Going Lo-Co

The Lo-Co Burger-Off

Posted on September 22, 2011

Combine my inability to plan nightly low-cholesterol dinners (all right, any dinner) and the need to feed a teenaged boy who plays sports, and the all-too-frequent result is dinner at a burger joint.

So not lo-co, I know.  But it happens.

Worse, it’s happening more regularly because the famous ‘Shake Shack’ (chef Danny Meyer’s take on fast food) just opened in our town.  We’ve been there a few (ahem) times.

I decided it was time to think about this…not just pretend it wasn’t happening. So I tabulated the nutritional info of what I usually eat at the three burger places we like: Wendy’s, Five Guys and Shake Shack.  And though I knew a burger and fries was not a good meal choice, I was appalled at what I found.

First – they are all pretty bad.  All three chains.  None is far worse than any other.

Second – even my choice of the smallest hamburger option with a small/regular-sized fries has nearly HALF of the daily recommended calories and cholesterol, and nearly ALL of the total fat & saturated fat I should be consuming in 1 day, according to the USDA Dietary Guidelines.

And that doesn’t even include the small Frostee I always order at Wendy’s (for calcium, right?).  Nor the not-so-small beer offered at Shake Shack.

Huge sigh.

No-Cook, Single Serve				Half Whole Wheat Bagel with			Oatmeal vs Bagel w/ Lox
Refrigerator Oatmeal				1 Tbsp Whipped Cream Cheese, 1/2 oz lox
Nutrition Facts				Nutrition Facts
Servings   1.0				Servings   1.0
Amount Per Serving				Amount Per Serving
calories  231				calories  181			50	calories
% Daily Value *				% Daily Value *
Total Fat  6   g	9   %			Total Fat  14   g	22   %		-8	Total Fat
Saturated Fat 1   g	4   %			Saturated Fat 2   g	9   %		-1	Saturated Fat
Monounsaturated Fat 0   g				Monounsaturated Fat 1   g			-1	Monosaturated Fat
Polyunsaturated Fat 3   g				Polyunsaturated Fat 0   g			3	Polyunsaturated Fat
Trans Fat 0   g				Trans Fat 0   g			0	Trans Fat
Cholesterol  3   mg	1   %			Cholesterol  8   mg	3   %		-5	Cholesterol
Sodium  199   mg	8   %			Sodium  325   mg	14   %		-126	Sodium
Potassium  438   mg	13   %			Potassium  0   mg	0   %		438	Potassium
Total Carbohydrate  39   g	13   %			Total Carbohydrate  32   g	11   %		7	Total Carbohydrates
Dietary Fiber  15   g	59   %			Dietary Fiber  4   g	14   %		11	Dietary Fiber
Sugars  8   g				Sugars  5   g			3	Sugars
Protein  10   g	20   %			Protein  10   g	20   %		0	Protein
Vitamin A	5   %			Vitamin A	2   %
Vitamin C	2   %			Vitamin C	0   %
Calcium	35   %			Calcium	3   %
Iron	16   %			Iron	10   %

Burger comparison, INCLUDING Fries.  All have lettuce, tomato, mayo & ketchup.  ShackBurger has cheese.  Five Guys fries are approximately half of an order of regular fries.  Wendy’s is a small fry order, Shake Shack is 1 order of regular fries.

Even without fries, it’s a bleak picture.  I’ll write a separate post that compares the burger & fries with a just-burger order, so you can see the difference.

But what’s immediately important is finding a healthier fast-food option for me (as it’s clear we will still be dining at fast food places.)  So here’s what I’ve decided:

• Five Guys has basically NO lo-co alternative – their ‘veggie burger’ is just their toppings on a bun. I literally LOL at that. So I guess I’ll be skipping Five Guys trips and let that turn into a father/son dinner option.  Sad, but no choice – just looking at that 52 grams of fat has my head spinning.
• Wendy’s has healthy choices like salads, but I just have trouble ordering them. They’re actually pretty good (annoyingly, my husband often orders them) but I just usually don’t choose them with the burger lure right there.  But I will now.
• Shake Shack has a ‘Shroom Burger as a vegetarian option, but it is STUFFED with cheese, so totally not lo-co. In fact, it has nearly double the fat of a ShackBurger!
• I did find ONE GREAT CHOICE that’s not a salad, is tasty and a much healthier/ lower cholesterol fast food choice than a burger and fries.  The Shake Shack Bird Dog is a healthy option – it’s a chicken sage sausage on a bun.  It is HALF the calories and cholesterol, and 1/3 of the fat of their ShackBurger:

[table “4” not found /]

So, I’ll be bird-doggin’ it from now on.

That should leave enough calories for a beer with my dinner, don’t you think?