It has been my pleasure to work at Chick-fil-A the past two summers, and if I have learned anything in this time, it has been a familiarity with the menu and how many relatively healthy options we have here. I have heard people say "I’m going to get fat with all the [insert restaurant chain] I eat…" or "Everything is so unhealthy." My opinion is that of all the restaurants that this could apply to, Chick-fil-A is far down on the list. There are some pretty healthy options. I try to discourage associating eating with feelings of guilt, but eating fried sandwiches and fried potatoes too often is definitely something to reconsider for the sake of your health. However, Chick-fil-A has so many alternatives to the fried sandwich / French fry rut.

The general recommendation is to limit the amount of times one eats out. Even with great options like Chick-fil-A, it still is easier to limit the sodium and fat content (and typically include more vegetables and less fried foods) when you cook at home. However, life is not a cookie cutter, ideal situation, and eating out is going to happen, perhaps more than you may wish it did. You can have the most balanced refrigerator and recipes in the world, but more "special occasions" to fast food or restaurant establishments that you make, the easier it is for those calories to add up. So much easier. However, if you find yourself making multiple stops to fast food restaurants, Chick-fil-A is not your "burgers and fries" joint where you have no choice but to rack on the calories. No, if you'll look at the Chick-fil-A menu, despite its menu being catered around chicken (actually a lean meat choice, by the way), there are a lot of vegetables, fruits, grains, etc. The biggest weakness of the menu is the sodium content, a problem you'll find on just about any restaurant menu. However, if you do not have hypertension or a family history of hypertension, I wouldn't fret about the sodium content too extensively. Here are some of the products you can feel good about using to fuel your body.

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1. Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap

If you're a person that doesn't fill up easily, this wrap is perfect for you. It's only 350 calories for this wrap - served in two fair-sized halves. Some may just eat half and save the other half for later. Most of the time I end up eating the whole thing because my appetite can be larger than it appears in the side view mirror. The magic behind it filling you up? 15g fiber and 37g protein. That's pretty good for 350 calories worth of food from a restaurant. It has grilled chicken, lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, and shredded cheese in a flaxseed wrap. It has 60% of your daily vitamin A, 35% of your vitamin C, 35% calcium, and 15% iron. It's super tasty with the Avocado Lime Ranch, but I recommend not using the entire package (310 calories and 520mg sodium on top of the 960mg already in the wrap, mostly from the chicken,) or eating it without dressing. It's even delicious without dressing.

2. Grilled Nuggets

The fried nuggets are tasty, but so are the grilled nuggets. They really do have a kind of backyard taste to them. So without sacrificing flavor, by switching your 12-count original to grilled, you'll save 180 calories, 13 grams total fat, 11 grams carbohydrates (these aren't whole grains you're losing), 2 grams saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, and a whopping 790 grams of sodium, roughly cutting it in half. You'll also increase your vitamin C content from 8 to 20% of your daily value. Pro Tip: Add a packet of the barbecue sauce. At just 45 calories, you're still doing better than a sauce-less original nugget, even in terms of sodium.

3. Chicken Noodle Soup

A medium fry has 360 calories and 18 grams fat, but a small chicken soup for a side only has 130 calories and 2.5 grams total fat. It also contains 12 grams protein, and ingredients like celery, onion, and carrots (which help provide 50% of your daily vitamin A). Soups aren't just for winter when they're this tasty. It's a little high in sodium at 1040mg, but not too different from some of the canned soups you may find at the store. (Try to opt for lower-sodium varieties when you do your grocery shopping).

4. Gluten-Free Bun

Celiac patients, rejoice. These buns are made with sorghum, millet, amaranth, quinoa, and teff grains, and individually pre-wrapped in a plastic bag to prevent contamination. Unfortunately, the only other products they can guarantee are gluten-free are 5 of the other prepackaged items: the apple juice, apple sauce, milk, orange juice, and waffle potato chips (like you get with catering orders). Let's be honest, though, most of you don't have celiac disease. Maybe you have a low-lying allergy, or maybe you just read an article online and only eat gluten-free cakes now. There's a list online with all the minimal gluten-containing products for those looking to just reduce the gluten intake. Don't fret, the grilled chicken has minimal gluten. I want to emphasize for celiac patients, however - the grilled chicken and other products may contain minimal traces of gluten - only the bun is guaranteed gluten-free.

5. Grilled Market Salad

Chick-fil-A is a God-send when it comes to their lettuce because it's more than just iceburg or romaine. They have romaine, but they also have red cabbage and magical "baby field greens" in the blend that makes it so much tastier, and likely add more nutrients than just romaine or iceburg. The market salad is their salad that has (grilled chicken, obviously), apples (red AND green varieties), strawberries, blueberries, carrots, and blue cheese. It is only 330 calories and includes 27 grams protein and 6 grams fiber. While it contains 12 grams sugars from the fruits included, you're also getting 240% of your daily vitamin A and 70% of your vitamin C. They recommend the apple cider vinaigrette dressing, and for those of you who were in Alternative Medicine with me this past semester, you know how apple cider vinegar is the cure to end all human infirmity! (That's a lie. That is sarcasm. Apple cider vinegar may have some potential benefits but please don’t believe everything you read online.) Nevertheless, it adds a certain "zing" to complement all the other flavor palates in the salad, and it is delicious. I second the dressing recommendation. 230 calories, but the dressing's oils will help you utilize that vitamin A (a fat-soluble vitamin!).

6. Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Talk about another delicious switch - at only 310 calories, replacing the original sandwich with the grilled chicken sandwich saves you 130 calories, 13 grams fat, 530 grams of sodium, and significantly increases the amount of vitamin A and vitamin C. Additionally, the grilled sandwich uses the multigrain bun. It isn't entirely whole grain, but it includes a lot more of the whole grains and a wide variety of grains. (You can get a multigrain bun on any of your sandwiches, by the way, adding a much richer taste and nutritional value.)

7. Cobb Nugget Salad

The cobb salad comes with that coveted salad base blend of romaine lettuce, baby field greens, red cabbage, carrots, and shredded cheese. It originally comes with the fried nuggets, but you can substitute the grilled chicken (like comes on the other two salads, or in nugget form. Your salads are very customizable when it comes to how you want your chicken.) It also has eggs, bacon, grape tomatoes, and roasted corn. The generously-portioned salad is only 380 calories with the grilled chicken, providing 34 grams protein, 250% of your vitamin A, 70% of your vitamin C, 20% of your calcium, and 15% of your iron.

8. Spicy Southwest Salad

This tasty salad comes with the salad base and grilled chicken, poblano chiles, roasted corn, red bell peppers, black beans, grape tomatoes, and is recommended with the creamy salsa dressing. The salad itself has 450 calories, 34 grams protein, 10 grams fiber, 260% of your vitamin A, 80% vitamin C, 15% calcium, and 20% iron. It has 1070mg sodium, and the creamy salsa dressing has 290 calories and 640mg sodium, but if you use just part of the dressing or compare with other restaurant options, this salad may be a flavorful and more healthful alternative to try.

9. Superfood Side

As a snack or a substitute for your fries, this neat blend has broccolini (basically a special kind of broccoli), kale, a maple vinaigrette dressing, dried cherries, and mixed roasted nuts. It only packs 190 calories, is a good source of healthy fats from the nuts, and has 250mg sodium (pretty good for restaurant food), 50% of your vitamin A and 110% of your vitamin C. These vitamins aren't artificially infused; they're coming from real food. When your vitamins come in the form of real food, you're less likely to reach unhealthy extreme amounts, and the vitamins are often packaged in ways that complement each other (one vitamin may help the functionality of another).

10. Fruit Cup

This is one of my favorites! I feel like I can never keep fresh produce around my house, and for 45 calories (for a medium) I get always-fresh strawberries, blueberries, red and green apple slices, and mandarin oranges. They're so good, so refreshing, so delicious. Need I say more?

11. Greek Yogurt Parfait

I bet you don't often think of live and active cultures when you think fast food (which Chick-fil-A technically isn't, but anywho…) This Greek Yogurt Parfait can serve as a side, snack, or dessert. It is 230 calories, with 12 grams protein, 40% of your vitamin C and 15% of your daily calcium, and only contains 85mg sodium. It does contain 21 grams sugar, but part of the sugar comes from the fruit included with the parfait. Don't get me wrong, there's some added sugar in there too. You'll get some added sugars whether you choose the Oreo topping, granola, or just from the yogurt. However, it's not too shabby of a choice, and a lighter alternative to other desserts.

12. Diet Lemonade

To start with the regular lemonade, we're not even talking the lemon-flavored high-fructose corn syrup cocktail you'll find at other stores. Nope, there's a hardworking pro in the back hand-squeezing those lemons for minutes, hours (I'm not completely sure how long, I'm mainly in the front) on end, then expertly combining with sugar and water for the delightful fresh-squeezed lemonade Chick-fil-A patrons adore. The goodness doesn’t end there, however - there is a diet version using Splenda. It isn't sugar-free, as lemons naturally contain sugar, but at 50 calories and 9 grams of sugar (I believe for a medium), that isn't too bad at all. Pro Tip: The lemons are super flavorful. You can get just a splash of lemonade and fill it up the rest of the way with water, and it's perfect, slashing even those calories in the process, and increasing your actual water intake.

13. Spicy Deluxe Sandwich with Waffle Potato Fries, Cookies & Cream Milkshake, and Chick-fil-A Sauce

Lastly, even if eating balanced and on-the-go becomes a way of life for you, be sure to let yourself enjoy some of the other offerings every now and again. Get that Spicy Deluxe Sandwich with the pepper jack cheese. I'm not a spicy person, but I love that sandwich. Order those Waffle Potato Fries and dunk them in the Chick-fil-A sauce. Get that Cookies & Cream Milkshake. Not too often, as it has an obscene amount of sugar. Seriously obscene. But if your blood sugar can handle it, you can treat yo' self every once in a while. Your soul will thank you. The chicken chain is a great option to frequent because there is enough variety to consistently choose better-for-you options, but it also has excellent choices for when you want to indulge every now and again.

This isn't sponsored by Chick-fil-A or anything, just one dietetics major and CFA team member's opinions. Don't feel obliged to bring your calorie-counting calculator or anything next time you come to Chick-fil-A. I mean, you can if you want to, but this just kind of paints a picture of what these menu items look like nutritionally. You can already see, smell, and taste on your own that they're pretty scrumptious. Plus, the calories are listed on the menu boards. Also, try to restrain yourself and not go crazy with the sauces. They're pretty tasty, but the food is pretty tasty on its own as well, so try to focus on filling yourself with the real food, limiting the sauces and dressings. (Make a little bit of sauce go a long way!)