Fitness expert Bob Greene says fast-food restaurants are getting a bad rap these days for only having high-fat, high-calorie foods on their menus. In his book The Get With The Program! Guide to Fast Food and Family Restaurants, Bob says many fast-food restaurants are changing and now offering healthy alternatives.

Bob picks some of his favorite low-cal, low-fat options from the drive-thrus:

McDonald's
Bob has worked closely with McDonald's on their menu to make healthier choices available. He says their salads are the way to go.
  • Bob's favorite is the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing. It has only about 240 calories—that's a whole meal!
  • The Grilled Chicken California Cobb Salad is about 270 calories.
  • Bob also likes the Chicken McGrill, which has about 400 calories. "Just watch out for the sauce that is on it," Bob says.
KFC
Bob says many of the sandwiches are good choices.
  • The Tender Roast Chicken Sandwich without sauce—about 260 calories—or the honey BBQ-flavored sandwich, which is about 300 calories.
  • Bob says some of KFC's "sides" are smart choices. Corn-on-the-cob and BBQ baked beans are good options.
Pizza Hut 
Avoid deep-dish pizza if you're trying to lose weight, Bob says—it has almost twice as many calories as thin-crust pizza. You can save about 200 calories per slice by eating thin-crust. And stay away from stuffed-crust pizzas!
  • Thin n' Crispy pizza is about 200 calories per slice.
  • The hand-tossed pizza is about 240 calories per slice.
Taco Bell
Taco Bell can actually be healthy, Bob says.
  • The Soft Chicken Taco has about 190 calories.
  • The Chicken Gordita Nacho Cheese is about 270 calories.
  • The Bean Burrito and Fiesta Chicken Burrito are both about 370 calories each.
  • For more information on Bob Greene and his health program, visit GetwiththeProgram.org.
Published 01/15/2006

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