Fast food / ordering in?
GlindaGoodwitch
Posts: 157 Member
What are your go-to places to order in, on a low carb diet. I've been really strict with home cooked meals, but I need something quick and easy on occasion. I'm thinking something like Swiss Chalet, where I could order chicken with a salad, or steamed veggies would be good. Any other suggestions?
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I have allergies to deal with, so I avoid it as much as possible. In a pinch, I go with Burger King for one reason - their nutritional info on the website can be customized. You can calculate all the info for a sandwich without the bun, or with extra of one topping and none of another, and it updates automatically. For sit down places, I aim for as plain as possible, because they'll sneak things in everywhere. Pancake type places, plain eggs, not omelets, or ask for a "fresh cracked" omelet - they all use pancake batter in their egg mix to make it fluffier if you don't specify otherwise.0
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I usually opt for a local burger place. I can control the carbs, and I've been known to either bring some coconut oil with me or ask for a side of butter... you can always add avocado, bacon, and eggs to burgers, but asking for the side of butter is worth it for the reaction
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BBQ... order meats by weight. Second choice is a burger and I'll just take it like it comes and eat the inside with a fork and knife. Next on the list is breakfast where I can get eggs. That's about all that is fast.0
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Pretty much any place - bunless burger -with side salad (blue cheese dressing is my go to) or side of veggies if at a sit down restaurant, steak with side salad or side of veggies. For fast food I like Culver's Double Bacon Deluxe with cheese no bun, or McDonald's double quarter pounder with cheese, no ketchup (I don't eat the bun but don't bother asking them to leave it off). I used to love BK but not their burgers so much, so I avoid it now as I am still tempted by their chicken sandwich. KFC I get the grilled chicken, side of green beans.0
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I have allergies to deal with, so I avoid it as much as possible.
Same, have a nightshade allergy and they sneak those buggers in all kinds of things!! So I stick to what I know, BK is good but expensive if you go bunless and I go ketchup and mustardless cause...nightshades. But my most often go to is McD's McDouble, no bun, no ketchup, no mustard, add mayo, extra pickle, and substitute the dehyrated onions for slivered onions.
We used to eat these between two patties of the $1 chicken sandwich as the 'bun'. Was like $3 for all 3 sandwiches, 30 or so grams of protein, a little higher in fat and carbs were like 8. I cant remember the specifics because they put peppers and spicy stuff in the patties and peppers and spicy stuff is nightshades, but my daughter still loves those!
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What about Asian food without noodles/rice?
I regularly pick up BBQ chicken. Quick, easy, tasty.
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My local Chinese restaurant has a "diet" plate, which is steamed chicken and steamed veggies. Pass on the rice and noodles. Be careful with any Americanized Chinese food with sauces, as most are absolutely loaded with sugar in most situations.
I ordered a burger without a bun at McDonald's the other day, you can customize it on their site and take off the bun. You can probably get this at most burger places, but you might have to specify to put it in a box or cardboard instead of a wrapper.
For Mexican, don't eat the free chips. Ask if they can substitute a guacamole salad for the rice and beans. My usual go-to would be chicken fajitas with a guacamole salad. Don't eat the tortillas, and you pretty much just have chicken, peppers, onions, oil, and seasoning. Last time I was there, I ordered birria which is a goat meat stew.0 -
I can not step into an Olive Garden.
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If you can get to the supermarket to grab something quick, those whole roasted chickens are one of my favorites. I "accidentally" ate more than my share of one at my mother-in-law's house this past Sunday.
My husband is a fast-food junkie, so if I get anything it's usually a bacon cheeseburger (or a double bacon cheeseburger if I'm really hungry) I eat without the bun and a side salad. Depending on your carb goal, you might be able to sneak in an occasional Pei Wei meal, substituting brown rice for the noodles or white rice, and only eating half of a small serving. I know I did that early on when my carb limit was in the 80s, but I forget how many carbs were in it..... 0 -
I can not step into an Olive Garden.
