Fast Food for Lunch Ideas

FrozenTundra511

In and Out Protein Style Double burger......right around 500 cal. Certainly not a daily thing but once in awhile won't kill ya :-)

nuviag

mcdonalds honey mustard warp hoel the cheese extra lettuce grilled not cripsy

thats about it for me and I rarely go


kids meals now less calories bcus of the apple dippers might be a godo one too

i know some people are anti fast food all the way but i have it sometimes

jimthix10

I often will do Culver's when I eat out. They have grilled chicken sandwich and mashed potatoes- pretty filling and only 450 calories. Much better option than most of what is available.

GurleyGirl524

wendy's ultimate grilled chicken sandwich (no sauce), chick fil a grilled chicken (no sauce) & a side of fruit, zaxby's grilled chicken sald (no cheese & no fried onions), capt d's shrimp skewers are also very yummy, drink lots of water ....even Subway is sodium loaded

firesoforion

Wahoo's Fish Tacos! The other places have their fish fried, but Wahoo's does grilled, or you can go for other things like chicken or mushrooms. Their calorie content is VERY reasonable and the food is so tasty. You can do the tacos with rice and beans, all of which is pretty healthy and they even have a brown rice option, or you could go for the salad which comes with fish, guacamole, and lots of good stuff and is something like 270 calories.

nuviag

awesome ideas thanx

I have found something I can order/modify at a bunch of fast food places, allow me to share:

Carl's: Teriyaki Chicken sandwich, hold the mayo, ask for the lettuce wrap. Just under 300
Wendy's: Grilled chicken sandwich, pull off one of the buns. Also under 300.
Pollo: Chicken salad, sub light dressing for regular, use the fork-dip technique and come in around 300.
Subway: sweet onion chicken teriyaki, no dressing except the onion sauce and load up the veggies. Also strip away excess bread. Around 400-ish.
Waba Grill/Flame Broiler(same thing essentially): teriyaki chicken and veggies bowl, brown rice, only eat half of the rice.

Anyplace that makes burgers, hold mayo and cheese, and pull off one of the buns. This move saves 300-400 calories (100 for mayo, 100 for cheese, 100-200 for the bun depending on its size)

hth

JanineHarrison

I know this isn't exactly what your asking but when I actually want fast food (McDonald's, Zaxby's, Chic-fil-a, etc), french fries and all I get a kids meal. Its still not nutritional but it kills the urge, isn't detrimental to my calorie bank, and its already smaller portioned so i don't say I'm only going to eat a few fries and then suddenly they are gone.

subsonickharma

I like to treat myself sometimes to a medium/small fry from McDonald's they are so delicious. Near me I will also go to Primo's hoagies. The small Italian Diablo is about 400 calories. Just need to stay away from the cookies as they are about 100 a piece if not more but ridiculously delicious. Sometimes, I will get the cookie and save it to the end of the night and have it as a treat if I have the calories left over.

strapple

mcdonalds happy meals only set you back 240 cals if you get chicken nuggets and the new 100cal serving of fries!

Hotrodhoodlum

Subway lies on Calories eaten
I would say Subway has to be one of the healthiest as long as you do it the right way and they usually have the calories of their healthiest sandwiches listed.

JanineHarrison

I have found something I can order/modify at a bunch of fast food places, allow me to share:

Carl's: Teriyaki Chicken sandwich, hold the mayo, ask for the lettuce wrap. Just under 300
Wendy's: Grilled chicken sandwich, pull off one of the buns. Also under 300.
Pollo: Chicken salad, sub light dressing for regular, use the fork-dip technique and come in around 300.
Subway: sweet onion chicken teriyaki, no dressing except the onion sauce and load up the veggies. Also strip away excess bread. Around 400-ish.
Waba Grill/Flame Broiler(same thing essentially): teriyaki chicken and veggies bowl, brown rice, only eat half of the rice.

Anyplace that makes burgers, hold mayo and cheese, and pull off one of the buns. This move saves 300-400 calories (100 for mayo, 100 for cheese, 100-200 for the bun depending on its size)

hth

I never really thought of losing 1/2 the bun! teriific idea, though my be a little messy. I had a horrible judge of calories at zaxby's with their grilled chicken I estimate and then looked it up that home and was way off. JUST the bun they used was 360 calories because is was some brioche bun.

Hotrodhoodlum

Maybe once I reach my goal but not sure if I can do it .Its like giving smack to a drug user

Most of the time, I go grab a little something at lunch with my friends. When I add it up on MFP, I almost faint sometimes. Anybody got any favorite fast food places and what item(s) you like to get that are even halfway good for you? So far, Captain D's is good for me. I can get Talapia on rice with green beans and broccoli and come out pretty good. I give that wonderful peice of bread to my friend. Would love more suggestions!

