Even with glimmers of hope for the recovery,
consumers are still cutting back — especially when
it comes to dining out. But turning to some of fast
food's biggest bargains in order to stretch your
dollar in the recession may be one belt-tightening
measure that could end up forcing you to loosen your
buckle by a couple of notches.
Going out for cheap eats is an obvious way for
consumers to keep their spending in check. That's
why fast food restaurants are seen as a good
investment in tough times. McDonald's and Yum!
Brands, which operates Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut
(among others) both reported stellar fourth quarters
as proof. Bucking that trend were Burger King and
CKE Restaurants, the operator of Hardee's and Carl's
Jr. Burger King, reported that it experienced
"significant" traffic declines in March
(it reported 1% same-store sales growth) and CKE's
same-store sales were down 2.7%. Nevertheless, that
slide is still modest when compared with the
double-digit losses at higher-end restaurant chains
like Ruth's Hospitality Group's Ruth's Chris
Steakhouse and Benihana.
Bang for your buck continues to be one of the
biggest selling points for fast food right now. But
how much food are you really getting for your money?
SmartMoney.com sought to find out which menu items
are the costliest and cheapest per calorie. The
results may surprise you. Looking at the cost per
100 calories of some items underscores what
nutritionists have been saying for years: The
cheapest calories typically aren't the healthiest.
Here's our dish-by-dish look at some popular menu
items and their total cost per 100 calories — from
the most expensive to the cheapest.
Photograph
courtesy of McDonald's
 |
1. Premium Southwest Salad With
Grilled Chicken
McDonald's
Cost per 100 calories: $1.47
Calories: 360
Calories from fat: 29%
McDonald's answered the call of health-conscious
consumers by adding salads to its menu in 2003. No
one can deny that it's a healthier option than, say,
a Quarter Pounder with cheese, but it will cost you.
Once we added some Newman's Own low-fat balsamic
vinaigrette dressing (another 40 calories and three
grams of fat) for a little extra taste, this salad
became the costliest per calorie dish on our menu.
2. Mandarin Chicken Salad
Wendy's
Cost per 100 calories: 96 cents
Calories: 540
Calories from fat: 43%
In the 1980s, Wendy's was asking "Where's
the beef?" These days, the chain is a lot less
meat-focused. Wendy's now offers four varieties of
salads and five varieties of chicken sandwiches (it
also offers fish fillet sandwiches during Lent). Of
course, burgers still reign supreme: There are
currently 12 different types of hamburgers on the
menu.
Photograph
courtesy of KFC
 |
3. Large Popcorn Chicken
KFC
Cost per 100 calories: 94 cents
Calories: 550
Calories from fat: 58%
Typically chicken is considered the cheaper meat.
The average retail price for chicken is $1.75 a
pound, 56% less than the average price of a pound of
beef, according to the National Beef Cattlemen's
Association. But if you want KFC's bite-sized
popcorn chicken with the Colonel's 11 secret herbs
and spices, be prepared to pay up. This is the most
expensive per calorie item on our list that isn't a
salad.
4. Steak Gordita Baja
Taco Bell
Cost per 100 calories: 90 cents
Calories: 320
Calories from fat: 47%
Jack Russo, an analyst at financial-services firm
Edward Jones, says Taco Bell is considered one of
the industry's leaders when it comes to menu
innovation. The Gordita — a soft taco made using
flatbread rather than a tortilla — may very well
be proof of that. Since it first debuted in 1998,
the Gordita has helped boost sales at the chain
significantly, he says.
Photograph by
Brian Chirls
 |
5. Low-Fat Footlong Turkey Sandwich
Subway
Cost per 100 calories: 89 cents
Calories: 560
Calories from fat: 14%
Since the ads featuring Jared Fogle (who lost 245
pounds purely by eating Subway sandwiches) first
launched in 2000, Subway's sales have more than
tripled to almost $13 billion. A Subway spokesman
says that while several factors contributed to that
growth, Jared's weight-loss campaign played a
significant role. Unfortunately for waist-conscious
consumers, the low-fat sandwich comes at a premium
per-calorie price compared to our other menu items.
6. Croissan'wich
Burger King
Cost per 100 calories: 75 cents
Calories: 330
Calories from fat: 44%
Breakfast has been driving the fast food
industry. "That's where all the growth has
been," says Steve Solomon, president of
FSInsights, a menu development company. In February,
Burger King's CEO said that breakfast made up 15% of
its sales. This rival to the Egg McMuffin made its
debut in 1984.
