Healthiest Foods At Wendy’s And The Worst
Wendy’s nutrition facts and nutrition information
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m sharing the healthiest foods at Wendy’s and the worst.
Note: the video from this post was filmed back in 2012, however I’ve attempted to update the information based on updates Wendy’s has made to their menu. For the most up to date foods, look for meals marked 2019.
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Yes, we’re back with another Fast Food edition of Food Wars.
I’m on a journey to find you the healthiest options at fast food restaurants, when you’re on the road, and have to eat on the go.
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For the last two weeks on Food Wars, I’ve analyzed the nutrition information of fast food restaurant favorites, McDonald’s and Subway.
I found some decent and tasty options at McDonald’s and some shocking options at Subway.
Based on the response to date, you seem very interested to see me analyze more fast food restaurants.
Does Wendy’s have healthy food options?
The next fast food restaurant that you have asked me to analyze is Wendy’s.
When you’re in a crunch, and need food, are there healthy food options at Wendy’s?
In this post, I’m detailing the nutrition facts and nutrition information of Wendy’s healthiest food options, as well as the down right disasters that you need to stay away from.
Nutrition Information provided from Wendy’s Website
I’ll be honest, the food options at Wendy’s were very polarizing.
Wendy’s had some healthy and tasty options, but they also had the most unhealthy options of any fast food restaurant so far.
Not only did Wendy’s provide some decent healthy options, I was also impressed with how transparent Wendy’s website was regarding how the food was made.
Thumbs up to Wendy’s for that.
So let’s get right into it.
The healthiest foods at Wendy’s
Based on my analysis from 2012, here were the two healthiest foods that you could order when you go to Wendy’s:
- Apple Pecan Chicken Salad
- BLT Cobb Salad*
* 2019 update: it doesn’t seem like the BLT Cobb Salad is offered anymore.
Based on the salad options in 2019, go with this healthier option:
- Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad
Now you may be thinking, well these are salads so they are not going to be very filling.
As surprising as it sounds, these salads were not only filling, they were also delicious.
Each salad had a good serving of a tasty healthy protein source, such as real chicken, unlike what you saw me show you at Subway.
2012 Nutrition facts: BLT cobb salad with fat free Italian vinaigrette dressing
Although I don’t typically add salad dressing from a fast food restaurant to my salad, Wendy’s did provide a fairly healthy fat free Italian vinaigrette dressing, if you need it.
- Calories: 410
- Protein: 39g (38% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 14g (14% of calories)
- Fat: 23g (48% of calories)
- Sodium: 1340mg
Based on the macronutrient percentages, this BLT cobb salad is a healthier Wendy’s food alternative.
2012 Nutrition facts: Apple pecan chicken salad with fat free Italian vinaigrette
Note: be aware of the unhealthy ingredients in the pecans.
- Calories: 360
- Protein: 39g (43% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 30g (33% of calories)
- Fat: 14g (34% of calories)
- Sodium: 1160mg
2019 nutrition facts update: apple pecan chicken salad (full)
- Calories: 570
- Protein: 39g (27% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 52g (36% of calories)
- Fat: 24g (38% of calories)
- Sodium: 1030mg
Based on the 2019 update to the apple pecan chicken salad, the amount of carbohydrates in this salad is higher than I’d like.
Although this is still a decent healthy food option at Wendy’s, I’d prefer you go with a lower carbohydrate salad that is higher in protein and healthy fat, such as the southwest avocado chicken salad.
2019 Update: nutrition facts: Full southwest avocado chicken salad
- Calories: 610
- Protein: 43g (45% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 18g (12% of calories)
- Fat: 41g (60% of calories)
- Sodium: 1240mg
Don’t feel like a salad?
Healthiest non-salad meal at Wendy’s
The grilled chicken fresh wrap is a non-salad, healthier option.
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However I didn’t order it, since it looks small and I was concerned it wouldn’t fill me up.
2012 Nutrition facts: pico grilled chicken fresh wrap
- Calories: 280
- Protein: 20g (29% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 25g (36% of calories)
- Fat: 11g (35% of calories)
- Sodium: 800mg
Based on the macronutrient percentages, this pico grilled chicken fresh wrap is a fairly balanced meal as well.
2019 update: it looks like the pico grilled chicken fresh wrap was replaced with the grilled chicken wrap.
2019 Update: nutrition facts: grilled chicken wrap
- Calories: 300
- Protein: 20g (27% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 26g (35% of calories)
- Fat: 13g (39% of calories)
- Sodium: 720mg
If you want to get the healthiest sandwich at Wendy’s, go with the grilled chicken sandwich.
