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Hamburgers and pizza are prime examples of fast food, while pre-cooked and frozen foods are the kings of home cooking when time is short. More and more people turn to one or the other to address such a basic need as nutrition. But eating fast does not necessarily mean eating poorly. Although haste is not a good companion for a healthy diet, it is not insurmountable obstacle either.

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First of all, the concept of fast food is neither recent nor American. A slice of Spanish tortilla on a hard roll and a glass of wine, so traditional in Spain, are national versions of the same phenomenon. However, it is true that this question is more rooted in economics (it's a cheap way to eat) than fast-paced schedules, the latter has helped to consolidate it.

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Diets bases on animal protein (meat) and fats (vegetable oils for frying, and mayonnaise) are unbalanced because they are short on essential components such as fruits, vegetables and dairy products. They also tend to feature fatty cheeses (present in pizza and hamburgers), drinks rich in sugar, and chips, full of calories. But even in a pizzeria, a hamburger restaurant or a bar it is possible to choose healthy alternatives. To wit, you can order a hamburger without cheese or mayonnaise, and season it with tomato only, drink water or juice and shun desserts based on cake or ice cream, eating instead an apple you have brought with you.

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As for pizza you can order it with vegetable ingredients instead of meat, or with tuna, which is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. In everyday bars and coffee shops you can opt for food that is healthier: roast chicken instead of sausages, and a ham sandwich instead of one made from fried bacon, and accompany it all with lettuce and tomato instead of chips. Many places like these offer salads and saut�ed vegetables, rice dishes and traditional recipes made from legumes. In a Madrid-style stew, or cocido, the soup and chick peas with the vegetables are delicious and just right, as are a bit of skinned chicken and chunk of boiled meat. Leave the chorizo sausage, blood sausage and fat back for another day. It is also important to choose a restaurant that offers guarantees (quality products and hygiene) rather than bars that are cheap but of dubious reputation when it comes to quality and cleanliness. As for desserts, fruit is an option full of vitamins and fiber that you can alternate with yogurts, some homemade dessert (flan) and sorbets.

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These days big cities are full of restaurants that specialize in food that is light and balanced. You eat fast but a bit healthier thanks to meatless sandwiches, pasta salads and natural juices, or Japanese food which is big on healthy, low-calorie foods such as blue-meat fish, soup and vegetables fried with virtually no oil. As you can see, eating fast and away from home does not help you eat healthy, but doing it the best you can is simply a personal choice. Multinationals like McDonald's are opening new eateries that are all about less animal fat and less vegetable oil. The dietary profile of their products is changing because consumers are demanding as much. In fact, these kinds of places seem to have changed their deep-fry systems to avoid so-called trans-fats, which are enemies of cardiovascular health. Chains like Wendy's are a big hit in the United States because of their long menu of salads and the quality of their fresh ingredients.

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But what do you do when get home from work exhausted and have to cook dinner? The most common approach is to take something pre-cooked out of the refrigerator, fry up some frozen croquettes or open up a can of something. The problem with this tends to a high salt content, which is terrible for blood pressure, and the fact that you tend to fry things in oil, which adds calories. If you want to eat these things now and then, it is essential to read the labels, check the salt and saturated-fat content, and in the case of canned goods, see if they are cooked naturally and packaged in olive oil.

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Other fast and home-style options are saut�ed vegetables heated up in a microwave with a bit of olive oil and water, a sandwich of wholewheat bread with smokes or marinated salmon accompanied with boiled egg or light mayonnaise, a hot dog made from turkey rather than pork, a sandwich of tuna with tomato slices, grilled chicken breast, salads (they come packaged, all cut and washed and ready to eat), a plate of pasta. None of these recipes involve spending hours in the kitchen. They are simple, no-fuss, balanced and healthy.

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