Bachelor on the Cheap

By Mike Thayer

So you don't quite know what to have for lunch, you've only got 30 minutes and that fast food joint is convenient......

Don't do it!

That fast food meal is going to come with a price and I'm not talking about what you'll pay at the counter.  I'm talking about excess carbs and sugars.  Did you know that a Taco Bell $5 Buck Box packs more than 130 carbs?  That's NOT a good thing.

Don't eat this!

This meal looks great and it may taste great, but it's not great for the body, even if you're NOT on a diet.  The Taco Bell Cravings Box starting at $5 contains about 1,000+ calories (about half of the government's recommended daily intake), has around 48 grams of fat, a WHOPPING 135 grams in carbs, 11 grams in sugars and 37 grams in protein.   That last number is great, but the rest of those numbers are frankly unacceptable.  Fast food is convenient yes, but the creators of these value meals aren't thinking about your waistline.  Even if you behaved yourself and had a reasonable breakfast, this lunch pretty much blows your day and you would essentially have to starve yourself for dinner and who wants to go to bed hungry?  I know, the $5 price is attractive, but going for the deal at lunch just isn't a good thing.

Eat this instead!

A Chicken Taco Salad that you can easily make at home!  It's delicious and yes, it includes a corn tostado base to give you that crunch, it's loaded with guacamole, salsa, black olives and shredded cheddar cheese.  The total carb count on this lunch? Just 24 grams, compare that to the 135 grams in the Taco Bell lunch.  The total calorie count on this meal is just under 500, has 16 grams of fat, just 6 grams in sugars and 29 grams of protein.  With this tasty lunch, you don't have to starve yourself for dinner to maintain your diet or go to bed hungry!  And depending on how far away you live from your job site, it can actually be a quicker meal than fast food if you've prepped all the items to put the salad together.

Don't waste time and money in the fast food drive through, eat in your own kitchen!  Your body will thank you.