2019 Update: nutrition facts: grilled chicken sandwich
- Calories: 380
- Protein: 35g (37% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 38g (40% of calories)
- Fat: 10g (24% of calories)
- Sodium: 840mg
Is the Wendy’s chili healthy?
The Wendy’s chili actually looks pretty good as well.
I looked at the ingredients and nutrition facts and it’s decent.
2012 Nutrition facts: large Wendy’s chili
- Calories: 310
- Protein: 26g (34% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 31g (40% of calories)
- Fat: 9g (26% of calories)
- Sodium: 1330mg
2019 update: it looks like the nutrition facts on the chili has changed from 2012.
2019 Nutrition facts: large Wendy’s chili
- Calories: 250
- Protein: 21g (34% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 29g (46% of calories)
- Fat: 6g (22% of calories)
- Sodium: 1170mg
One other cool thing with Wendy’s is not only do they have bottled water, but they also offer o calorie brewed unsweetened iced tea.
So if you’re looking for the healthiest foods at Wendy’s, those are the best of the best.
Now let’s get to the fun part, or what most people would think is the crazy part.
Lets analyze the worst of the worst, most unhealthy foods at Wendy’s.
The most unhealthy foods at Wendy’s
As I mentioned earlier, Wendy’s also offers the worst unhealthy food options that I’ve seen so far.
2019 Update: the 3/4 pound triple W hamburger, poutine, and caramel frosty shake are no longer offered. I’ve updated the worst meals of 2019, below this.
Check out the whooping calories in an order of:
- 3/4 pound triple W hamburger
- serving of poutine
- large caramel frosty shake
If you’re not aware of what poutine is, it’s french fries topped with melted cheese and gravy.
2012 Nutrition facts: 3/4 pound triple W hamburger
- Calories: 1070
- Protein: 72g (27% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 43g (16% of calories)
- Fat: 68g (57% of calories)
- Sodium: 1910mg
2012 Nutrition facts: side of poutine
- Calories: 660
- Protein: 20g (12% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 61g (37% of calories)
- Fat: 37g (50% of calories)
- Sodium: 1410mg
You know what, let’s throw a caramel frosty shake on top of that.
This one scared the crap out of me.
2012 Nutrition facts: large caramel frosty shake
- Calories: 1000
- Protein: 14g (6% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 196g (78% of calories)
- Fat: 19g (17% of calories)
- Sodium: 510mg
Yes, you read that correctly, 196g of carbohydrates.
To sum it up, if you ordered this meal:
- 3/4 pound hamburger
- side of poutine
- large shake
For a total of:
- Calories: 2730
- Protein: 106g (15% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 300g (44% of calories)
- Fat: 124g (41% of calories)
- Sodium: 3830mg
That is crazy.
If you ever want to gain fat, order that meal from Wendy’s, and you will be fat very quickly.
2019 Nutrition facts: peppercorn mushroom melt triple
- Calories: 1290
- Protein: 78g (24% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 50g (16% of calories)
- Fat: 86g (60% of calories)
- Sodium: 1820mg
2019 Nutrition facts: large natural cut fries
- Calories: 530
- Protein: 7g (5% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 70g (53% of calories)
- Fat: 24g (41% of calories)
- Sodium: 520mg
2019 Nutrition facts: large wildberry lemonade
- Calories: 480
- Protein: 1g (0% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 121g (100% of calories)
- Fat: 0g (0% of calories)
- Sodium: 130mg
To sum it up, if you ordered this meal:
- peppercorn mushroom melt triple
- large natural cut fries
- large wildberry lemonade
For a total of:
- Calories: 2300
- Protein: 86g (15% of calories)
- Carbohydrates: 241g (42% of calories)
- Fat: 110g (43% of calories)
- Sodium: 2470mg
Bottom line: healthiest foods at Wendy’s and the worst
As I mentioned, Wendy’s offered the best of the best foods so far, not just from a health standpoint, but also from a taste standpoint.
The Wendy’s salads are filling, they’re tasty, and they use real chicken, so it’s a decent healthy option for you.
However, Wendy’s also offers the worst of the worst, from an unhealthy standpoint.
So the foods at Wendy’s come from both ends of the health spectrum.
But since you’re reading this, I know you are more health conscious.
Therefore stick with the healthier food options that I shared earlier.
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- Do you have a favorite healthier fast food option?
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Great post! I think it’s awesome that you show that it is possible to eat out at places that may be deemed “unhealthy”! The reality is there are options everywhere you just have to willing to look for them!
Great Food Wars video – I just at at Wendy’s the other day and had a baked potato and chili – not sure if that was the best choice, but it sure tasted good! 😉