Fast Food Fix: Dairy Queen

Oh man, when it comes to fast food I’m a total sucker for our next store – Dairy Queen. It’s a good thing I’ve given up ice cream, because I used to hit the drive-thru for blizzards, chocolate dipped cones, or one of their famous sundaes.

There aren’t many DQ’s near my house, with the closest being 45 minutes away. I actually used to live 5 minutes from a branch about 10 years ago, and loved the bacon burgers and fries. Thankfully, it’s been almost as long since I’ve eaten any real fast food. But if I did, it would be Dairy Queen for sure.

Would I find anything healthy on the menu? Has anything changed in the years since I’ve been there? Let’s see… it’s Fast Food Fix time again!

1. BBQ Beef Sandwich- Who would’ve figured a beef sandwich is the healthiest choice on the Dairy Queen menu? It’s got 270 calories and only 4.5 grams of fat, or about 40 calories. It has just 16 grams of protein, with over 40 calories of carbs. And the sodium isn’t horrible (by fast food standards) at 830 mg. A bit high in carbohydrates, and I’d like a touch more protein, but still a really great choice.

2. Shredded Chicken Sandwich- This is very similar nutritionally to my first pick. It has about 20 calories more, coming by way of 2 extra grams of fat. Go figure – the chicken sandwich has more fat than the beef variety? Although the sodium is about 1/3 lower, coming in at 560 mg. It’s a toss up really; do you like beef, or chicken?

*Angry Trainer Tip – I’ve said this before but it’s worth repeating. The white bread and rolls most fast food places use for sandwiches aren’t all that nutritious and fairly high in calories. So I “hollow” them out and scoop out the doughy part. I also ask for any sauce to be put on the side. You can really save some calories this way, probably at least 50 if not more, and the food still tastes great.

3. Original Hamburger- I thought I’d give you the best burger recommendation. I didn’t say best tasting, I said best, as in healthiest. This burger is the lowest in fat, with 14 grams and 350 total calories. It’s also got 17 grams of protein and less carbohydrates than my first two picks, with 33 grams. These all add up to a “not so bad” burger. But it’s boring without all the good stuff like cheese, bacon and other fatty, tasty toppings.

Cheese adds 50 calories and 4 grams of fat. Bacon can add an additional 100, and 8 grams of fat. And you already know anything fried is just garbage.

Caution: Avoid at all costs!

1. Chicken Quesadilla Basket – 1,200 fat loaded calories – this choice has 60 grams of fat! That means it’s just about 50% pure fat and the same as if you ate half a stick of butter. Plus the sodium is equal to more than a full days allowance – 2,740 mg!

2. 6 Piece Chicken Strip Basket – Wow, even more calories with 1,410 total and again, just about 60 grams of fat. Man, who eats this stuff? And with more calories comes more sodium – how about 3,760 mg! Seriously, this is like putting garbage in your mouth. Stay away.

3. Georgia Mudd Blizzard – I couldn’t review Dairy Queen without telling you about their famous Blizzards now could I? So this one is the king of crap! The large size (who orders anything else) has nearly 1,500 calories, and over 80 grams of fat! This is the worst one out of all of them but trust me, they’re all ridiculously high in sugar, calories and fat. I know it’s a treat, but at most you should have a few bites and toss it.

I have to be honest – Dairy Queen’s menu is full of fat! There are just a few options with less than 10 grams of fat, and one of them is a plain side salad! The kids menu is full of junk as well and while some of there choices are not quite the calorie monsters found in other fast food places, the fat content is just absurdly high on most of their food.

To answer my own question – it seems as though Dairy Queen is one of the restaurants that hasn’t jumped on board with selling healthy options.  Check it out for yourself and see what I mean. View Dairy Queens Nutrition Facts.

What do you think of my suggestions? Do you have a different recommendation?