Is Boston Market a Healthy choice?
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Roxiegirl2008 wrote: »Iwishyouwell wrote: »Roxiegirl2008 wrote: »To be honest, I didn't think that Boston Market was still around. I have not seen one in years.
Do you live in the NE? They've got close to 500 stores but it's still mainly a NE chain. I just checked and we've got over two dozen of them in the NYC/NJ transit area alone, and a bunch more in CT. Also have BM frozen dinners and sides in lots of supermarkets here in the city.
That must be why I have not seen them. I currently live in the PNW and moved from the south east. I guess I have never really sought them out. I just looked and no there is not one in the state I lived or just moved from. I guess that why I thought they were out of business.
I too thought they were out of business. But when I lived in the city and didnt have a car, I just never made it anywhere that had them. They had that moment of explosive growth in the late 90s but they seem to have fizzled out a bit.0 -
newhealthykim wrote: »
Do you have a crockpot?
You can cook a chicken that way, you don't get the crispy skin you do from roasting (or at least I dont). Might be something you could do with roommates.
And a simple cheeseburger and small fries from McDs isn't that caloric: 520 cals, 22g fat, 63g carbs, 17g protein, 20% of your daily iron, 810mg sodium
If this guy really is living in a dorm room, you cannot have a crock pot. It's against the regulations and the firemen do come through the dorms randomly and check them and confiscate (yes, confiscate) anything that doesn't conform to regulations. Most places you cannot have anything that cooks food aside from a microwave. Sometimes you can have a hot plate, but that essentially boils water and that's it. You can use the community kitchen, but you are dealing with equipment that is not yours that may or may not work properly or at all, and you have to sit down there, with everyone walking by, probably asking you to share your food.
Just go to Boston Market if you want it. It's no more processed than the cafeteria food or ramen you are stuck with if you don't eat it. That's what people are not understanding. That's your cooked choices in college in a dorm: cafeteria food, ramen, or fast food.
I was an RA, I'm very well aware of the rules.
However, he didn't say dorm room. He said "college" and "roommates".
He's also 20 so he doesn't necessarily live on campus.
And even my rinky-dink crap-*kitten* rural college had 2 non-traditional housing arrangements that had full kitchens. And I know some real colleges (I say real meaning NOT my college) have on-campus apartments.
And not all schools send firemens. My school sent me to do fire code checks. I wrote up quite a few people and confiscated a lot of candles.
I was an RA also! Lol your description of your college makes me think we went to the same school. Haha. I confiscated many candles and illegal substances... but never a crock pot. Our RA group actually made a cookbook with healthy microwavable dishes- I wonder if I can find it.0 -
HardcoreP0rk wrote: »easy roast chicken - use bone in, skin on chicken breasts
Preheat oven to 450
Rub 1tbsp olive oil over the chicken
Season with salt and pepper
Put chicken on a baking pan (line with foil or parchment paper to ease cleanup)
Bake 15 to 18 minutes
Take chicken out and poke with fork. Did blood come out? No? You're good.
Let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing or serving.
So. Easy.
Thank you for this- I'm going to try it out this weekend
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1 thing that always messes my eating plan up there is their corn bread. It will probably be included in your meal for free and its my favorite thing there. If you don't want to cook and in college there is usually a school cafeteria. I bet you could find some good choices there if you look. But Boston Market can be a good place, just like most restaurants can be, just look up the calories for all things (including the corn bread) so you stay within your calories.0
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To me...yes.
Just get mixed veggies with green beans or potato wedges. Although I like boston market their chicken gives me headaches ive discovered :l0 -
HardcoreP0rk wrote: »easy roast chicken - use bone in, skin on chicken breasts
Preheat oven to 450
Rub 1tbsp olive oil over the chicken
Season with salt and pepper
Put chicken on a baking pan (line with foil or parchment paper to ease cleanup)
Bake 15 to 18 minutes
Take chicken out and poke with fork. Did blood come out? No? You're good.
Let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing or serving.
So. Easy.
