SUGGESTIONS - Fast Food Lunches

Rannoch3908

So I just can't get motivated to make my own lunches to bring to work.

If I am going to eat out (delivery, fast food, etc) give me some of your favorite healthy options from a few different restaurants.

What are your go to healthy delivery options?

quiksylver296

Jimmy John's Beach (something, can't remember the whole name) Unwich. So good!

NovusDies

People ask for healthy but often they mean low calorie. Is this the case for you? If so, many places have calories online now. You would probably need to experiment with some options to get your hunger sated for a reasonable amount of calories which would be the real challenge... at least for me.

Lynatea

Fast food doesn't typically satiate me, but if I do have to grab something, I'll usually grab a couple crispy tacos from taco bell minus the sour cream of course, or a jr size burger without mayo or cheese, and no fries. 😁

AnnPT77

Taco Bell has a lot of options, especially if you use their online calculator to configure what you want (not everything is on the menu board). I like the veggie power bowl minus rice plus extra black beans, personally, plus maybe some extra pintos'n'cheese. (I'm vegetarian.) Subway will make any sub into a salad, with your choice of their veggies. I usually go for some cheese maybe egg for protein (meat eaters would go for other things), and get guacamole and vinegar as the dressing.

Some exploring of online nutrition calculators for the fast food in your area can really pay off.

ritzvin

Rannoch3908 wrote: »

So I just can't get motivated to make my own lunches to bring to work.

If I am going to eat out (delivery, fast food, etc) give me some of your favorite healthy options from a few different restaurants.

What are your go to healthy delivery options?

A usually healthier & cheaper alternative is to pick up a selection of ready made food from the supermarket. Larger supermarkets usually have a wide selection of stuff ready to eat (either in-store cafe/deli area or in random aisles) either as is or just microwaved. (ETA: some also have in-house cafe/eating areas)(mentioning the supermarket in case you didn't think of it for ready-to-eat stuff)

MaltedTea

Starbucks' Egg White & Roasted Red Pepper Sous Vide Egg Bites

Mithridites

I grab a couple of hardboiled eggs and a couple of pieces of multigrain seeded bread. Add a banana. It’s pretty darn fast.

Lynatea

MaltedTea wrote: »

Starbucks' Egg White & Roasted Red Pepper Sous Vide Egg Bites

This sounds amazing!

yirara

A good slice of wholegrain bread, cheese, something else I have at home. Cut in half, put one side on the other. Eat.

whoami67

El Pollo Loco Double Chicken Avocado Salad (they probably have quite a few healthy and/or lower calorie things on the menu, but this one is my favorite).

Chic-fil-a Grilled Chicken Nuggets with sides or salads of your choice.

Wendy's chili and junior frosty. A Wendy's salad.

Chipotle salad with chicken, no rice, a little bit of beans, lots of salsa. You could have rice on it, but I'm not fond of it so I skip it for the calories.

I think most fast food small burgers are pretty reasonable in calories. Check out the nutrition info for the child's meals.

Actually, I almost never eat lunch from a restaurant except for the occasional El Pollo Loco salad. I'm much more likely to make multiple portions of dinner and freeze the extra servings for lunches later.

KimiAR

Chick-fil-A chicken strips but I cut them up and throw them in a salad. Or I get their gilled market salad w a spicy fil a. It doesn’t need dressing bc the chicken has so much flavor and a
Low cal drink. I feel like I’m getting away with something but it doesn’t hit my calorie bank to hard.

Mini_Chonk

I love the grilled sandwich meal with a cup of soup instead of fries and a Diet Coke at Chick fil A! Also, there Cobb salad with grilled chicken and balsamic is really good too.

MaggieGirl135

I like Panera’s Mediterranean Veggie sandwich (whole sandwich is 470 calories). I find it filling. I also like Chipotle veggie burrito bowls (lettuce, beans, fajita veggies, their tomato and corn salsas, cheese, no sour cream (way, way, too much is spooned on)). I find it very filling; you can go online for the calorie count. I also add their guacamole, which no doubt is a disaster, calorie-wise.

nanastaci2020

Taco Bell steak cantina bowl (they have a chicken option but I don't care for it) - about 500 calories on the menu, but it includes sour cream, rice, black beans, cheese, guacamole, ranch. So you can modify by leaving out one or more of those to drop the calories if needed. They have a build-your-meal tool on the website that shows calories.

Chick fil A grilled chicken sandwich (320) + small kale salad (60)

Zaxby's has a few salad options. All are customizable depending on what you like, or to modify calories. I like one with blackened chicken breast and blue cheese crumbles. It comes with fried onions but I leave them off. I believe its about 370 calories this way, and I use their lite vinagrette for another 35. It comes with a piece of garlic toast, which of course is optional.

Subway - most 6 inch subs can be made to fit a reasonable calorie range, and I typically would not have the appetite for a 12". I'll normally do tuna on white with pickles. Maybe ham, turkey or bacon with various veggies to suit what I'm in the mood for. Sometimes with cheese, again depends on the scenario. 280-550 or so calories.

corinasue1143

Don’t forget Panda Express w/greens.

janejellyroll

I would second the question about whether or not you mean "lower calorie" when you write "healthy."

