fast food counterpart which runs about 21 grams of fat.

You can also substitute ground turkey for the hamburger meat. Ground turkey can be either ground turkey breast or a mix of white and dark cuts of turkey. The 4 oz. ground turkey breast measures in at 1.5 grams of fat, while the ground turkey mix is closer to the lean ground beef at 7 grams of total fat.

For burgers, I would not recommend ground turkey breast because it is probably too lean and might not hold together in a patty. You can use the ground turkey breast as a meat replacement in burritos or chili, though.  Also, note that some brands of ground turkey have skin ground in with the meat, which is not as good nutritionally.

Choose Whole Wheat, High Fiber Bread and Pasta As for hamburger buns and bread products in general, look for ones with more fiber and whole wheat flour listed as the first or second ingredient.

There are certainly some good tasting whole wheat, high fiber bread products and pastas available, so limit the refined carbs and explore the world of whole grain breads and pastas.  It took me a while to get used to it, but now that is all that I eat.

It is becoming easier to find whole wheat pasta.

• Barilla Plus® is a multigrain pasta, enriched with omega 3 fats and contains 4 grams of fiber per serving.
  
  
• Trader Joe’s® has it’s own brand of whole wheat pasta with 5 grams of fiber, at the lowest cost. 
  
  
• Ronzoni Healthy Harvest® makes a whole wheat spaghetti and penne which contain 6 grams of fiber per serving.

There are not many whole wheat hamburger buns available, but one that fits the above criteria is Orowheat® Cracked Wheat Hamburger buns with 4 grams of fiber.

Even a Small Amount of Veggies Helps Another thing is to ask yourself is, “Where are the veggies?”, and by this we don’t mean ketchup.

Ketchup is fine in the right portion, but you won’t find it on any dietitian’s list of vegetables.

Try to incorporate vegetables wherever you can.  You can use them as a garnish, or as a side dish or salad.  There are a variety of vegetables such as mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, peppers, onions which can enhance the flavor of any dish, while also providing some nutritional powerhouses, such as antioxidants, vitamin and minerals, which even when eaten in small quantities can be beneficial.

A few vegetables at a meal are better than no vegetables at all.  Even if you aren’t a vegetable lover, if you start to use them as edible garnishes at most meals you will improve your health in a small way.

New Low-Fat Cheeses Taste Great When it comes to dairy, always go low or no fat, because the fat in dairy products is mostly saturated fat, which we should limit.

There are a variety of good tasting low fat cheeses available today. There are a few that I eat regularly and recommend to my clients.

When it comes to dairy, always go low or no fat, because the fat in dairy products is mostly saturated fat, which we should limit.

Kerrygold® Vintage Irish cheese, which is a cheddar cheese, has come out with reduced fat version, which tastes every bit as flavorful as the full fat version. I also recommend Denmark’s Finest® Light Havarti and Jarlsberg® Lite Swiss. You can also get Kraft® American singles in fat free or 2 % fat versions.  Be adventuresome and try some others, they might surprise you.

Add Flavor Instead of Fat

We all know that fat is where the flavor is, so as we decrease fat and sodium in our diet, we need to get creative with extra flavors. Try adding caramelized onions, roasted garlic, roasted sweet or hot peppers, citrus juices, spices and herbs such as cumin, Italian seasonings, cilantro, and basil.