None of those places are any fun eating healthy stuff while all your friends are binging away on fabulous foods.
No, when I go out, I eat the tasty stuff which is why I pack my lunch most days.

No thanks! Go without me.
You might have a stronger will than I.

I just can't do that.

xsmilexforxmex

Taco bell Fresco Crunchy Tacos! They're only 150cal a piece and I LOVE pico de gallo

MrObundles

Bump for later!

ki4yxo

If you're watching your sodium like me,
two Fresco Tacos bumped me up 700 mg
on my sodium intake about a week ago.

As for subway, go to their website and
build your own sub. It gives you all the
nutritional info you need.

I went from a sub that had 1770 mg of
sodium, down to 830 mg. I know it's
still not the best, but it's way better than
I was eating... (these are only 6" subs)

Before starting MFP I bet was over 5,000
mg a day. All the pickles, pickled jalapenos,
a whole can of soup for lunch everyday, hot
salsa. <--- has 180 mg in 2 TBSP! I can eat
that in two scoops! (it all adds up quick!)

Sorry to go off on a sodium tangent, but it
was overkill with me.

puffgrace

If you're gonna go to subway def look at the make your own sub on their website and it tells you the calorie number, crunchy tacos from taco bell are only 170 each, most of it is just taking the time to look up the nutritional info

sportstercindy

Thank you all so much! These are great ideas to try. I agree, it is so hard to go eat while your buds are pigging out on the good stuff. I've been doing the kid's meals with apple dippers and the tacos with fresco. Didn't think of Wendys potatoe and chili. Those are all close by. I'm new so if anyone wants to be friends, please send me something. The more encouragement and ideas, the better!

sportstercindy

You got that right! Hot cookies are one of my weaknesses! Their chips are good too!

carolann_22

In addition to these great suggestions, I would look at mom and pop shops around and look at their salads. For the $ 6 Lunch special at this little pizza shop by me, I can get a HUGE salad made to order with enough grilled chicken to make two meals out of it, and it's SO much better than any true fast food chain salad.

sportstercindy

Most of the time, I go grab a little something at lunch with my friends. When I add it up on MFP, I almost faint sometimes. Anybody got any favorite fast food places and what item(s) you like to get that are even halfway good for you? So far, Captain D's is good for me. I can get Talapia on rice with green beans and broccoli and come out pretty good. I give that wonderful peice of bread to my friend. Would love more suggestions!

None of those places are any fun eating healthy stuff while all your friends are binging away on fabulous foods.
No, when I go out, I eat the tasty stuff which is why I pack my lunch most days.

No thanks! Go without me.
You might have a stronger will than I.

I just can't do that.

Can't argue that one! IF I go with them somewhere really good, I give some of my food to one of my buddies. He loves getting the extras! LOL. Or I go with another co-worker and we 1/2 the meal. Saves money too!

reaolliemama

Most of Mc Donalds Salads are around 150 calories if you leave off the chicken and the dressing...carry your own dressing!

kristen11joy

Go online and decide what to order before you go -- you can check the calories etc.

klmnumbers

I'm totally addicted to Chipotle. You can use the nutrition calulator BEFORE you go to build the healthiest option - I get a salad (skip the dressing) with black beans, fajita veggies, chicken, salsa and a sprinkle of cheese for under 400 calories and it has so much flavor! No matter what fast food you get, be sure to drink lots of water since its loaded with sodium.
http://chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=nutrition_calculator

Yessssss. I second Chipotle. Whenever I am stuck on campus and have to eat fast food, I get a salad without dress. Then I add brown rice, pico de gallo, and chicken. It's ends up only being 340 calories, but it's high in protein and fiber.

ki4yxo

Wendy's dollar menu: Baked potato and chilli. Then put the chilli on the baked potato. YUM!

x2!


Well I was faced with this today. Son wanted Zaxby's,
and my wife wanted chinese take out. I knew this
would kill my whole sodium goal. I really wasn't in the
mood for Subway, so I went to Wendy's and got a
plain bake potato, and a small chili. I thought it would
suck with no cheese, but I was wrong! It's really good,
and very fulfilling. It didn't kill any of my goals, and I
couldn't even finish the potato! (All for$2.46) :drinker:

The only thing I added was some cayenne pepper,
but it still would have been good with out it.

iuew

if i do a fast food lunch, i usually get subway or panera.

TeresaC79

I got a 10" whole grain tofu burrito at Moe's yesterday for under 420 calories.

IvoryParchment

Try to get your coworkers on MFP! If they're aware of the calories, it will be easier to have them split a meal with you. Eating the same low calorie choice every day will get old. You can also bring tupperware and put half aside before you start eating, then make a second meal out of it.

Unbattered meat/poultry/fish is surprisingly low in calories compared to how filling it is. If you order your food "naked" (bun and sauces on the side), you can save a lot of calories and eat the part your like most anyway. It's also less gooey if you're putting half aside for later.