Oct 14 2008
Diabetic and Broke part 1: Value Menus
There’s an old maxim, or at least I assume it’s old because it sounds good, that states “Cheap, Easy or Fast; you can have any two out of the three”. Fast food joints are the epitome to this rule. If you’re operating both on a budget and with diet restrictions, it’s usually best to give these places a pass.
But then there comes that day before payday. Your bank account balance looks more like your A1C (1) and the $1.47 you find in the couch cushions suddenly seems like a fortune. You need lunch and have no where to turn to except the dollar menu.
I found myself in this situation today and gave into the call of Wendy’s. But as I walked away with my inexpensive repast, I wondered how do dollar menu items from fast food joints stack up against one another? So turning looking up the nutritional values of their budget items, I found the following (2):
- Wendy’s: The best choices was the Grilled Chicken Go Wrap at 23g carbs (drop 2 if you leave off the dressing) and 11g of fat. The five piece chicken nugget is also sensible, but it’s not exactly filling on it’s own. The other items were passable, averaging about 15g of fat and having anywhere from 25-34g of carbs. The thing at the top of the carb curve was the Crispy Chicken Sandwich.
- Burger King: Less encouraging, the Creepy King offers us only 3 main dishes on the BK Value meal: The Whopper Jr., The Spicy Chik’n Crisp sandwich and the crown shaped Chicken Tenders. The 5 piece tenders is the best of the bunch at 11g carbs and 14g fat (comparable to Wendy’s 5 piece). The other two are around 25 or 30g of fat with mayo (13 to16g without) and about 30g of carbs. As neither is remarkably filling on it’s own, I’d advise caution here… or a side salad.
- McDonald’s (3): Where the others end, McDonald’s begins. No really, their lowest carb sandwich is around 30g. That’s just the hamburger. Their value menu, like BK is kinda sparse. They have a side salad, and that’s good, but the 23g fat/34g carb double cheeseburger really doesn’t make me want to eat there.
Wendy’s was already my choice for broke, hungry and won’t kill my sugar. Nice to know my choice wasn’t unjustified.
(1)My A1C, last time I checked, was 5.7 and the highest I’ve heard about recently was 14.4; If you already knew what an A1C should look like, I’m guessing you’re rolling with laughter right now.
(2)I’m not including their fries or sodas which are, by and large, the same as fries and sodas everywhere and something I avoid.
(3)I don’t eat at McDonald’s. It’s not because of Super Size Me!. It’s because their burgers taste like a slice of carpet with pickles.
I loved your blog post and stumbled it. My heart sank as my Grandad died of diabetes.