Fast Food: Eating Out Tips

If your lifestyle leads you to fast food more than you'd like, put on the brakes and keep the following tips in mind:

Ask the restaurant for a listing of nutritional values, or see if these details are posted on its Web site. Fast-food chains often adjust ingredients and cooking methods, so periodically get a new list or check the Web to make sure your healthy options remain as such.
Try not to eat inside the restaurant. It's too easy to give in to temptation and go back to the counter to order fries or dessert.
If a shopping mall's food court is calling your sweet tooth, bypass the cookies and cinnamon rolls. Those sugary scoundrels carry as much fat as many fast-food mainstays. Instead, delight in a cool refreshing fruit smoothie.
On days when you know you'll be on the run, bring along a healthy snack like an apple or some low-fat granola. When hunger hits, you'll have an option to grabbing a bite at the drive-thru.
Keep a lightened-up casserole in the freezer for those eventful days that easily turn into busy nights. Then enjoy a nutritious meal when time is tight…and put life in the fast-food lane behind you.