Photograph
courtesy of McDonald's
 |
7. Big Mac
McDonald's
Cost per 100 calories: 74 cents
Calories: 540
Calories from fat: 48%
Since its debut in 1968, the Big Mac has been
McDonald's flagship burger. More than 550 million
are sold world-wide every year, according to the
company. Compared to its double-decker rival, the
Double Whopper, the Big Mac is pricier on a
per-calorie basis.
8. Pepperoni Personal Pan Pizza
Pizza Hut
Cost per 100 calories: 68 cents
Calories: 660
Calories from fat: 42%
On a per 100 calorie basis, the six-inch
pepperoni personal pan pizza lands in the middle of
our roundup, but you can actually save yourself 20%
(per 100 calories) by ordering the large pepperoni
pan pizza and eating a slice. Doing so will also
trim about 43% off the total calories.
Photograph
courtesy of KFC
 |
9. Toasted Wrap With Tender Roast
Filet
KFC
Cost per 100 calories: 64 cents
Calories: 310
Calories from fat: 42%
KFC was slow on the uptake when it came to
catering to the health-conscious crowd. It just
started offering its grilled chicken lineup earlier
this year — a move that probably should have made
about five years ago, says Edward Jones' Russo.
"It's what the consumer clearly wants
today," he says.
10. Medium French Fries
McDonald's
Cost per 100 calories: 58 cents
Calories: 380
Calories from fat: 26%
Before 1949, McDonald's didn't offer French
fries; burgers came with a side of potato chips
instead. In fact, it wasn't until the 1960s — when
potato farmer J.R. Simplot pioneered the first
frozen French fry — that these fast food staples
started becoming the popular McDonald's side dish
they are today.
Photograph
courtesy of Dairy Queen
 |
11. Butterfinger Blizzard
Dairy Queen
Cost per 100 calories: 49 cents
Calories: 990
Calories from fat: 31%
Surprisingly, the Butterfinger Blizzard — a
vanilla-flavored milkshake with bits of Butterfinger
candy bars chopped up in it — has one of the
lowest percentage of calories from fat in the foods
we looked at (that may be because it's not made with
real milk). In fact, the percentage is impressively
close to what nutritionists generally recommend for
a healthy diet — 30% of one's daily calories can
come from fat. But that doesn't mean you should be
going on an all-Blizzard diet. One of these
large-size concoctions is a full 990 calories —
nearly half your recommended daily intake.
12. Double Whopper With Cheese
Burger King
Cost per 100 calories: 49 cents
Calories: 1010
Calories from fat: 59%
The average person spends around $247 on beef a
year, up from $48 in 2001. That amount of cash could
buy you 49 Double Whoppers with cheese. And you'd
get a pretty good return on your investment: The
Double Whopper's cost per 100 calories is about
two-thirds of what the Big Mac costs.
Photograph by
Thomas E. Weber
 |
13. Fiesta Taco Salad
Taco Bell
Cost per 100 calories: 48 cents
Calories: 840
Calories from fat: 47%
The Fiesta Taco Salad is the only salad on Taco
Bell's menu, but don't let that fool you into
thinking it's the healthiest item. In fact, the
salad has the highest calories and fat content of
any single item on the menu. Its 840 calories and 45
grams of fat are equal to four Crunchy Taco
Supremes, three MexiMelts, or two Spicy Chicken
Burritos.
14. Cheeseburger Slyder
White Castle
Cost per 100 calories: 41 cents
Calories: 170
Calories from fat: 47%
At 41 cents per 100 calories, White Castle's
snack-sized cheeseburger bested every other sandwich
in our survey when it came to cost per calorie. In
1930, White Castle conducted a study (it later
dubbed it the "Craveology" study) that
monitored the health of a student who lived on
nothing but the Slyders and water for 13 weeks.
According to the company, the student maintained
good health. Barbara Baron, a New York registered
dietician, says you probably don't want to follow
suit. "I wouldn't advise anyone to eat only one
food item for 13 weeks," she says.
Photograph by
Brian Chirls
 |
15. 32-Ounce Coca-Cola
Subway
Cost per 100 calories: 38 cents
Calories: 330
Calories from fat: 0
Here it is, the cheapest per calorie item in our
survey of fast food land: the large Coca-Cola.
Beloved by many, but eyed by some as a major
contributor to the obesity problems in this country.
Our brains process calories from liquids differently
than those from solid food, so we don't feel full
and are more likely to overeat, says Karen Ansel, a
spokeswoman for the New York State Dietetic
Association. If you really need to have your soda
with your meal, order a Diet Coke.
