The most common excuse that I've heard for frequently eating fast food is that it's convenient and cheap. That's pretty understandable, considering how many people work 40+ hour weeks, don't have much time to cook, are too tired to make healthy homemade meals, worry that buying produce and groceries will cost more than a quick meal out, or all of the above. Here's the thing: eating more healthily doesn't have to be costly or time consuming. Here are some quick meal options that are healthier and cheaper than a Big Mac.
According to the McDonald's nutrition page, a Big Mac costs $3.99 and contains 540 calories, 28 grams of fat (43% of the recommended daily value), 10 grams of saturated fat (50% daily value), and 970 milligrams of sodium (40% daily value). This is just the Big Mac, not the meal!
1. Avocado Toast with Egg and Spring Mix
It seems like avocado toast has been all the craze lately, and with good reason. One serving of avocado toast costs approximately $0.90, and contains 299 calories, 21 grams of fat, and 209 milligrams of sodium. While this meal option may seem high in fat, the majority of this fat consists of monounsaturated fats in the avocado, which hold many health benefits including lower risk of heart.
If you're in too much of a rush to cook, forego the egg, mash the avocado in its skin and season with salt and pepper, scoop it onto a slice of whole grain bread, and throw on a handful of greens.
2. Chicken Soft Tacos
Tacos may seem daunting because of the number of ingredients "needed", but you can put anything into a tortilla and call it a taco. This means that there's plenty of flexibility—the protein can be made in one pan, and any additional ingredients can be added based on personal taste, convenience, and cost. A serving of chicken soft tacos costs approximately $2.00, closer to $1.50 if you're sticking with the basic components. A serving of tacos with chicken breast, black beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and salsa contains 334 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 715 milligrams of sodium.
3. Tamago Gohan
Sounds super fancy, is so simple. Tamago gohan translates to egg rice, and it is precisely that: a raw egg is cracked over a bowl of steaming white rice and topped with sesame seeds or soy sauce. (You can read more about this typical Japanese breakfast here).
Admittedly, while much healthier than a Big Mac, this is not a super nutritious meal. However, you can substitute brown rice for white and add some sautéed spinach on top for an equally satisfying and much healthier meal. This healthy version costs approximately $0.32 and contains 301 calories, 7 grams of fat, and 199 milligrams of sodium.
4. Hummus Wrap
Wraps are a divine invention. They are hand-held, cheap, transportable, can be highly nutritious, and don't necessarily require cooking. Personally, cucumber, spinach, and hummus wraps are refreshing for the summer, taste good, and feel healthy.
Organic spicy avocado hummus, baby spinach, and cucumber on a whole grain tortilla costs approximately $1.00 and contains 304 calories, 17 grams of fat, and 717 milligrams of sodium.
5. Egg Scrambles
Scrambles are super quick and easy to make and only require one pot. Like the tacos, you can put anything you want into an egg scramble. I personally like to finely dice a medium potato, cook until lightly browned in olive oil, add tons and tons of spinach (it wilts dramatically when cooked!), a slice of salami cut into thin strips for flavor, a little bit of feta, and then finally add an egg and scramble well.
This recipe costs approximately $1.40 per serving and contains 298 calories, 14 grams of fat, and 546 milligrams of sodium.
If you like scrambles as much as me and wish they more transportable, take out the potato and cook the spinach, salami, and feta (and mushrooms and tomatoes, if you want) in a pan. Let it cool, then beat in 5 or 6 eggs. Pour into a pie crust and bake until the eggs are cooked, and now you've made a quiche! Perfect for convenient scramble transport!
6. Spiralized Vegetable Noodles
Spiralizers make vegetable eating so much easier. While zucchini is the most commonly spiralized vegetable, carrots, summer squash, cucumbers, and beets are some more nutritious vegetables that can also be disguised as curly noodles. Spoon some homemade or bottled marinara over the top of the vegetables, sprinkle on some parmesan and oregano, and you have a super easy and nutritious meal.
The cost of this meal is approximately $0.60 per serving and contains 182 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 684 milligrams of sodium.
7. Ramen
Alright, we're college students: we'll inevitably be eating ramen at some time or another. But ramen doesn't have to be lacking in nutrition! You can add leafy greens and an egg to add some protein and fiber to your deliciously salty carbs.
A pack of ramen with an egg and baby kale will cost you about $0.40, and contains 296 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 990 milligrams of sodium. Almost all of that sodium comes from the seasoning packet, so if you can resist putting in the full amount, do so!
**All nutrition information for these recipes was calculated using the app MyFitnessPal.
You don't have to be making organic grilled artichokes with harissa honey sauce or spinach souffles with herb butter to be eating healthier. I know, not everyone has time to spiralize their zucchinis, but given the chance, it's not too difficult to eat more leafy greens and try to reduce consumption of red meats.
So there you go: 7 healthier and cheaper alternatives to eating a Big Mac!
