I hope everyone had a great Halloween and remembered my candy advice from last week! But here at Northwestern, I’m sure candy was not the only thing people were consuming with reckless abandon on Halloween. People inevitably went to Halloween parties and bar nights or played drinking games to It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Either way, the end result might have been a case of the drunk munchies. We all know we can’t make the best food decisions under the influence, so often we’ll find ourselves at Burger King or Taco Bell late at night, tempted to get the most calorie-laden meat patty on the menu.

You should know how to eat healthfully at fast food restaurants because it can be done.

The first line of defense is planning ahead. Take a look on the food chain’s Web site for nutritional information. The site might even have a section on eating sensibly, with the least caloric food items grouped together for easy choosing.

What about those unplanned trips that always seem to happen when the drunk and hungry gather? There are a few simple rules you need to remember if you get caught up in a midnight food outing:

• Ask for burgers without mayonnaise — this will save you at least 150 calories.
• When it comes to salads, always ask for light dressing and go with grilled instead of breaded or crispy chicken. Proceed with caution: Salads are often more caloric than other seemingly unhealthy menu items.
• Do without cheese. You don’t need it and you’re not missing much by saying no.
• Opt for a side salad or fruit option instead of fries, onion rings or chips. Fast food restaurants provide more healthy side dishes than they used to because they feel bad about making us fat. Or they’ve beens sued. Use it to your advantage.
• Watch your portion size — if you must get that milkshake or other irresistible treat, split it with a friend. Or order off the kids menu. You might even get a crappy toy that will entertain you for all of five minutes.
• Diet soda, water or milk does a body good. Please, for the love of God, don’t drink regular soda. Okay, fine, “pop.”
• Next time, don’t drink so much. Besides causing me to order this monstrosity (and then proceed to watch an episode of The Biggest Loser because when I’m drunk I don’t recognize irony), alcohol is, I’m certain, one of the reasons I’m not losing weight as quickly as I once was. It packs on the calories super fast. After all, it takes less time to drink two shots than to eat a hot dog. Unless you’re Joey Chestnut.

When you dine quickly, the name of the game is compromise. If you seek out the healthier options, you can find them.