Healthy Eating: McD's....Not Your Father's Burger Joint.

In our quest for healthy living we look for places where we can incorporate more responsible eating habits into our daily lives without sacrificing the good foods we have come to enjoy over the years.  McD's is just such a place.  It seems like you can't go anywhere in the U.S. without catching sight of the Yellow M beckoning you to stop in and grab a quick burger.  It underpins a couple of the main tenets of modern American life; speed and convenience. 

In the old days (anything more than 10 years ago) you stopped along the roadsides and highways of America and you had burgers and fries.  It was good enough for your parents, it did the job in terms of filling you up, and there weren't a lot of choices.  If you were traveling and you wanted to stick to a low-fat, lower calorie diet, you either had to bring food with you or try and find stores along the way that sold healthy food...not convenient and not necessarily fast. 

Enter the 21st Century and the advent of healthy eating consciousness.  Now it was becoming fashionable to work out, get in shape, and eat healthy.  Even the fast food chains began to look for ways that they could offer healthier choices to capitalize on the healthy eating trend, and McDonald's was at the forefront of pioneering new healthier additions to their menu.

Today, I can stop along the highway at any McD's for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and have healthy options.  At breakfast I can choose heart-healthy fruit and maple oatmeal (only 290 calories and 4 grams of fat) and black coffee.  If I'm feeling like an egg, I can choose an egg white Mcmuffin (only 250 calories).  For lunch or dinner I can order a premium southwest salad with grilled chicken (only 230 calories) or a snack wrap with grilled chicken (250 calories).  Or, I could get a fruit and yogurt parfait (only 150 calories) if I'm really hungry between meals.  My point being that there are now choices for those that want to cut their calories or fat content and do so within the convenience that is offered by a chain that seems to be on every corner of every town in these United States.

Surely, there are other fast food chains that have gotten on the healthy eating bandwagon and are adding healthy choices to their menus.  I only highlight McD's here since they represent the most frequent choice that seems to appear on the horizon when you are truly hungry and ready to make a stop....especially on long, highway trips.

As you cruise the highways of this great country, stop and check out the menus of the food chains along the way.  You will find that their menus are changing, reflecting the desire for healthy food choices that today's Americans seek.  They're not your father's menus anymore and that's a good thing for you, your heart, and your quest for more healthy living.

If you have any road trip experiences with healthy eating, I'd like to hear them.  We can all benefit.