Thank you for this- I'm going to try it out this weekend
Dont thank me. I got it from Buzzfeed, of all places. Crazy huh? Check around for things like "quick healthy" recipes or like "lazy man's diet"
You'll find plenty of things.0 -
It depends. Does it fit your daily calorie and nutrition goals?So I love chicken and a good full meal but I don't have time to prepare it myself. I was wondering if Boston Market is a good healthy, they post their nutrition and ingredient information online, and it's pretty impressive.
So 710mg of sodium for the chicken, 80mg for the potatoes, and 130mg for the vegetables.. that's 920mg total. My sodium target is 2300mg/day, so I'm pretty sure I could fit that in. Many people here buy rotisserie chickens from Costco which are probably saltier than that.White Rotisserie Chicken with Garlic Dill New Potatoes and Fresh Steamed Vegetables only has 490 calories and has plenty of protein but considerable sodium
My big concern would be price. That's not much for $7.29, considering chicken meat, potatoes, and veggies run only $3-4/lb and this is just under a lb of food.
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It can be quite simple. Besides full chickens, they sell convenient cuts like breasts and thighs. I'd start with boneless, skinless chicken thighs since they're a bit juicer and cook faster. Buy a pound and cook them 5 minutes per side (until they're no longer pink in the center for food safety). Also buy a couple sauces. Put a tablespoon of sauce on the half you plan to eat immediately, and Ziploc up the rest for lunch tomorrow. Add microwaved vegetable and wrap/bread to finish. Voila!"Jimmyftw2 wrote:haha I haven't really cooked a chicken in my life before but I assume it is time consuming and I like convenient food but I'm getting into exercising and trying to develop visible muscles so I don't want to eat McDonalds or Burger King. So I like to go to place like Subway but I read they are not necessarily health food either.
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I think that Boston Market closed down their locations on the west coast about ten years ago, but they are not entirely out of business.
It seems to me that something like this could be an occasional part of a diet that is pretty healthy overall. On the other hand, if you are eating BM meals several times a week instead of cooking--not so great. I would be interested to know the carb content of the meals. It also seems bereft of veggies, since potatoes don't really count.
I don't understand what is awkward about cooking a chicken. Cooking is a thing that healthy people do. It's not weird. When I had roommates, they always loved it when I would bake a chicken--zero complaints, especially if I shared.0 -
CA_Underdog wrote: »
It depends. Does it fit your daily calorie and nutrition goals?So I love chicken and a good full meal but I don't have time to prepare it myself. I was wondering if Boston Market is a good healthy, they post their nutrition and ingredient information online, and it's pretty impressive.
So 710mg of sodium for the chicken, 80mg for the potatoes, and 130mg for the vegetables.. that's 920mg total. My sodium target is 2300mg/day, so I'm pretty sure I could fit that in. Many people here buy rotisserie chickens from Costco which are probably saltier than that.White Rotisserie Chicken with Garlic Dill New Potatoes and Fresh Steamed Vegetables only has 490 calories and has plenty of protein but considerable sodium
My big concern would be price. That's not much for $7.29, considering chicken meat, potatoes, and veggies run only $3-4/lb and this is just under a lb of food.
If you hit a sale right, so much more.
I got 5# of potatoes for 1.88$, 2# onions for 1.88$, 3# carrots for 1.88$, 2# of roast ffor 2.99$/#, and some broth for 1$, I made some kickass beef stew - 4 big filling servings with plenty of the veggies leftover for other meals.0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »I think that Boston Market closed down their locations on the west coast about ten years ago, but they are not entirely out of business.
They don't seem to be anywhere near out of business.
http://www.qsrmagazine.com/reports/qsr50-2013-top-50-chartazulvioleta6 wrote: »It also seems bereft of veggies, since potatoes don't really count.
Besides potatoes I've seen string beans, corn, mixed veggies, creamed spinach, salad and soup with veg. That's not bad for fast food. If the OP must eat there instead of cooking they'd have a standard veg selection.azulvioleta6 wrote: »I don't understand what is awkward about cooking a chicken. Cooking is a thing that healthy people do. It's not weird. When I had roommates, they always loved it when I would bake a chicken--zero complaints, especially if I shared.
