when we found out that Wendy’s has launched three new sandwiches we were excited. It’s winter, it’s so cold, things are (still) hellish: let the chicken be your balm.
What kinds of hot chicken treats are in store? Here’s the lineup: the Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit, the Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich, and the Classic Big Bacon Cheddar Chicken.
But before you sink your teeth into Wendy’s latest menu additions, you’ll want to know how they compare nutritionally. That’s why we approach Kim Yawitz, RDregistered dietitian and gym owner in St. Louis, MO.
A little bit spicy, a little bit sweet and all packed with flavor, we just can’t resist trying every sandwich at least once. Understanding that an occasional chicken sandwich won’t hurt, Yawitz broke down the nutritional value of each sandwich, how crispy and grilled versions differ, how much protein you can get from each, and how to fit one of these sandwiches into a fairly healthy diet. .
Wendy’s Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit
This sandwich contains 460 calories, 14 grams (g) of protein, and 51 g of carbohydrates (including 16 g of sugar and 2 g of fiber).
From a nutritional standpoint, this menu addition doesn’t put any butter on Yawitz’s cookie. “For starters, this bad boy has a lot of sugar. The chicken burger patty has sugar. The cookie has sugar. Honey chutney has honey, obviously, but also two different types of sugar (plus some pureed fruit, because apparently all that sugar isn’t sweet enough),” says Yawitz.
Additionally, Yawitz isn’t a fan of this sandwich’s “miserable” protein content, clocking in at just 14 grams. “[This amount of protein at] breakfast certainly won’t help you pack on muscle and probably not hug you not until lunch.
As Yawitz says, protein helps keep you off the blood sugar roller coaster by slowing the absorption of glucose into the blood. “In the long term, better blood sugar control often equates to a lower risk of diabetes. But in the short term, it can help defend food cravings.”
Up to this point, Yawitz highlights a small studioin which men who ate a high-carbohydrate, high-protein breakfast had better post-meal blood sugar control and insulin levels than men who didn’t eat as much protein.
“Interestingly, the breakfast in this study included 50 grams of carbs from white bread and sugar,” he says, noting the similarities between that and the chicken sandwich in question. “Assuming the same calorie content, Wendy’s would need more than twice the protein to achieve the same blood sugar stabilizing effects.”
Wendy’s Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich
This sandwich contains 700 calories, 37 grams (g) of protein, and 70 g of carbohydrates (including 2 grams of fiber and 18 grams of total sugar).
Like the sandwich above, Yawitz doesn’t think this sandwich is worth incorporating into your diet, especially on a regular basis. “The only thing going for it is high protein,” she says, noting that “hot honey” is essentially code for “sugar bomb.” In fact, as Yawitz shared, this chicken sandwich has more sugar than a packet of pudding snacks.
“There’s no getting around the high sugar content in this sandwich, but there is a slightly healthier alternative on the menu,” she says. That option is the hot grilled honey chicken sandwich, which will save you 16 grams of total carbs, mostly in the form of breading, says Yawitz.
“The grilled version is also slightly higher in protein and slightly lower in sodium than its fried cousin,” she says. “Ordering the grilled version won’t give you ripped abs, but it’s certainly an improvement over the classic.”
Wendy’s Classic Big Bacon Cheddar Chicken
This sandwich contains 810 calories, 42 grams (g) of protein, and 60 g of carbohydrates (including 3 g of fiber and 5 g of sugar).
The Classic Big Bacon Cheddar Chicken Sandwich features a fried chicken patty on a cheddar cheese bun, with cheddar cheese sauce, fried onions, bacon jam, slices of bacon, and a slice of American cheese. “On the plus side, 42 grams of protein is a lot of flexibility for a fast-food chicken sandwich. While not the healthiest source of protein, this monstrosity could help you hit your daily protein quota when you’re on the go,” says Yawitz. But then there’s the calorie overload and there isn’t a single vegetable in sight that isn’t fried.
This content is created and maintained by a third party and is imported into this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content on piano.io
