Meals from fast food restaurants like McDonald's are often loaded with trans fat, saturated fat and salt. MayoClinic.com reports that eating at McDonald's can have an occasional place in a healthy diet as long as you know what to order. Passing on greasy cheeseburgers and keeping your fry orders small are two ways to make your fast food meal healthier. Other options, which supply some vitamins and minerals and won't cause you to blow your daily allotment for fat and calories in one meal, exist as well.
Breakfast Meals
McDonald's offers several menu options for your morning meal, but few of them can be considered a nutritious breakfast. An Egg McMuffin will set you back 300 calories, 12 g of fat, 5 g of saturated fat and 820 mg of sodium. Add sausage to that and you can add 70 calories, 10 g of fat, 3 g of saturated fat and 30 mg of sodium. Hotcakes without syrup are a bit better with only 2 g of saturated fat, but still contain 350 calories. Your best breakfast meal at McDonald's is the Fruit and Maple Oatmeal with 290 calories and only 4.5 g of fat. Order it without the brown sugar and you will cut the sugar from 32 g per serving to 18 g per serving. Order it with an orange juice for some vitamin C and potassium.
Lunch Meals
The McDonald's drive-through is often a busy place at lunch time, but many of the most common options are high in fat and calories. Most of the burgers contain more than 400 calories and many have over 20 g of fat. A healthier choice is a plain hamburger, which has just 250 calories and 9 g of fat. A plain cheeseburger adds 50 calories and 3 g of fat, but also increases the calcium content of your lunch. A grilled snack wrap is one of the healthiest options with between 260 and 270 calories and 9 or 10 g of fat. A salad without dressing is a low-calorie option that also supplies vitamin A and fiber.
Dinner Meals
McDonald's is popular at dinner time as well, but many of your only options are the same high-fat, high-calorie fare that you would get at lunch. A grilled chicken sandwich is better than a burger, because it is lower in fat and calories. However, the grilled chicken sandwich does contain 1,190 mg of sodium. Choosing grilled chicken sets you back on only 2 g of saturated fat compared to the 8 g in a McDouble. Choose small fries instead of large because they only contain 230 calories and 11 g of fat versus 500 calories and 25 g of fat. Drink the 1 percent milk for a dose of calcium in place of sugary soda.
Snacks
The menu at McDonald's also contains several smaller items meant to be snacks. Small fries are not your best option because they contain a lot of fat, calories and salt. Pass on the cinnamon melts as well, with 460 calories, 19 g of fat, 9 g of saturated fat and 32 g of sugar. The healthier snacks on the menu include the Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait with only 160 calories and 2 g of fat, which also supplies 15 percent of your daily calcium needs, as well as the Apple Dippers with Low Fat Caramel Dip for 100 calories and only half a gram of fat.
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