Trans fats are found in foods prepared with partially hydrogenated oils and/or shortening. Trans fats can play havoc with your cardiovascular health. Even though fast food establishments are offering more products made without trans fats, they still sell a variety of foods containing them. The American Heart Association recommends limiting your trans fat intake to less than 1 percent of your total caloric intake.
Deep-Fried Foods
Deep-fried foods are notorious for being high in trans fats, reports the American Heart Association. Foods prepared in this manner can range from main dishes to desserts. One popular deep-fried food is fried chicken. The fried chicken can be bone-in, such as wings, thighs and breasts; or, it can be in boneless form as nuggets, strips, steaks and popcorn chicken. According to NutritionData.com, chicken tenders at a major fast food franchise are rich sources of trans fats.
Sandwiches made with battered meat or seafood fall within this category. According to the University of Maryland, this includes breaded fish sandwiches, breaded chicken sandwiches, and deep-fried tortillas or rolls.
Side dishes and desserts can contain high amounts of the fats. French fries and potato wedges are known culprits. Deep-fried dessert items that contain trans fats include fried ice cream, fruit pies and fruit turnovers.
Baked Items
Commercially prepared baked items also contain large amounts of trans fats. Some of these items are sold at fast food establishments. These include cookies, muffins, soft pretzels, croissants, donuts and pastries such as cinnamon rolls. As an example, warm cinnamon rolls (both the standard and deluxe version) sold at a major fast food chain contain 4 g of trans fat per serving.
Some fast foods can be misleading in their labeling. Even though foods are labeled as baked, the ingredients used during preparation can be high in trans fats. Case in point is the baked apple pie, reports NutritionData.com. The pastry surrounding the apples is where the trans fat is located since it is made out of shortening and/or partially hydrogenated oil. The baked apple pie sold at a major fast food chain contains a whopping 6 g of trans fat.
Breakfast Foods
A variety of breakfast items can be high in trans fats. These include sandwiches made with ham, sausage, cheese, bacon and/or vegetables. The breaded portion may be tortillas (and sold as breakfast burritos), English muffins, bagels or croissants. Breakfast sandwiches made with biscuits contain trans fats as well. The biscuits are usually made with shortening and/or hydrogenated oils.
Other breakfast items that are high in trans fats include hotcakes (sometimes known as pancakes), sausages, French toast (especially if deep-fried) and scrambled eggs prepared with shortening.
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