Fast Food Happens

So we all don't have the time to cook every meal for ourselves every day. Fast food and eating out are sometimes the easiest thing to do on our busy college-student schedules. Instead of running through a drive-thru for a burger and fries, try the healthier items that the following restaurants offer for a fast, guilt-free meal. These restaurants also offer their food to-go for a quick and easy meal.

Jimmy John's offers a Low Carb Lettuce Wrap called the "JJ Unwich." You can get all of the same ingredients that you would put on a regular sandwich wrapped in lettuce for a low-carbohydrate alternative.

Brenen's has a Low Calorie "Resolution" Menu with a variety of sandwiches that are under 500 calories when served on sourdough, wheat, rye or pumpernickel breads. One of the sandwiches on this menu is the Lo-Cal Italian which has sliced chicken, ham, lettuce, tomato and onion with a fat free Italian dressing. They also offer low-fat strawberry and plain yogurts as a side to any deli sandwich.

Pita Pit, who's slogan is "Fresh thinking, healthy eating," offers a Resolution Solution menu with six pitas under 470 calories. The Fresh Garden pita is only 290 calories and has romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, cucumbers, black olives, and mushrooms with tzatziki sauce. This is a healthy and fast meal and great for vegetarians!

Subway has eight six-inch subs that have six grams of fat or less. These include the Ham, Oven Roasted Chicken, Roast Beef, Subway Club, Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki, Turkey Breast, Turkey Breast & Ham and the Veggie Delite. You can also get any of the subs as a salad.

Buffalo Wild Wings has great salads. My favorite is the Chicken Tender Salad, which has chicken tenders tossed in your favorite Buffalo Wild Wings sauce on top of lettuce, tomato, onions, croutons and cheese and your choice of dressing. You can get any of the salads with or without chicken as a healthy alternative to a burger and fries.

Applebee's offers an Under 550 Calories menu with about 5 different entrees under 550 calories. This weekend I tried the Grilled Shrimp & Island Rice, which is seasoned, grilled shrimp on top of citrus rice with vegetable. It was delicious!

Ruby Tuesday highlights Smart Eating Choices on it's menu, including steak and a grilled chicken wrap with lettuce, cheese and light ranch dressing. Ruby Tuesday also has a salad bar where you can build your own salad with whatever you want on it.

Bob Evans features a new Fit From the Farm menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The items on the Fit From the Farm menu are versions of their regular items on the menu, but modified so that they are lower in calories and fat.

Quiznos has over 20 items on the menu under 500 calories. These items include both classic and signature subs, soups and salads. The Turkey Ranch & Swiss is a classic sub under 500 calories and has turkey, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onions and ranch dressing.

You can find all of these places quickly on the map below for those days when you just don't have the time or energy to cook a healthy meal.


View Fast Food & Restaurants with Healthy Alternatives in a larger map