TUCSON, Ariz. — Trying to eat healthy often takes a lot of consideration and effort, but many of the easiest food items to cook or buy aren't the healthiest options available.

Standing in line at the local burger joint, you're bombarded with options both cheap and pricey, but what about healthy options? Can the average consumer eat healthy at their favorite fast food joint while still also saving a couple bucks?

To put my question to the test, I decided to set out with my girlfriend Anne Tarket and our two friends Jake Van Riemsdyk and Nicole Franzen to put dollar menus to the test.

Before our journey, I asked my fellow investigators some questions about fast food habits and expectations. All of us agreed that choices are limited when trying to eat healthier at fast food restaurants.

"There should be more choices," Franzen said.

When trying to make smarter choices, it's best to be informed before you go in, according to Melanie Hingle, a research specialist with the University of Arizona Department of Nutritional Sciences .

"You need to make really good decisions," she said. "It's good to be hands on."

Hingle said it is possible to eat healthier even eating fast food but recognizes that it can be difficult. She said healthier choices doesn't always mean a salad over a burger.

"You should probably go with whole food, food that's the least processed, and resembles actual food from nature," Hingle said.

Our trip took us to six popular fast food restaurants, starting with Jack In The Box .

Its value menu lacked choices, with the healthiest items being a side salad and a pair of tacos. Our taste test showed that the items taste good, but as far as eating healthy was concerned, the choices at Jack In The Box are limited.

The next stop was McDonald's , which has a few more items on its value menu and has the lowest cost compared to its competitors. Its two healthiest items for less are the apple dippers, which is apple slices with dipping sauce, and the fruit and walnut salad, which is apples, grapes, and walnuts, with a dipping cream.

Our investigation determined that while McDonald's is attempting to offer healthier choices at a good price, the food lacks good taste and appeal, which for our team meant no repeat trips to McDonald's.

Hingle said fast food restaurants are not helping the war on obesity and poor eating habits.

"Fast food, and restaurants in general, are not conducive to healthy eating," Hingle said.

This sentiment was a common belief within our investigating team.

"They should be offering more low-fat items," Tarket said. "Personally I think it would be cool to see a veggie burger on the dollar menu."

Van Riemsdyk suggested the restaurants should offer more salads and healthier sandwiches.

The next stop on our trip was to Taco Bell , which has a small value menu with good prices. The healthy choices were extremely limited at Taco Bell, and what was and was not healthy was unclear.

The choices get next to impossible at Carl's Jr., where there was not a dollar menu at all, and the only cheap item was a breaded spicy chicken sandwich. The sandwich is large and very filling, according to our investigation, but it's far from healthy.

Larger portions, like the sandwich at Carl's Jr. , point to another concern when eating fast food, the increasing portion size.

"Restaurants are about large portions and more food for less money," Hingle says.

Hingle said restaurants could get in the health food game by addressing portion sizes.

"They could do a better job serving smaller portions," she said. "Half the food at half the price."

The last two destinations of our investigation were Wendy's and Burger King .

Wendy's offers a yogurt and a side salad, but both these options were small in size and lacking good taste, according to our investigative team.

Franzen said she would never eat the yogurt again, citing its bad taste and its failure to be even a little bit filling.

The healthy and cheap options at Burger King were limited to yet another version of the side salad.

By the end of our investigation, our team felt that the only thing proven was the total lack of choices at fast food restaurants for the health-conscious eater. After the investigation, would our team try to eat healthy when choosing fast food, now that they have more knowledge of their options?

"No, because I figure there's nothing on the menu that's healthy," Tarket said.

So can fast food be a part of a healthy diet even if you're not making healthier choices? Hingle said it can be.

"As long as you're not going above your total calorie limit for the day it can be OK," she said.