wendy’s

Double Down is a Triple No

I decided to look into KFC’s Grilled Double Down as a potential emergency meal. It sounds legit – bacon and cheese and sauce sandwiched between two grilled chicken breasts. I figured the sauce would have some banned ingredients (and it does – wheat, soy and corn), but I was disappointed to find that KFC’s grilled chicken contains all three of those Paleo-forbidden foods.

I decided to check out other “grilled chicken” options and this is what I found:

Burger King: modified corn starch, partially hydrogenated soybean oil
McDonalds: corn gluten, soy, wheat gluten proteins, partially hydrogenated cottonseed/soybean oils
Wendy’s: modified corn starch
Arby’s: corn flour, corn syrup solids
A&W: soybean oil
Chik-fil-A: soybean oil, palm kernel oil, soy lecithin
Chipotle: doesn’t say, although it mentions it contains soy
Hardee’s: soy, wheat, high fructose corn syrup
Jack in the Box: wheat, soy
Sonic: soy, wheat gluten
Taco Bell: modified corn starch, corn syrup solids, soy

So there you have it. Not one grilled chicken choice at any of these fast food restaurants is Paleo-friendly. I’m going to stick with Wendy’s Double Cheeseburgers when I’m in a crunch.

Living It Up (And Staying Somewhat Healthy)

One thing I’ve found over this past month is that eating Paleo, in spite of all of its benefits, can get a little boring. Not only that, it can take a lot of consideration and planning to eat right. So I’ve decided that if we’re stuck out of the house, the following solution is a quick fix.

Wendy’s offers a 1/2 lb. Double with Cheese for a fair price. Their burgers are 100% beef (although grain-fed, which many Paleo fanatics would say is a no-no) and only have a little salt added. The burger has one slice of cheese, sandwiched (pun intended) between the two patties. This means you can toss the bun, peel the patties apart, and put the condiments in the middle with minimal mess. I got it without sauces since we have high-quality and paleo-friendly ketchup and mayo at home. The cheese is high in sodium and has a little soy in it (cultured milk, water, cream, sodium citrate, salt, sodium phosphate, citric acid, sorbic acid, artificial color, enzymes, soy lecithin to keep the slices from sticking).

I’d prefer In-N-Out any day, but for where I live, this is probably the best burger (tasting and health-wise) option in a pinch. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was delicious. I can see this becoming a once-a-month treat in the future. I’ll most definitely be inspecting Arby’s and Chipotle next.

Full Wendy’s nutrition info here.