40 Healthy Fast Food Options for When You’re Eating On the Go

No matter how health-conscious you might be, at one point or another, you’re bound to find yourself strapped for time, hangry, and scanning the menu at a fast food restaurant. (Because, let’s be honest, life happens.) Be it that you woke up late or forgot your meal-prepped lunch in the fridge (ugh!), the good news is, fast food restaurants are making their menus increasingly accessible to all types of healthier eating habits, including low-calorie, plant-based, gluten-free, and more.

Karin Evans, Ph.D., R.D., C.H.E.S., remembers a time when the only “healthy” options at drive-thrus were rather sad looking salads. “Now, I feel like there’s so many options,” she says. And menu variety, she adds, is key to serving everyone’s health needs. It’s easy to immediately associate “healthy” with “low-calorie,” but she brings up that “healthy” is actually a very subjective, loaded term.

“What may be healthy for one person may not be healthy for another,” she says, adding that some people avoid certain allergens like soy and gluten, for example, while others who are diabetic may have to pay closer attention to sugar intake.

With that in mind, no one order will be universally healthy for everyone. However, it’s never a bad idea to steer clear of the typical quarter-pounder and fries at least every so often, as the excess sodium and cholesterol increase risk of heart disease and stroke, per the World Health Organization.

As long as you don’t make eating out a habit, these meals can provide some substantial sustenance. Just know that their availability may depend on your location.