Who does not love fast food and Mcdonald’s is on top right? But many of us think hundred times before eating at McDonald’s. Do you know that there are healthy options at Mcdonald’s as well?
We also know that in the world of fast food, Mcdonald’s is on top. Since its birth in 1940, Mcdonald’s has grown and made its name in the fast-food business with its best, convenient, and inexpensive meals.
Healthy Options at McDonald’s?
Do you if you are ordering a cheeseburger, it’s one of the healthiest things at McDonald’s. It has 15-20 grams of protein, and little fat you can bear.
Some Low-Calorie Options
My favorite nuggets are below 200 Calories. You can add more calories, like apple slices of 15-20 calories. That means you hardly crossed 200 calories for the meal.
If you think that eating Fast food or eating at Mcdonald’s is always unhealthy, let me tell you, it is not as you make it out to be. There are a lot of healthy options at Mcdonald’s and let me explain to you why they aren’t terrible for your health.
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Is Food at McDonald’s really healthy?
First, we need to define what do you mean by healthy. Because for you the definition of healthy food can be something else and for me, it can be different. The best thing about McDonald’s is that they have all the information about the food you are going to order. Just go to their website or download the app, and find your customized lowest calorie food.
Today we have made things easier for you. Stay with us. With Mcdonald’s nutrition calculator, we have gathered the best and healthiest food options available on the menu.
We have focused on few things before selecting the food for you.
- Calories
- Fat
- Carbohydrates
- Protein
- Sodium
The basic rule or idea to balance a fast-food menu with a healthy one is to reduce the fat and calorie count very low and protein count high. Don’t think carbs are an enemy for your body, until and unless you are following a specific diet or low carb diet.
Other than that, what you need to look for is Sodium, it’s a very important part of the nutrition label to check. 90 % of people eat too much sodium in the States. Do you how much sodium you should take daily? 2300 milligrams or 1 teaspoon each day.
So, if you are looking for fast-food options and healthy one as well, you should keep the sodium level low. If you are going for a heart-healthy diet you need to be very cautious with sodium.
If you have correct nutritional information, you will be able to make better healthier choices anywhere, yes of course at McDonald’s as well.
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Lowest calorie Options at McDonald’s
Looking for some healthy and low-calorie food at Mcdonald’s? Then you do not need to look any further than these items listed below. The calories in these meals count below 500 calories, 10 grams of salt, 50 carbs, and protein count over 10 grams.
1. Cheeseburger
- Calories: 297-298 calories
- Fat: 14.2 g (5.8 saturated)
- Sodium: 691 mg
- Carbs: 28 g
- Protein: 14.8 g
2. Hamburger
- Calories: 263 calories
- Sodium: 487 milligrams (mg)
- Carbs: 29.57 grams (g)
- Protein: 13.3 g
- Fat: 10.2 g (3.57 saturated)
3. Four-piece chicken nuggets
- Calories: 193 calories
- Fat: 12.77 g (3.26 saturated)
- Carbs: 9.66 g
- Protein: 10.1 g
- Sodium: 362 mg
4. McChicken Sandwich
- Fat: 17.3 g (2.35 saturated)
- Carbs: 36.7 g
- Protein: 13.6 g
- Sodium: 817 mg
- Calories: 358 calories
5. McDouble
- Carbs: 25.2 g
- Calories: 395 calories
- Protein: 22.7 g
- Sodium: 864 mg
- Fat: 22.7 g (6.96 saturated)
6. Filet-O-Fish
- Sodium: 582 mg
- Fat: 19.6 g
- Carbs: 35.4 g
- Calories: 378 calories
- Protein: 15.1 g
7. Crispy Chicken Sandwich
- Sodium: 1100 mg
- Fat: 20 g (5 g saturated)
- Protein: 27g
- Carbs: 45 g
- Calories: 470 calories
To your greatest pleasure, it’s totally up to you to order these all items alone or as a combo meal, including fries and drinks too. If you are looking for a healthy meal, keep the fries small (I would say skip fries) and avoid a drink, rather than you can order water or unsweetened iced tea.
