Fast-food road-travel tips from Weight Watchers

Do you have trouble –- or carry extra guilt -– when you stop for fast food on road trips? It’s much easier to eat healthfully at home, but when travelers take to the road, good eating habits can get left by the wayside.

When driving alone, I usually give myself a “fast-food-free zone” that mentally allows me to eat almost whatever I want because I’m on vacation — or even worse — on a road trip, where healthful eating options require extra research and work to find. But I haven’t been on a hard-and-fast diet — and it shows.

All of these road-trip-eating mind games are ridiculous, and don’t think that I don’t know it. I do. That’s why I was eager to read the Weight Watchers article to get its interpretation of what’s healthful and what’s not in fast-food joints. Before you read the article, what do you think is better for you, fish or chicken sandwiches? Tacos or burritos? Read: Weight Watchers Road Trip Dining.

Here are three fast-food alternative meals and snacks that I enjoy in place of a much beloved cheesburger:

1. In-N-Out Burger — Protein style. That means wrapped in crispy lettuce instead of a bun.

2. Carl’s Jr. — Charbroiled chicken salad.

3. Gas stations — Trail mix over candy.

The good news for calorie-counting road trippers is that a proposed state law, SB 1420, if passed, would require California fast-food chains with 15 or more locations to show calorie information for all of their menu items. Read: Calorie counts on fast-food menus? California law would require it.

Do you have any fast-food road-trip travel tips?

– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 10:08 am by Jen Leo and is filed under Business Travel, California, Family & Kids, Gourmet, Healthy Traveler, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.