Chick Fil a Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap Review

Chick-fil-A's many fans should exist enlightened of the menu's subconscious unhealthy ingredients. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Adam Kuban.

What started off equally a pocket-sized-boondocks Southern diner in the '40s
has pretty much gone viral–Chick-fil-A has countless locations
from coast to coast and a cadre of cows who've learned to write
and watch with (admitting poorly written) signs. We asked Elana
Natker, MS, RD, to find out
if their simple carte du jour was something a healthy eater could back up.

"There are certainly some practiced picks y'all can notice here," she answered, "merely the healthier choices are overshadowed by the
not-so-healthy choices."

Bank check out her breakdown below.

SANDWICHES (CLASSICS)

• Worst–Spicy chicken deluxe: This spicy, breaded
craven breast sandwich is topped with lettuce, tomato, pepper jack
cheese,
and, of course, the signature dill pickle chips. Information technology also has
570 calories, "which is quite a scrap for just a sandwich," Natker
says. "It's loaded with fat and saturated fatty, and the sodium
[1,790 milligrams] is pretty much all you'd need for a day."

• Better–Chargrilled chicken lodge: With 400 calories, 12
grams of fat (5 saturated), and a hefty 37 grams of poly peptide, this
chicken, bacon, and provolone sandwich is a decent pick.
"It'southward nevertheless high in sodium [ane,110 milligrams], but it's non too
damaging," our adept explains, also pointing out it's unclear
if the nutrition facts account for the accompanying packet
of Honey Roasted BBQ sauce. Leave off the salary and skip the
sauce for a healthier version.

• All-time–Chargrilled craven sandwich: At a mere 290
calories, four grams of fat, and a satiating 28 grams of protein, this
sandwich
topped with lettuce, tomato, and pickles is reasonable enough
that you tin even order sides. Although the 1,650 milligrams
of sodium is problematic, the sandwich has enough going for information technology
to let it slide. Natker says, "Y'all've got everything yous demand
without the bad stuff, plus it's pretty low-cal. Information technology's really a
decent option."

WRAPS

• Worst–Chicken caesar cool wrap: "This wrap is on par with some of the chicken sandwiches," Natker says. If the 470 calories,
thirteen grams of fat, and ane,290 milligrams of sodium weren't enough, the wrap also packs in 70 milligrams of cholesterol.

• Best–Chargrilled chicken cool wrap: Our skillful had a
hard time with this one, calling information technology a close necktie with Chick-fil-A's
third option, the spicy chicken cool wrap. Although their stats
are similar–a mix of veggies, lots of vitamin A, and high
protein–it all came downwardly to one factor: fiber. "Our cobweb needs
are about 25 to thirty grams a day, and Americans get well-nigh half
that," Natker says. "And so when it comes down to the departure
betwixt v, six, or seven grams of fiber, every gram counts."

SALADS

• Worst–Chick-due north-strips: Three fried chicken tenders
are nestled into this salad basin, which includes grape tomatoes,
broccoli,
sunflower seeds, and other greenery–none of which sounds besides
bad until you look at the stats. With a whopping ninety milligrams
of cholesterol, 450 calories, 960 milligrams of sodium, and 22
grams of fat, it's definitely on the naughty side of the salad
scale.

• Best–Chargrilled chicken garden salad: Lose the
cheese and supervene upon the fried chicken tenders with grilled craven
strips,
and y'all're in business concern. This salad is so lean our practiced was
concerned about whether it would make for a proper meal–"It'due south
but 180 calories, so I don't know if it would exist filling
enough–you might want to become something else with it," she says.
She recommends asking for extra chicken to make full up on poly peptide.

BONUS–THE WAFFLE FRIES

We know what you're thinking: Do I really want to hear this? Since these are some of the simply waffle chips around (and delicious
in their own correct), we know the temptation is great–so we couldn't resist asking Natker to bank check them out.

"The small is 300 calories–that's but mind-blowing! I'one thousand all for indulgences, simply my advice is to lodge them sparingly, and
when you practice, savor them," she says.

Natker makes an interesting observation in
pointing out the menu'due south long ingredients lists, a sign of highly
processed nutrient.
Two of the breads, for case, are described every bit "golden wheat"
and "wheatberry"–not to be dislocated with whole wheat, since
the restaurant's versions are made from enriched flour and non
nutrient-rich whole grains.

She besides has a more unusual accept on cheese, which oftentimes gets a bad rap around here.

"I get nervous about telling people to skip the cheese
because it's high in calcium, which is another food nosotros don't get
enough of. But it is also high in cholesterol and saturated
fat," she explains. "Y'all need the calcium, just I volition say at that place
are improve ways to get it."

Some piece of cake-to-remember advice for erring on the nutritional side at Chick-fil-A? Stick to grilled chicken, hold the dressings
when you tin can (opt for half a pack of low-cal Italian when you tin't), and walk in with a game programme.

One more tip: The wraps are your best bet. Natker says, "They've got a not bad variety of veggies, not a lot of extra carbs,
a lot of fiber for what you're getting, and excellent poly peptide."

You lot can follow Elana Natker'southward web log
here. Contact her via her website,
Enlighten Nutrition,
and follow her on Twitter @ElanaRD.

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Source: https://www.washingtonian.com/2012/04/30/the-healthiest-and-scariest-sandwiches-wraps-and-salads-at-chick-fil-a/

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