Healthy Fast Food Swaps on Campus
By Danika
If you tend to buy food on campus fairly often and have a feeling you could be eating healthier, these tips may help you improve your dietary habits this new year. To me, “healthy” isn’t just about the calories; I want a healthy meal to be nutritious, satiating (and keep me full for longer), balanced among different food groups, and lower in salt and sugar — but still tasty of course! In general, aiming for meals with lower salt, lower sugar, higher fibre and higher protein will help to keep you full longer and be less detrimental to your long-term health! I’m not here to tell you to start ordering chicken salads from Chopped Leaf every time you get fast food in order to be “healthy,” but there are some small steps you can take to improve your go-to order.
Don’t want none unless you got (whole wheat) buns
Whole grains offer a lot more fibre, vitamins and minerals than refined white grain products! Swap out white rice for brown rice, and replace white bread/pita/tortillas with whole wheat. For example, Subway offers whole wheat buns and English muffins, and at Edo Japan, I like to take them up on their brown rice option instead of refined white rice.
Bulk up on veggies
Adding more vegetables helps pack in the nutrients and fibre, helping you to feel full (and make your heart feel full for eating your veggies, right??). You can always ask to double your vegetables, or get a salad on the side. At Subway, you can add a ton of low calorie veggies to your sandwich of choice, such as bell peppers, lettuce, spinach or tomatoes. If you love eating at Panda Express, well, adding more vegetables won’t exactly cancel out the salty fried foods and sugary sauces, but it may help you eat more of the lesser of two evils!
Be lean, mean, and get up in their grill
It’s best to stick to grilled, roasted or baked meats instead of fried meats or deli meats. Meats such as chicken or turkey tend to be leaner than beef, and removing the skin before eating it will lower the fat and salt content. Those thinly sliced deli meats are generally very high in salt and preservatives, so sticking to roasted meat (or meats and alternatives such as tofu) in your sandwiches or bowls helps up your health game! You can also ask to double your protein source to keep you full for longer.
Don’t sugar coat it
Be careful of drinking your calories! A lot of tasty drinks contain a lot of calories without being very filling or satiating — we tend to drink them in addition to our regular meals! You can help by asking for no whipped cream and lower fat milk instead of cream in your coffee, and choosing options with no sugar added. I like to customize my bubble tea at Teapsy to be lower in sugar, and you can always order Starbucks tea lattes with less sugar or sugar substitutes. That muffin from Tim Hortons may seem healthy, but it has a lot of sugar… it can have the same amount or even more than a donut! (But don’t let that fool you into thinking the deep-fried donut is a healthy choice either!)
Don’t get saucy with me…
Sauces are often very high in sugar, salt, and fat, and are often one of the least suspecting sources of calories! Pay attention to those sneaky sauces, dressings, and condiments — the sauce alone on a burger can pack in a whopping 13g of fat and 200mg sodium! Mayo-based or creamy sauces tend to be higher in fat and calories than vinegar-based sauces; the same thing goes for creamy mayo versus mustard in your sandwich. At places like Subway, Edo Japan, or Hula Poke, you can ask them to go light on the sauces, or get it on the side. I like to ask for dressings on the side as an easy way to control how much I add and to use it in moderation.
A few last tips…
Fast food portion sizes tend to be on the large side, so mindful eating can help with eating until you’re full to avoid over-eating, as well as help you savour and enjoy the food! Then you can save the rest for later — it’s a win-win!
Lastly, it’s always helpful to look at the nutrition information to help you make healthier choices. This can most often be found on the restaurant’s website.
While the healthiest course of action is to cook our own meals from scratch, we often turn to the time-saving convenience of fast food, especially when spending long days at school. Modifying your favourite orders on campus based on these tips may help you feel a little more justified in eating out — while your wallet may not thank you, your future healthy-er self-will!
