Consider These Healthier, Plant-Based Swaps at the Drive-Thru, Physicians Say

WASHINGTON — As school-aged kids head back to class and families become busier with extracurricular activities this fall, parents may increasingly forgo home-cooked meals in favor of a quick trip to the drive-thru. But fast food doesn’t have to be nutritionally devoid. 

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit of 17,000 physicians, is urging Americans to swap fatty, meat-centric entrees at their favorite drive-thru restaurants for healthier, plant-based options. 

For example:

• At Chick-fil-A, instead of the Chick-fil-A Deluxe Sandwich, choose the Kale Crunch Side Salad and a Fruit Cup and save 320 calories.
• At Wendy’s, swap the Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger, that has 43 grams of fat, for the plain baked potato, which has no fat.
• At Dunkin’ Donuts, opt for the Avocado & Roasted Tomato Toast over the Double Sausage Breakfast Sandwich and save more than 17 grams of saturated fat.

“Check out the menu before you go,” said Stephanie McBurnett, a registered dietitian with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “It takes a careful review of nutritional information, but finding healthier choices at the drive-thru is possible.”

The Bacon Deluxe Triple at Culver’s, for example, has 1,090 calories, 76 grams of total fat, and 31 grams of saturated fat, McBurnett said. That’s more than twice as much saturated fat as the American Heart Association recommends adults consume in an entire day.

Instead, diners could grab a Garden Fresco Salad (hold the croutons and cheese), with raspberry vinaigrette and steamed broccoli in the Culver’s drive-thru and save 100% of the fat and cholesterol and more than 900 calories, compared to the triple bacon burger. 

“When possible, choose fresh menu items,” McBurnett said, “like salads and fruit cups, along with plain baked potatoes, steamed vegetables, and bean and rice or grain bowls.”

Some drive-thru restaurants offer more healthier plant-based fare than others.

“If you’re grabbing dinner from Chipotle for the gang, for example,” McBurnett said, “simply switching from a burrito to a bowl will result in 320 fewer calories, 9 fewer grams of fat, and 600 fewer milligrams of sodium. And by switching from a beef or chicken bowl to a bean bowl, you’ll bring the cholesterol down to zero!”

And though consumers will have to step inside or call for delivery instead of hitting the drive-thru, pizza with roasted vegetables, hold the cheese, can be a good option too.

“After-school activities may leave the whole family hungry and tired at the end of the day,” McBurnett said. “If you’re scrambling to order pizza to be delivered when everyone arrives home, don’t forget there is a healthier option. Consider a Garden Fresh pizza from Papa John’s with original crust (ask for no cheese), add on your preferred veggies, and you’ll reduce the overall calorie count, sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fat, while also increasing the fiber,” she said.

More than 40% of adults and nearly 20% of kids ages 2 to 19 in the United States is obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And frequent fast food consumption for kids and adolescents, the CDC says, has been associated with “higher caloric intake and poorer diet quality.” 

Consumer opinion research firm Piplsay reports Americans are increasingly interested in plant-based options at fast-food chains, with some 70% saying they’ve enjoyed meat alternatives at those restaurants. 

Studies show that a plant-based diet can help people prevent and even reverse diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, among other conditions. 

So as back-to-school season ramps up and families rely on drive-thru food more often, the Physicians Committee urges parents to consider choosing healthy, plant-based options over fat-laden burgers and fries. 

“It just takes a little planning on the front end,” McBurnett said, “to identify and choose healthier options in the drive-thru that can be both fast and tasty.”