Even with glimmers of hope for the recuperation, buyers are cutting back &mdash, particularly when it comes to dining out. But turning to many of fast food’s biggest bargains to stretch your dollar in the recession can be one belt tightening measure that could end up forcing you to loosen your buckle by a couple of notches.

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Going out for cheap eats is an evident way for buyers to keep their spending in check. That is why fast food restaurants are seen as a good investment in tough times. McDonald’s and Yum! Brands, which operates Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut among others both stated stellar 4th quarters as evidence. Bucking that trend were Burger King and CKE Restaurants, the operator of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. Burger King, stated that it experienced “significant” traffic declines in March it stated 1 same store sales growth and CKE’s same store sales were down 2.7. Still, that slide is still simple when compared with the double digit losses at higher end restaurant chains like Ruth’s Hospitality Group’s Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and Benihana.

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Bang for your buck continues to be one of the biggest selling points for fast food now. But how much food are you really to get for your money? SmartMoney.Com sought to learn which menu things are the costliest and cheapest per calorie. The results may surprise you. Looking at the cost per 100 calories of many things underscores what nutritionists have been saying for years: The cheapest calories usually are not the healthiest.

Here’s our dish by dish look at many Liked Menu things and their total cost per 100 calories &mdash, from the most costly to the cheapest.

Photograph courtesy of McDonald’s

1. Premium Southwest Salad With Grilled Chicken

McDonald’s

Cost per 100 calories: $1.47

Calories: 360

Calories from fat: 29

McDonald’s answered the call of health conscious buyers by adding salads to its menu in 2003. Nobody can deny that it is a healthier choice than, a Quarter Pounder with cheese, but it’ll cost you. Once we added many Newman’s Own low fat balsamic vinaigrette dressing another 40 calories and three grams of fat for a little extra taste, this salad became the costliest per calorie dish on our menu.

2. Mandarin Chicken Salad

Wendy’s

Cost per 100 calories: 96 cents

Calories: 540

Calories from fat: 43

In the 1980s, Wendy’s Asked “Where’s the beef?” These days, the chain is many less meat focused. Wendy’s now offers four varieties of salads and five varieties of chicken sandwiches it also offers fish fillet sandwiches throughout Lent. Of course, burgers still reign supreme: There are now twelve different kinds of hamburgers on the menu.

Photograph courtesy of KFC

3. Big Popcorn Chicken

KFC

Cost per 100 calories: 94 cents

Calories: 550

Calories from fat: 58

Typically chicken is regarded as the cheaper meat. The average retail price for chicken is $1.75 a pound, 56 less than the average price of a pound of beef, as indicated by the National Beef Cattlemen’s affiliation. But if you want KFC’s bite sized popcorn chicken with the Colonel’s eleven secret herbs and spices, be prepared to pay up. This is the most costly per calorie item on our list that is not a salad.

4. Steak Gordita Baja

Taco Bell

Cost per 100 calories: 90 cents

Calories: 320

Calories from fat: 47

Jack Russo, an analyst at financial services firm Edward Jones, says Taco Bell is regarded as one of the industry’s leaders when it comes to menu novelty. The Gordita &mdash, a soft taco made using flatbread rather than a tortilla &mdash, may well be evidence of that. Since it 1st debuted in 1998, the Gordita Helped Increase sales at the chain considerably, he says.

Photograph by Brian Chirls

5. Low Fat Footlong Turkey Sandwich

Subway

Cost per 100 calories: 89 cents

Calories: 560

Calories from fat: 14

Since the ads featuring Jared Fogle who lost 245 pounds only by eating Subway sandwiches 1st launched in 2000, Subway’s sales have more than tripled to nearly $13 billion. A Subway spokesperson says that while some number of factors contributed to that growth, Jared’s weight loss campaign played a important role. Unfortunately for waist conscious buyers, the low fat sandwich comes at a premium per calorie price in comparison to our other menu things.

6. Croissan’wich

Burger King

Cost per 100 calories: 75 cents

Calories: 330

Calories from fat: 44

Breakfast was driving the fast food business. “That’s where all the growth was,” says Steve Solomon, president of FSInsights, a menu development company. In February, Burger King’s CEO said that breakfast made up 15 of its sales. This rival to the Egg McMuffin made its first appearance in 1984.

