A Healthy Meal at McDonald's: Can It Be Done?

McDonald's dollar menu sounds like a deal but won't you just be spending more at the doctor's eventually?

Even as restaurant lovers are cutting back, McDonald’s (Stock Quote: MCD) reports that  May same store sales were up 2.1% in the U.S. and 5.1% worldwide.

The good news: It is possible to nab a nutritious meal at the golden arches without spending too much. There are healthier vegetables than fries, and it's not just the onion on your burger.

"Yes, of course it is possible to pick healthy options,” says Dr. Sharon Hoerr, a dietician and professor at Michigan State.  “The best is usually a grilled chicken salad with low fat dressing and water, low fat milk or a diet soft drink." 

Here are some other tips:

1.  Load Your Tray with Nutrients
Each “premium” salad contains about three cups of leafy greens (a caesar salad with grilled chicken has 220 calories and six grams of fat without dressing), which can count for most if not all of your recommended daily vegetable intake, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recommendations.

McDonald’s also offers apple slices (35 calories, no fat); parfaits with fruit, yogurt and granola (160 calories, two grams of fat) and mini low-fat milk jugs (100 calories, 2.5 grams of fat). 

Tip: Avoid drenching your greens in dressing (there are 190 calories and 18 grams of fat in a two-ounce packet of Newman’s Own Creamy Caesar Dressing), or at least choose a lower fat option like Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette, at 40 calories and three grams of fat per two-ounce packet.

2. Avoid the Double, Triple and Crispy
While you’re standing in line, apply a common sense approach by avoiding a few key words.  Those are “double,” “triple,” “crispy,” “deluxe” and “fried.” For example, at McDonald’s, the double Quarter Pounder with cheese (the highest-calorie sandwich on the McDonald’s menu at 740 calories), double cheeseburger (440 calories) and McDouble (390 calories) are obviously heavier versions of a regular hamburger (250 calories).

And a 32-ounce chocolate triple thick shake (1,160 calories and 27 grams of fat) may be overkill if a vanilla reduced fat ice cream cone (150 calories, 3.5 grams of fat) would be enough to ease your sugar craving.