For some odd reason baking/roasting chicken, which is one of the easier dishes to prepare and having it turn out extremely tasty, seems daunting to a lot of novices. I think people truly tend to overestimate the process.
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In my day, not only did we have to walk to school a mile in the snow uphill both ways, but it was called "Boston Chicken." And it's always been way too salty. (I don't track or care about sodium, but it TASTES too salty to me. Ruins it.) There used to be a local chain in the DC area called "Chicken Out" that was far superior and also had the best mashed potatoes in the known universe. Sigh.
Anyhoo, get that rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, or, better yet, Costco if that's an option. I love roasting a whole chicken at home and am always frustrated that the rotisserie chickens are actually less expensive than the roasters at my store! Costco rotisserie chickens are just $5 each, and they are big and juicy. I have a family of 5 and we get 2 dinners out of a chicken...night one with traditional sides (usually mashed potatoes and my awesome brussels sprouts) and night two in a casserole with broccoli, rice, and cheese with a salad on the side. My family just pigs out and I do fine on my calories and macros by filling my plate heavily with veg, substatially with chicken, and sensibly with the potatoes and rice. Bargain yums.0 -
Anyhoo, get that rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, or, better yet, Costco if that's an option. I love roasting a whole chicken at home and am always frustrated that the rotisserie chickens are actually less expensive than the roasters at my store! Costco rotisserie chickens are just $5 each, and they are big and juicy. I have a family of 5 and we get 2 dinners out of a chicken...night one with traditional sides (usually mashed potatoes and my awesome brussels sprouts) and night two in a casserole with broccoli, rice, and cheese with a salad on the side. My family just pigs out and I do fine on my calories and macros by filling my plate heavily with veg, substatially with chicken, and sensibly with the potatoes and rice. Bargain yums.
That sounds awesome. I need to stop by your house for dinner!0 -
In my day, not only did we have to walk to school a mile in the snow uphill both ways, but it was called "Boston Chicken." And it's always been way too salty. (I don't track or care about sodium, but it TASTES too salty to me. Ruins it.) There used to be a local chain in the DC area called "Chicken Out" that was far superior and also had the best mashed potatoes in the known universe. Sigh.
Anyhoo, get that rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, or, better yet, Costco if that's an option. I love roasting a whole chicken at home and am always frustrated that the rotisserie chickens are actually less expensive than the roasters at my store! Costco rotisserie chickens are just $5 each, and they are big and juicy. I have a family of 5 and we get 2 dinners out of a chicken...night one with traditional sides (usually mashed potatoes and my awesome brussels sprouts) and night two in a casserole with broccoli, rice, and cheese with a salad on the side. My family just pigs out and I do fine on my calories and macros by filling my plate heavily with veg, substatially with chicken, and sensibly with the potatoes and rice. Bargain yums.
I never occurred to me that store bought whole-roasted chicken is actually cheaper than the whole roasters at the grocery store. Awesome tip! I will have to check next time.0 -
Damm I just ate there for lunch and loaded the food I ate here 1510 calories?? Won't do that again-- Oh well I'll just do Cardio again tonight and eat some shrimp for dinner0
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Iwishyouwell wrote: »Does your dorm not have a kitchen? Is that the issue?
If it does I don't get why it would be awkward or tough to cook regardless of whether you have roommates or not.
Dorms have kitchens now? Since when?!
Both dorms I lived in (2 different colleges,1 private 1 public) had shared kitchens. Both were very limited and not always in working order. This was 1997-2001.
Op, yes the meal you mentioned is fine as long as it fits into your calorie goals. The rotisserie chicken from the grocery store would also be a good, cheaper option.
If you want to learn, roasting chicken is easy. My favorite method uses bone in skin on pieces so it's a bit faster than using the whole bird. You can even skip the herbs and it's still good.
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