When staring at the bright menu board at a fast food restaurant, thoughts on health, taste, and your options can become blurry. What are you to decide on when simply thinking about the Triple Baconator makes your arteries clog? Is there anything up there that won’t hurt your body? We chose the top 5 healthiest burgers from Wendy's, as well as some sides and beverages.
Considering the array of nutrition facts available on the Wendy’s website, we thought it wise to get a professional opinion on how to go about determining their “healthiest” sandwiches and sides. Dr. Stan Kubow, an associate professor at McGill who is a member of the Canadian Society of Nutritional Sciences (CSNS), suggested we focus on saturated fat, sodium and calories.
A second opinion from Dr. Katherine Gray-Donald, another McGill associate professor who is the President-elect of the CSNS, reaffirmed the importance of saturated fat. In our calculations we made daily recommended values a priority, since sticking to them is an easy way to maintain a healthy diet.
In making our final rankings we used a formula that divided a sandwich/side’s amount of saturated fat, calories and sodium by the daily recommended value, and then did an average of those three figures. If we had based the rankings solely on saturated fat they would have been different, but we thought it was important to consider a number of factors and utilize as much data as we thought pertinent.
When doing the sandwich data analysis we did not consider different variations of toppings, but used the “standard” versions, which are what the default nutrition facts on Wendy’s website represent.
Jr. Hamburger Deluxe
Say hello to the “healthiest” sandwich at Wendy’s. It is a rather simple burger: just lettuce, tomato, a bit of “tasteless” mayo, and a beef patty on a small bun. It rivals the bite-sized burgers at fast-food restaurants like White Castle and is comparable to the mini-burgers found at pubs and in the frozen food section of your local grocery store. The Jr. Hamburger Deluxe is not actually the smallest sandwich - that’s the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger - but it has the lowest values of calories and sodium by weight. Although the Jr. Hamburger Deluxe has more saturated fat than the Ultimate Chicken Grill, lower amounts of sodium and calories cement its place as Wendy’s “healthiest” sandwich.
Ultimate Chicken Grill
Wendy’s Chicken Grill, a non-breaded chicken breast served with the famous mayo, lettuce, and tomato trio on a premium bun weighs in as the second wise choice on the menu. Light on condiments and seasoning, the taste leaves much to the imagination, and the chicken’s tenderness seems due to extra water rather than good cooking. But at 340 calories for over 200g, the Ultimate Chicken Grill may rival a home-made sandwich in terms of caloric intake per size, and prove the most satisfying choice due to a high source of protein and the lowest levels of saturated fats. Some well-invested calories could go into more toppings, though sodium levels must be watched, as the sandwich provides over 40% of the total recommended intake as it is.
Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger
Somehow, the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger is one position above the Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe on our list of the healthiest sandwiches. This is due to its having less sodium than the Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe, according to the nutrition facts on Wendy’s website. How could this be, considering the sandwiches are the same except the “healthier” one has bacon?
The answer lies in the size of the beef patty. The Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe is 15 grams heavier than the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger. Based on our first-hand account and our pictures it seems that the 15 additional grams is indeed in the beef patty. But the numbers can vary depending on how many strips of bacon are placed on the sandwich. During our group’s trip to Wendy’s there were three small strips on the sandwich, but this number can be as low as one.
Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe
Coming in at number 4 is the Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe. A junior hamburger patty, complete with cheese, mayo, ketchup, mustard, tomato, lettuce, onion, pickles, and a wheat-flour bun, this tasty slider contains 15 per cent of the recommended daily dose of calories, and 30 per cent of the recommended saturated fat intake. Of the 3 juniors, it has the heaviest patty and it has more taste than either of the chicken options due to the added condiments. And, at 152 grams, it makes the perfect, bite-sized afternoon indulgence, but probably not enough on its own for a meal.
Homestyle Chicken Breast Sandwich
The Homestyle Chicken Breast Sandwich is a mostly tasteless, breaded, “McNugget”-style burger. It contains approximately 120 more milligrams of sodium than Health Canada’s recommended daily intake, and twice as much fat as the Ultimate Chicken Grill. This is likely a result of the seasoned flour-based batter, which is comprised of no less than 21 different ingredients. The chicken is then browned in canola oil, and cooked in, according to Wendys.ca, “soya, corn, cottonseed, & hydrogenated soya oil,” and served with tomato, lettuce, and a mostly tasteless dollop of lite mayonnaise. Out of 16 grams of fat per serving, the Homestyle chicken grill contains 3 grams of saturated fat, and 460 calories. Yet surprisingly it contains approximately half as much cholesterol as the Ultimate Chicken Grill.
Sides
Clearly the healthiest choice to get beside your burger would be good old H2O, but for anyone with more than a bird’s appetite, Wendy’s has a few ways to spice up your meal without loading up on saturated fats and calories.
Side salads are available and are your best bet for a healthy side. Calories, saturated fat, and sodium levels are basically dependent on which choice of dressing you make. Two smart choices are Lite Honey Dijon or the Ancho Chipotle Ranch, which are relatively low in fat and sodium.
Mandarin orange slices are also a healthy option - if they are available. Wendy’s website says that “participation may vary” on the fruit front. This is unsurprising, as when our crew attempted to order a side of strawberry yogurt - another healthy option - the service person was unaware that they even sold it. As far as yogurts go, the Dairyland yogurt cup that Wendy’s offers ranks at the bottom of the barrel. It’s gloopy and filled with sugar and a list of ingredients besides milk and bacteria, but it beats ice cream as a dessert for calories and fat.
For a more substantial side order than lettuce or gloop, going with a baked potato is a fair decision. You can order one without toppings, but if you want it to taste like something more than a dry Wendy’s potato, the Sour Cream & Chives option is decent in calories, saturated fat, and has a much lower sodium content than its Broccoli & Cheese cousin. Plus it will give you 80% of your daily vitamin C intake.
A small chili is okay if we’re looking at saturated fat and calories, but we cannot endorse an item that is just a fry short of your entire daily intake of sodium (870 mg!).
Wendy’s has healthier beverage options than fountain pop. Apart from water, they have a selection of teas and milk. While juices provide empty calories and loads of sugar, milk provides vitamin A, calcium, and iron, which could probably be the healthiest part of your meal.
Meagan "enjoying" some gloopy yogurt at Wendy's
The common sense verdict? If you’re looking for a healthy meal, Wendy’s should obviously not be your #1 choice for a restaurant. But, for those times when a Wendy’s meal is unavoidable or you just have a craving for a fast-food burger, at least it is possible to equip yourself with some statistically graded healthier options.
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