Thursday, March 05, 2009

Health Mag's Top 10 Healthiest Fast Food

Health Magazine's March issue features their list of the ten healthiest fast food restaurants.

Their ranking is:
  1. Panera Bread
  2. Jason's Deli
  3. Au Bon Pain
  4. Noodles and Company
  5. Corner Bakery Cafe
  6. Chipotle
  7. Atlanta Bread
  8. McDonald's (!)
  9. Einstein Bros. Bagels
  10. Taco Del Mar
Yes, we're not kidding, they put McDonald's at number 8 and Chick-fil-a and Subway didn't even make the list. Who are Health Mag's major advertisers anyway... or who are the hoping to get as advertisers!

Say what you will about Subway, but if you have half a brain you can order a very healthy meal at Subway. And Chick-fil-a goes out of their way to provide healthy options. These are just two examples, I'm sure you can think of more.

And #9 is Einstein Bros. Bagels. Bagels. Really? Come on! Healthy? I have nothing against Einstein Bros., or McDonald's for that matter, but they don't belong on a list of the healthiest fast food restaurants.

I like the quality, healthy options offered by Panera and Jason's (number 1 & 2 on their list), too, and would have put them near the top of my 'healthiest' list, but when you choose McDonald's over other obvious choices it taints the meaningfulness of your list.

Also, I would have put Chipotle closer to number 1, than their number 6, for their efforts in natural, hormone-free meats.

Now you know!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Seriously, how did McDonalds make that list. Have they stopped serving sausage patties between syrup infused pancakes?

Lego said...

I love Chipotle, but it's not even close to anything healthy. If you research online for the nutrition facts, it is one of the worst places you can eat.

Allison said...

I agree with Lego. Chipotle was in a feature article a few months back about how their menu items have some of the highest calorie content, depending on what you put on it. Definitely not healthy!

Anonymous said...

I've actually been doing research about the issue of McDonald's being healthy or not for my senior thesis. Yes, it isn't THE healthiest out of the market, but McDonald's has done some major changes in the past five years. Simple changes, from losing the Super Size Me option to changing their bread and oils. The bread has less sodium more fiber, and the oils have almost no trans-fat. The healthiest parts of their menu is for children, who everyone fears the most for. They have fruit, milk, and juices to choose from now. Hell, other countries go even farther than that and have vegetables. I'm not saying go stuff your faces full of Big Macs, but between a Subway sandwich that seems healthy (till you keep adding tops and sauces till it is over flowing in a WHOLE foot long of carb filled bread) and eating whole white meat chicken and apples....I think I would rather eat the chicken and apples. B/c I could choose from 4 to 10 pieces having a small portion, rather than a giant 6" or 12" sub. Everything comes down to choice. You can choose vegetables at Subway, but you can also choose a salad at McDonalds. Out of everything, Choice is the biggest problems when it comes to fast food restaurants. Either you choose healthy or you complain about the choice you made.