In the end, that's a good thing. A real Italian restaurant (not an Americanized one) will have things other than pasta, pasta, and more pasta (seriously, find one run by an actual Italian person and look at the difference in the menu).GlindaGoodwitch wrote: »What are your go-to places to order in, on a low carb diet. I've been really strict with home cooked meals, but I need something quick and easy on occasion. I'm thinking something like Swiss Chalet, where I could order chicken with a salad, or steamed veggies would be good. Any other suggestions?
I've been working on breaking my husband's pizza addiction, but it's slow going, so pizza places still show up sometimes. Thankfully, most of them have a salad option. Pizza Hut doesn't, though, and when eating there, the salad bar is hit or miss (they used to have it, but I don't know if they do anymore). Other places, like Marco's, Jet's, and local shops usually have decent salads. Load it up with stuff, grab a creamy dressing (or put your own mayo on it), and you're good to go.
For other stuff:
Low cost:
Jimmy John's or Jersey Mike's (sandwich places with a bunless option; JJ's does lettuce wrap, JM's does "sub in a tub")
Chipotle (bowl/salad with meat, some tomatoes, lots of sour cream, cheese, and lettuce)
Red Robin (burgers have lettuce wrap options)
Bob Evans (regional "homestyle cooking" type restaurant chain; a number of options, including omelets that don't include pancake mix, salads, burgers, and chicken, and you can sub/mix and match things easily)
Pricier:
PF Chang's (GF options, sauce on the side)
City BBQ (local/regional chain, but it's meat, meat, and more meat, 'nuff said)
Steakhouses of any sort (because steak; most usually have a non-starchy vegetable option; exception seems to be Texas Roadhouse, but you can get a giant hunk of meat)
Oh, a tip -- most places that serve burgers but aren't "burger joints" will probably look at you like you grew a second head if you ask to have the burger lettuce wrapped. I've just taken to asking for bunless, but including lettuce and tomato. The lettuce and/or tomato can often be used as a bun, or you can just eat it with a fork. I have no idea why it's such a foreign concept, but whatever.0 -
Dragonwolf wrote: »
I've been working on breaking my husband's pizza addiction, but it's slow going, so pizza places still show up sometimes. Thankfully, most of them have a salad option. Pizza Hut doesn't, though, and when eating there, the salad bar is hit or miss (they used to have it, but I don't know if they do anymore). Other places, like Marco's, Jet's, and local shops usually have decent salads. Load it up with stuff, grab a creamy dressing (or put your own mayo on it), and you're good to go.
My hubby is addicted to pizza too and has recently been obsessed with ordering from Pizza Hut. I looked up their nutrition info and discovered the Traditional Naked Wings are low-carb, so that's what I ordered. I made myself a salad at home and also made my own wing sauce out of butter and hot sauce. It made for a great low-carb meal.0 -
Many great fast food ideas. I'm bookmarking this for review whenever I'm in the mood to eat out. 0
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I guess one of the advantages, maybe not LOL, of living in the sticks is there is no such thing as ordering in. Funny as I have never even thought of it in the almost 30 years since we moved from the city. About as close as I can get to that is to stop and pick up a Subway for hubby in the next town down the highway 20 miles away. We do eat out once in awhile and we usually hit the Mom and Pop kind of restaurants.0
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GlindaGoodwitch wrote: »What are your go-to places to order in, on a low carb diet. I've been really strict with home cooked meals, but I need something quick and easy on occasion. I'm thinking something like Swiss Chalet, where I could order chicken with a salad, or steamed veggies would be good. Any other suggestions?