If yes, my favorite lower calorie options are Subway (you can completely customize your order to leave off higher calorie items and if you get a salad it can be even lower calorie), Taco Bell (you can eat a lot of food for not very many calories if you're thoughtful about what you order), and Chipotle (getting a salad without any rice and leaving off calorie-dense toppings, you can get it pretty low calorie). I've gotten pretty good stuff at Panera too, but I haven't been there for a while.

Hollis100

Rannoch3908 wrote: »

So I just can't get motivated to make my own lunches to bring to work.

If I am going to eat out (delivery, fast food, etc) give me some of your favorite healthy options from a few different restaurants.

What are your go to healthy delivery options?

You specifically asked about delivery. I would check https://www.doordash.com for the restaurants they will deliver from in your area.

My favorite is Panera Bread because of their salads.

I second @ritzvin above, who said to check out the readymade items in your grocery store. I'm a noncook. I like to keep things in the fridge I can grab in less than one minute and take to work: Ready Pac Bistro Bowl cranberry walnut salads (2 for $5 at my grocery store and 200 calories), instant oatmeal packs and/or Greek yogurt I eat with an apple, blueberries, or blackberries. My prep at work for the oatmeal is 1 minute 30 seconds in the microwave.

nanastaci2020

corinasue1143 wrote: »

Don’t forget Panda Express w/greens.

Yes I love Panda Express! They always have a variety of options. I do think it wise to assume their portions could be big because they freehand it. But that is easy to compensate for by logging it as 1.25 servings just in case.

pandagalaxy

I agree with Panera Bread! I usually get a Upick2 Caesar Salad and Cream of Chicken Wild Rice, and I also ask them for whole wheat bread or sprouted grain roll. Say no if they offer you any 'baked goods'.

If I go somewhere else more 'fast foody' I'll get a kids meal usually. Popeyes I'll get the 1 piece mild tender kids meal with fries and it's enough (I find the 3 piece combo is too much).

Panda Express is my favorite but there's not one near me. When I do get to stop at one I usually get the Panda Bowl or kids meal.

If you strictly want something healthy for delivery you're going to have to spend some time looking through menus. If you eat fast food every day you are not setting yourself up for an easy success.

bmeadows380

Wendy's has some great items that can be customized. You can get the grilled chicken sandwich under 300 calories if you have them put it on a regular bun and not the artisan bun and take off the sauce.

I customize the grilled chicken salads a lot - the avocado salad, for instance, if you don't need the fat, you can remove the avocado and the bacon and use a vinaigrette dressing and get it below 200 calories for the half size.

I often get a salad that I've customized and a small chili and can easily get a lunch under 500 calories there.

Arby's turkey club is an excellent source of protein if you take off the mayo and the cheese. The farmhouse turkey salad there can also be brought way down in calories just by removing the cheese and using the low fat Italian dressing.

You can also bring the calories down on sandwiches by eating them open faced and throwing away the bun top. If I need a quick snack, I'll stop at Arby's for a turkey slider no cheese and toss the top part of the bun to the birds - it gets the snack down to 90 calories and over 10g protein.

I used to be able to do pretty well at McDonald's but not now since they've removed all their salads and grilled chicken off their menu. I avoid McDonalds now and will continue to do so until they put those back on their menu. The only way I can do any good at McDonald's is to get a hamburger happy meal with the child fries and apple slices - that's under 400 calories. But ti doesn't hold me long so I don't take this option unless I'm craving a hamburger, and that's rare. Wendy's is a better bet.

As someone else mentioned, Taco Bell is great for allow customizations that can really get the calories down. I use the online or app menus all the time to customize my meals and can have really good success in getting something to satisfy me without killing my calorie budget.

RGv2

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Jimmy John's Beach (something, can't remember the whole name) Unwich. So good!

JJ Beach Club, #12. Always my go to.

That's the one thing I miss about going to the office, I miss the cafe and all of the fresh options they had.

aries68mc

Salads, but watch what they put on it if you can't request ingredients. Make sure you get dressing, if you use it, on the side and don't use it all (usually what they give you is way more than enough for 1 salad). Skip cheese since they might tend to put a ton on. Grilled chicken sandwiches (don't eat the bun or at least the entire bun). Ask for whole grain bread/bun if that is an option. Skip fries (or only eat a few and save the rest for another meal) and get fruit, veggies or a side salad if you need something else with a sandwich. Grilled tenderloin. Lean meats. Also, watch how much you eat. Depending on the dish like salads, burrito bowls or similar items they give you more than enough than you need to eat for one portion. Eat part of it and save the rest for the next day or 2. If you get a sandwich with say, slicked turkey or ham, most times the amount of meat they put on is more than one serving, usually 2, 3 or 4 depending on the restaurant. Remove the extra and save for future sandwiches or salads.

lilithsrose

Taco Bell's Chicken Power Menu Bowl is only 470 Calories (including the dressing) and I find it satisfying and filling.

Any of the Subway Fresh Fit Subs can be healthy. I usually get a footlong Oven Roasted Chicken on Wheat with cheese, spinach, cucumbers, banana peppers and Subway Vinaigrette. Its only 680 calories for the whole sub. I usually eat half for lunch and the other half for dinner or lunch the next day.

Wendy's has some good choices. You can mix & match a sour cream & chive baked potato (310 calories), small chili (240 calories), 4 piece nugget (170 calories), or a half salad (290-340 calories) to make a meal. I'm also a fan of their limited time Summer Strawberry Salad (530 calories with 2 dressing packs).