It is better to keep your meal low in calories, so why add more calories to it, right? Therefore, better to avoid adding stuff to your meal that has high calories in it.
Some places allow you to exchange your fries with apple slices, that would be a great option.
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Fries (small)
- Calories: 229 calories
- Sodium: 134 mg
- Carbs: 30.2 g
- Protein: 2.42 g
- Fat: 11 g (2.27 g saturated)
Apple slices
- Carbs: 4 g
- Fat: 0 g
- Calories: 15 calories
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Protein: 0 g
McDonald’s menu before the pandemic has some other items that can be on this list, like, Artisan Chicken Sandwich, the Grilled Chicken Snack Wrap, and the Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad.
But, FYI, McDonald’s to our greatest shock deleted these items from their menu the last March 2020. The reason was because of deficits in food and labor, so to make the food processing easy they opt-out these items. Nevertheless, these items are worth discussing that McDonald’s was heading towards a healthy menu.
Healthy McDonald’s Breakfast options
Surprisingly, yeah McDonald’s also offers a breakfast menu too. So now you can enjoy both the meals of the day here. Second, the items on the breakfast menu have a higher and a great number of calories, carbs, fat, and sodium as compared to the other meals listed above, and the protein counts are identical.
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Best Breakfast Options from McDonald’s
8. Breakfast burrito
- Carbs: 25.3 g
- Calories: 305 calories
- Sodium: 818 mg
- Fat: 17 g (6.4 g saturated)
- Protein: 12.2 g
9. Egg McMuffin
- Fat: 13 g (6 g saturated)
- Sodium: 770 mg
- Carbs: 30 g
- Protein: 17 g
- Calories: 310 calories
10. Sausage McMuffin
- Carbs: 29 g
- Sodium: 760 mg
- Fat: 26 g (10 g saturated)
- Protein: 14 g
- Calories: 400 calories
11. Fruit and maple oatmeal
- Calories: 320 calories
- Fat: 4.5 g (1.5 g saturated)
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Protein: 6 g
- Carbs: 64 g
12. Hash browns
- Calories: 144 calories
- Sodium: 307 mg
- Carbs: 15.2 g
- Fat: 8.64 g (1 g saturated)
- Protein: 1.31 g
Stick to black coffee, unsweetened iced tea, or water for your breakfast beverage. If you people are wondering why orange juice is not on this list, blame sugar for it.
Indeed orange juice has vitamin C in it, but it too has a high amount of sugar in it. The healthier you want, the low the sugar should be in your diet.
Herewith breakfast too, McDonald’s has opt-out some items from the menu during the pandemic. These items include Egg White Delight, the Fruit, and Yogurt Parfait, and the Strawberry Banana Smoothie.
Not sure about when McDonald’s will bring these items back on their menu, but finger crossed🤞
Now, How to keep a healthy relationship with McDonald’s food
Talking about a healthy menu of McDonald’s, it is not denied that consuming fast food has its own drawbacks.
McDonald’s items have a great number of nutrients for you, but not all of them. While eating McDonald’s, all the time you will not get every nutritions your body need.
So the question to ask now is, How to maintain a healthy relationship with McDonald’s food?
well, all you need to do is…
- Try to order smaller meals
- Go for water, unsweetened iced tea, or black coffee, avoid drinking sodas, sweet tea, or other sugary drinks.
- Pay a visit to McDonald’s once or twice a week maximum.
- Check your portion size and maintain it.
Points to remember
No doubt that McDonald’s is famous for its Big Mac, but you can still look for some healthy food items on the menu. Whether you’re visiting McDonald’s for breakfast, lunch, or dinner healthy items are always available there. The items are low-calorie and high in proteins with moderate amounts of carbs, fat, and sodium.
However, remember that you have to maintain your diet, so consume these all items in reasonable moderation.
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