Sometimes, it can be difficult to cook, prepare, and make sure we always have the right foods packed with us at the right time.
As they say, sometimes s**t happens!
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You can’t always be prepared all the time, this is why it’s even more important to know your back up foods.
Even though I don’t condone fast food as the most viable nutritional choice, there are, however, some good and healthy high protein fast foods options out there.
You just have to know where to look!
So, we will start with one of my personal favorites, Chipotle!
High Protein Fast Food Option #1 – Chipotle
There are a couple of different options here, but I’ll start off with the one I usually order.
Burrito Bowl (Chicken): chicken, lettuce, black beans, brown rice, fresh tomato salsa (pico de gallo), fajita vegetables, easy cheese
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 570
Total Fat: 14.5g
Carbohydrates: 68g
Protein: 45g
What’s great about this is you can adjust the carbohydrate intake if needed by telling them to go easier on the beans and rice. You could even ask them to add more chicken for higher protein (It’ll cost you a little extra). These are nutrient-dense carbohydrates, so consuming these types of carbs is not considered a bad thing!
Let’s try this with a different protein option!
Burrito Bowl (Steak): Steak, lettuce, black beans, brown rice, fresh tomato salsa (pico de gallo), fajita vegetables, easy cheese
The only thing I changed here was the protein, everything else I left the same. Let’s see what the nutrition totals are for this one.
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 540
Total Fat: 13.5g
Carbohydrates: 69g
Protein: 34g
As we can see, our carbohydrate intake went up slightly and our protein dropped down significantly. I’m sure you are paying a little bit more for steak, but again, still not a bad high protein fast food option!
High Protein Fast Food Option #2 – Subway
Another one of my favorite on-the-go in a bind emergency options. Their food is not of the best quality, but we also have to remember that it is fast food!
I used to go with the 12-inch subs, but I know better not to do that now (too many carbohydrates). So, let’s take a look at their 6-inch sub-options.
Turkey Sandwich (9-Grain Wheat): turkey, lettuce, red onions, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers.
As you can see, I didn’t add any cheese or sauces of any kind. Let’s take a look at the final nutritional count.
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 250
Total Fat: 3g
Carbohydrates: 40g
Protein: 18g
In my opinion, the protein is a little low, and the carbohydrate intake was still considerably high even with the 6-inch sub. Although, you could add more protein for a little extra money. Let’s now compare this to one of their salads so we are getting a little less on the carbohydrates.
Rotisserie-Style Chicken Chopped Salad: chicken, black olives, cucumbers, green peppers, lettuce, red onions, spinach, tomatoes
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 170
Total Fat: 5g
Carbohydrates: 11g
Protein: 23g
As we can see, the carbs and calories dropped significantly. Also, the protein increased quite a bit considering it’s a smaller portion of food.
This is definitely the better option for weight loss purposes!
High Protein Fast Food Option #3 – Wendy’s
I personally try to stay away from the larger fast food chains, but I figured I would put a couple options from Wendy’s. So, I will start off with the Wendy’s Grilled Chicken Wrap.
Grilled Chicken Wrap: chicken, honey mustard, cheddar cheese, lettuce blend, tortilla
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 270
Total Fat: 10g
Carbohydrates: 24g
Protein: 20g
For a Wendy’s sandwich, this is not bad at all! It’s still a little high on the carbohydrate end considering how many calories it contains, but still a much healthier option compared to most items listed on their menu.
Alright, now let’s compare this to one of their salads.
Harvest Chicken Salad (half portion): lettuce, apple chunks, feta cheese, apple cider vinaigrette, chicken, bacon, walnuts
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 320
Total Fat: 15g
Carbohydrates: 25g
Protein: 22g
As we can see, the salad has more calories, carbohydrates, and fat compared to the chicken wrap. This is still considerably healthy for Wendy’s, but without a doubt, the chicken wrap is the winner!
High Protein Fast Food Option #4 – Chick-fil-A
If I had to go with one of the fast food chains, this would probably be my first choice. They offer a variety of “healthier” options in my opinion, not to mention they off grilled chicken breast nuggets which is a really low-calorie option.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to be covering that one today, instead, we’ll start with their grilled chicken sandwich.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich: chicken, multigrain bun, lettuce, tomato, and honey BBQ sauce.
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 310
Total Fat: 6g
Carbohydrates: 36g
Protein: 29g
Alight, now let’s see how this sandwich compares to their market salad!
Market Salad: chicken, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, blue cheese, apples, strawberries, blueberries, granola, nuts, apple cider vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 210
Total Fat: 11g
Carbohydrates: 25g
Protein: 6g
If I had to choose, I would grab this salad over the sandwich any day! My only issue with this salad is how little protein you are actually getting. Since we’re in the market for high protein fast food options, I would make sure they add a lot more chicken to bump up that protein intake.
Other than that, it sounds like a delicious salad and is definitely the winner for me!
High Protein Fast Food Option #5 – McDonald’s
This is personally my last resort for a food option, but I understand people like McDonald’s and they are LITERALLY EVERYWHERE!
Perhaps I’m just a little jaded after watching the movie Supersize me, but to each there own.
End of rant!
Anyways, I thought I would switch it up a bit and try something other than chicken and salads. So, we will start off with the…
Egg White Delight McMuffin: egg whites, cheddar cheese, bacon, butter, English muffin
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 280
Total Fat: 10g
Carbohydrates: 29g
Protein: 18g
For McDonald’s, this is pretty good! You can’t get much healthier than this from McDonald’s, short of a plain salad (we’ve discussed those quite enough). Let’s draw our attention to something that’s not on the breakfast menu.
Why don’t we give the McDouble a try!
McDouble: beef patty, bun, pickle, ketchup, onions, mustard
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 330
Total Fat: 14g
Carbohydrates: 32g
Protein: 20g
Again, this is not too bad for McDonald’s. Obviously, there are healthier food options than McDonald’s. However, this is pretty low in calories and fat for a burger.
High Protein Fast Food Option #6 – Starbucks
I’m sure we’ve all made our way over to Starbucks. Like McDonald’s, I swear there is one on every corner!
Anyways, I’ll cut to the chase.
Let’s start with their breakfast wrap.
Spinach, Feta & Cage Free Egg White Breakfast Wrap: egg whites, spinach, feta cheese, tomatoes, whole wheat wrap
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 290
Total Fat: 10g
Carbohydrates: 33g
Protein: 19g
It’s a relatively low-calorie high protein fast food option. Yes, sometimes their drive through can take WAY LONGER compared to some of the other chains, but at least they have one!
The second one on the list from our beloved coffee shop is the…
Reduced-Fat Turkey & Bacon Cage-Free Egg White Breakfast Sandwich: turkey bacon, egg whites, cheddar cheese, wheat English muffin.
Nutrition Totals:
Calories: 210
Total Fat: 5g
Carbohydrates: 26g
Protein: 18g
Wow, that is a mouth-full to try and say.
Anyways, we can see that this sandwich is definitely lower in calories, carbs, and fat! With it only having 1 gram less of protein, this is definitely the preferred option for the calorie/carb conscious person!
That wraps it up for the high protein fast food options!
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