Photograph courtesy of McDonald’s

7. Big Mac

McDonald’s

Cost per 100 calories: 74 cents

Calories: 540

Calories from fat: 48

Since its first appearance in 1968, the Big Mac was McDonald’s flagship burger. More than 550 million are sold world wide every year, as indicated by the company. In comparison to its double decker rival, the Double Whopper, the Big Mac is pricier on a per calorie base.

8. Pepperoni Personal Pan Pizza

Pizza Hut

Cost per 100 calories: 68 cents

Calories: 660

Calories from fat: 42

On a per 100 calorie base, the six inch pepperoni personal pan pizza lands in the center of our roundup, but you may be able to really save yourself 20 per 100 calories by ordering the big pepperoni pan pizza and eating a slice. Doing so will also trim about 43 off the total calories.

Photograph courtesy of KFC

9. Toasted Wrap With Tender Roast Filet

KFC

Cost per 100 calories: 64 cents

Calories: 310

Calories from fat: 42

KFC was slow on the uptake when it came to catering to the health conscious crowd. It just started offering its grilled chicken lineup earlier this year &mdash, a move that most likely should have made about five years ago, says Edward Jones’ Russo. “It’s what the buyer obviously wants today,” he says.

10. Medium French Fries

McDonald’s

Cost per 100 calories: 58 cents

Calories: 380

Calories from fat: 26

Before 1949, McDonald’s did not offer French fries, burgers came with a side of potato chips instead. In fact, it was not till the 1960s &mdash, when potato farmer J.R. Simplot pioneered the 1st frozen French fry &mdash, that these fast food staples started becoming the Liked McDonald’s side dish they’re today.

Photograph courtesy of Dairy Queen

11. Butterfinger Blizzard

Dairy Queen

Cost per 100 calories: 49 cents

Calories: 990

Calories from fat: 31

Surprisingly, the Butterfinger Blizzard &mdash, a vanilla flavored milkshake with bits of Butterfinger candy bars chopped up in it &mdash, has one of the lowest of calories from fat in the foods we looked at that can be because it is not made with real milk. In fact, the is impressively close to what nutritionists usually recommend for a healthy diet &mdash, 30 of one’s daily calories can come from fat. But that does not mean you may want to be going on an all Blizzard diet. One of these large size concoctions is a full 990 calories &mdash, almost half your suggested daily intake.

12. Double Whopper With Cheese

Burger King

Cost per 100 calories: 49 cents

Calories: 1010

Calories from fat: 59

The average person spends around $247 on beef a year, up from $48 in 2001. That total of cash could purchase you 49 Double Whoppers with cheese. And you’d get a pretty good return on your investment: The Double Whopper’s cost per 100 calories is about two thirds of what the Big Mac costs.

Photograph by Thomas E. Weber

13. Fiesta Taco Salad

Taco Bell

Cost per 100 calories: 48 cents

Calories: 840

Calories from fat: 47

The Fiesta Taco Salad is the only salad on Taco Bell’s menu, but do not let that fool you into thinking it is the healthiest item. In fact, the salad has the highest calories and fat content of any single item on the menu. Its 840 calories and 45 grams of fat are equal to four Crunchy Taco Supremes, three MexiMelts, or two Spicy Chicken Burritos.

14. Cheeseburger Slyder

White Castle

Cost per 100 calories: 41 cents

Calories: 170

Calories from fat: 47

At 41 cents per 100 calories, White Castle’s snack sized cheeseburger bested every other sandwich in our survey when it came to cost per calorie. In 1930, White Castle conducted a study it afterward called it the “Craveology” study that monitored the health of a student who lived on nothing but the Slyders and water for 13 weeks. As indicated by the company, the student maintained good health. Barbara Baron, a New York registered dietician, says you most likely do not want to follow suit. “I would not tell anybody to eat only one food item for 13 weeks,” she says.

Photograph by Brian Chirls

15. 32 Ounce Coca Cola

Subway

Cost per 100 calories: 38 cents

Calories: 330

Calories from fat: 0

Here it’s, the cheapest per calorie item in our survey of fast food land: the big Coca Cola. Dear by many, but eyed by many as a big contributor to the obesity problems in this country. Our brains procedure calories from liquids differently than those from hard food, so we do not feel full and are more probably to overeat, says Karen Ansel, a spokeswoman for the New York State Dietetic affiliation. If you really have to have your soda with your meal, order a Diet Coke.