NUTRITION ON THE GO

In these times of rush-rush, looming deadlines that near with every breathing second and bosses who drive workers like cattle, it's sometimes hard to treat your body right.

Zipping through the McDonald's for a cheeseburger and fries during the lunch hour after depositing the paycheck, picking up the dry cleaning, stopping by the school to drop off junior's gym clothes and picking up a bag of cat food for Whiskers who was "forced" to eat a can of tuna for breakfast because someone emptied the bag and didn't tell mom, makes for bad nutrition and can lead to poor health.

But Janet Klein, a food nutritionist at the University of Missouri extension office in Scott County, said that scenario is changing.

"If you notice all the changes in fast food restaurants going from sandwiches and burgers to salads, broiled meats and low-fat items you'll see that our society is making definite changes in the way we prepare food and the kinds of things we eat," Klein said. "Even on the go, good nutrition is possible and plausible in daily living."

Fast food restaurants are making gradual changes in their menus to accommodate people in a hurry who do not want to forsake good nutrition for a quick lunch. In fact, some restaurants will sell salads at breakfast with your morning cup of coffee.

Diane Glaus, a marketing supervisor for McDonald's in Chesterfield, said the chain offers a wide variety of low-fat, low-calorie foods for those people who are watching their waistline.

The menu offers salads, a low-calorie burger the McLean Deluxe low-fat milkshakes, low-fat frozen yogurt, 1 percent milk, no-fat apple bran muffins and low-fat grain cereals.

Those pre-planning their lunch can pick up a salad on their way to work, as well as low-calorie salad dressing on the side.

"These items are very popular," Glaus said. "If an item is on our menu, it's earned its place through the approval of our customers.

"For years we have tried to offer a variety of products on the menu, for people with all kinds of tastes and needs," she continued. "We are constantly looking at new items to add and ways to offer healthy choices to our customers."

McDonald's also has reduced the amount of sodium in all of its foods over the years.

"The nature of fast food is certainly changing," Glaus said. "We are always looking for the opportunity to widen our menu variety and to enhance and improve our business."

Taco Johns also is changing with the times, offering lower-calorie food alternatives on its menu.

"We have changed our menu to cater to our customers by offering more chicken dishes and salads," said Scott Coleman, manager of the Cape Girardeau Taco Johns restaurant.

"But there are also things we can do with our regular menu items to reduce the calorie-content, per the customer's request," he said. "We can take the cheese off or not add sour cream, which reduces a lot of fat right there."

Coleman said that although low-fat items spot the menu, they are not overwhelmingly popular.

"People order them regularly enough, but not more than our other items," he said. "Some people just order chicken because they like chicken better than beef."

Long John Silvers traditionally viewed as a fried fish and chips restaurant has taken the notion of "lighter fare" even further.

"We offer baked fish or chicken with salads, vegetables or white rice," said team leader Susan Wright. "People really order a lot of those items, especially the baked chicken.

"They are real low in fat and are portioned for the dieter," she said.

Long John Silvers also is initiating a nutrition guide to their menu, including a calorie- and fat-content count and portioning suggestions.

"A lot of people are asking to see the nutrition guide," Wright said. "It's something a lot of people are concerned about today."

Klein couldn't agree more.

"I think that healthy food choices are being talked about more in the media, and people are gradually becoming more conscious of the things they are putting into their bodies," she said. "People are becoming interested in changing the way they eat."

Klein said that eating fast food for lunch even a quick burger and fries is not necessarily bad, as long as people keep in mind what they consume throughout the day.

"No one meal makes or breaks a whole day's food intake," she said. "You have to balance the rest of the day against what you have already consumed."

A downside of eating out is the personal expense it incurs fast food is not cheap.

"A lot of people still like to pack their lunches," Klein said. "It saves a lot of money, and you can pick and choose at home what you're going to have for lunch."

And for a snack, Klein says there's no food faster than peeling an orange or banana, or eating an apple. If you're a snacker, keep raisins, crackers, pretzels or nuts at your desk, to reduce caloric intake and ease the late afternoon munchies, Klein said.

"And if you don't like eating fruit or vegetables, there are all kinds of juices on the market which can fill in those slots in your diet," she said.

"If you plan ahead, you end up saving money and eating healthier," Klein said. "That's what it's all about."