Not sure where you live, but in my area, I go to either Jimmy Johns for a roast beef unwich (no cheese), or carl's jr for their grilled cod sandwich - done as a lettuce wrap.0 -
You'll all be proud of me today we went to a Pizza place as a going away lunch for a colleague, but I ordered a "strawberry fields" salad - strawberries, blueberries and baby spinach, with grilled chicken. It was delicious - but the pizza looked damn good too So hard to say goodbye to old habits, but every time I say NO, I feel stronger for it! 0
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My favorite thing to do is slide the pizza toppings off onto my plate and eat it without the crust. Still delicious!
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My favorite thing to do is slide the pizza toppings off onto my plate and eat it without the crust. Still delicious!
Just be careful of added sugars in the sauce! I make this my own way with store bought pepperoni. Wild Oats has a great low-carb sauce - Parmesan and Romano!! Yum. 0 -
GlindaGoodwitch wrote: »
Because they don't all put it in the fine print on their menus. The big chains do, but a lot of mom and pop places don't, unless there's a law requiring it.
Incidentally, this was just posted today:
Keto and Fast Food: On the Go0 -
Oh, how did I forgot Jimmy John's and Chipotle? JJ's unwiches are great. If you have a Which Wich nearby they do lettucewich's (same concept, but it is a bit messier than JJ's as they don't seem to have the same kind of lettuce). Which Wich also does a lettuce bowl if you prefer. Chipolte burrito bowl with no rice or beans is great too. We also like Buffalo Wild wings. Their traditional wings are low carb and so are several of their sauces and rubs.0
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My husband's a JJ's addict. I didn't know about the unwiches until I read the blog. Skyped him that I found out I can eat there after all, he messaged back, "when you leaving?"
He just had it for lunch.0 -
Craig just posted this: http://www.ruled.me/keto-and-fast-food-on-the-go/0
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The unwich is really good. I do have to order 2 which is not a huge deal. It is a tax for being fit. I pay that tax a lot at fast food places as I always feel I need to order extra since I'm going to be picking through most of it to assemble my healthy meal.0
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Craig just posted this: http://www.ruled.me/keto-and-fast-food-on-the-go/
Thanks, didn't realize you could order just the "sides" at Taco Bell. My son likes to go there sometimes and I've been fairly stumped on what to get. Last time I tried a salad but didn't realize it had corn and beans in it, so I didn't get much food.0 -
I went to a [Subway] *Edit - oh gosh that's wrong, it was a Sumo Salad!!!* recently and ordered 3 salads combined in a medium bowl. That thing was 3/4s full of lettuce and almost nothing else. Half an egg, 3 'dice sized' pieces of chicken and a little sauce. I can't see me buying from them again. That was *very* expensive lettuce and a *very* disappointing main meal for the day
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Thanks Knitormiss, I thought that sneaky sugar might be a possibility in pizza sauce so I'll do it only when desperate for pizza haha.0
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GrannyMayOz wrote: »I went to a Subway recently and ordered 3 salads combined in a medium bowl. That thing was 3/4s full of lettuce and almost nothing else. Half an egg, 3 'dice sized' pieces of chicken and a little sauce. I can't see me buying from them again. That was *very* expensive lettuce and a *very* disappointing main meal for the day
You didn't get to order it like a sandwich? When I've gotten the chicken breast salad, they've used the same patties as the sandwiches, and I called out all the veggies I wanted.
I wonder if your person was having an off day?
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I'll second kirkor. Subway will usually build a salad with any of the veggies and whatever else. New employee maybe? Or just a bad day.0
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Oh gosh, naughty, naughty Granny May, it wasn't a Subway it was a Sumo Salad, I'm so sorry Subway!
I have yet to try a Subway salad. Their bread smells so amazing to this past bread addict. Though the one bite of normal bread I've had in the past 2 months had definitely been replaced by a cardboard cutout 0 -
I just got back from a New York to Minnesota round trip for a funeral. Time pressure plus a full van meant a lot of stops at rapid food places. One of the best I thought was Panera Bread. I had a half portion of a Chicken Cobb Salad with Avocado. Even a half portion was the caloric equivalent of my normal dinner but the macro profile was reasonable for a restaurant.0
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