When travel and limited time do not allow cooking a home cooked meal, there are other healthy alternatives. Gone are the days, where deep-fried or fattening processed foods are the only fast food choices. Restaurants chains such as Wendy’s, McDonalds, and Taco Bell are making it easy for people to make fast healthy choices.

Mc Donald’s is scaling down its portions and offering nutritional food options. To expand your on-the-go healthy food options use these strategies to ensure well-balanced meals:

• Order salads opposed to French fries
• Replace sausage pizzas with other toppings: vegetables, chicken or Canadian bacon
• Substitute carbonated soft drinks with water, tea or skim milk
• Ask for condiments on the side
• Opt for the burritos and tacos sans the cheese
• When possible, ask for wheat grain breads or baguettes with sandwiches

For the best nutritional value pack a meal. Here a few snacking items to add to your grocery list for eating on the road:

• Apples, bananas, grapes, cherries, prunes, dried fruit and other fruits
• Raw cut vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, carrots celery sticks
• Energy bars, cereal bars
• Bottled water or green/black tea sweetened with Splenda®
• Wheat crackers and melba toast
• Rice cakes
• Yogurt, cottage cheese or other single servings of cheese
• Other low fat snacks
• Trail mixes whole grain cereals and nuts

In summation, eating on the go does not necessitate breaking one’s weight management plan. Transitioning healthy eating habits represents not falling off the wagon just because you are on the road. Remember the more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, proteins and dairy products included in a diet, the more food consumption is well-balanced.

For more information on reading food labels and evaluating nutrition, visit the Food and Drug Administration’s website at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/label.html.