What meal do you buy when you have to eat out?

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  • wolfpack77
    wolfpack77 Posts: 655
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    Chinese buffet. Because they usually have a good selection of lean meats, fish and fruits and veggies. And sushi. Yumm! Just stay away from the fried or saucy stuff.
  • 1SlimShaylee
    1SlimShaylee Posts: 204
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    salmon filet, grilled chicken sandwhich, steak, a huge salad with fat free dressing or a vinagerette, or sushi. like others have mentioned don't buy anything that is breaded or deep fried. and those salad bowls from cafe rio, chiptole, or costa vida with no tortilla are great!
  • WilliamsPeggy
    WilliamsPeggy Posts: 440 Member
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    Subway: Tuna salad on lettuce instead of bread. Add jalapenos, tomatoes, & onion. Yum. You're doing the right thing by planning ahead. Good luck! :smile:
  • clairyfairy247
    clairyfairy247 Posts: 425 Member
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    Chinese: chop suey, steamed anything, boiled rice, soup, dumplings
    Indian: tandoori or madras with chicken, prawns or vegetables, plain rice and chapatti
    Kebabs: shish kebab with pitta bread and salad, grilled burgers made from lean fish or meat (beef or whole chicken breast) and without cheese and mayonnaise
    Italian: small or medium pizza with a thin base and vegetable or lean meat topping, tomato-based pasta sauces, bruschetta

    AVOID THE FOLLOWING:

    Chinese: sweet and sour battered pork balls with special or egg fried rice, prawn toast, spring rolls
    Indian: any creamy curries such as korma, passanda or masala with pilau rice, naan, bhajis, pakoras and poppadoms
    Kebabs: large doner kebab with mayonnaise and no salad, burgers with cheese and mayonnaise, thin-cut chips, chicken or fish patties deep fried in batter
    Italian: large deep-pan pizzas, pizzas with the crust stuffed with cheese, triple cheese with pepperoni pizzas, creamy pasta sauces, garlic bread

    sucks the fun out of it a bit :ohwell: if it's a rare occurrence, a little bit of what you fancy won't hurt too much! :tongue:
  • zCarsAndCaloriesz
    zCarsAndCaloriesz Posts: 348
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    Are you not able to pack something that you can eat instead of being forced to eat out?

    If forced, my go to would be the Asian Chicken salad from Togo's. It's around 200 cal, 400 sodium, and a good amount of protein.

    If Subway is your option, stick to the oven roasted chicken breast and load it up with veggies but skip the cheese and sauces. That's the lowest sodium meat option.

    I don't know about where you are located, but here Subway also does salads, their cheap and big too.
    Cuts out the sodium problem if you pick the right dressing, or even bring one with you.
  • heytherestephy
    heytherestephy Posts: 356 Member
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    Fastfood I would usually do subway, 12" veggie on 9 grain or honey oat, no cheese, no sauce, just veggies and salt & pepper :)
  • KarenLamyman
    KarenLamyman Posts: 18
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    standard pub - hunters chicken (chicken, bacon, barbeque sauce & cheese with chips and salad)
    gorgeous.

    but on regualr nights I'm very good.
  • joecollins9385
    joecollins9385 Posts: 355 Member
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    i eat out several times a week. fast food for lunch usually consists of zaxby's salad or subway sandwich (flatbread oven roasted chicken spinach tomato cucumber jalapeno and sweet onion sauce), when i go to sit down restaurants i always get a salad with either chicken, seafood, or a steak and some other veggie for a side. as long as i exercise hard and make good choices for my breakfast and snacks then my lunch and dinner can be pretty much whatever i want
  • unlocke
    unlocke Posts: 149
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    Most all fast food places have salads or grilled chicken sandwiches. You just have to be careful with the sodium content, & with the kinds of dressings, bread, etc. you get.
    If you must have a burger, get a small, plain burger with mustard only, load up on veggies (lettuce & tomato & onions) and get a side salad instead of fries. Maybe take the top half of the bun off to cut extra calories.
    Oh yeah, and drink water instead of soda.
    Taco bell does have the fresco menu with lower calorie options, but the sodium is through the roof.
    Subway is a good option & the suggestions on here are great, but an added step you can take is to have them scoop out some of the inside of the bread before making the sandwich. Load up on veggies & you'll never miss it.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    If you are near a Panera Bread.. most of their salads are between 400-600 calories, and that's WITH the dressings. A bit high in sodium (again the dressing is mostly to blame) but there's a good bit of protein in most of them, and a reasonable amount of fat for "fast food". They are a good size, and always really fresh in my experience.
    http://www.paneranutrition.com/
  • grannisue
    grannisue Posts: 37
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    We eat out several times a week. I plan ahead and don't look at the menu. Most restaurants have a website with their menu and nutruitional values listed which is a great place to start. Also Dotti's weight loss zone is on the computer and has a great app which lists restaurants and a lot of food choices. Also on mfp you can check out restaurant choices too. Some restaurants and fast food places you can ask for a copy of their nutrition menu. I like to stick to grilled chicken, grilled fish, steamed veggies and when ordering make sure it is served dry. Some places will put butter on top after cooking it healthy. With salads avoid the croutons and other toppings like that and be careful of dressings. I never have it on top but barely dip my forkful of salad in it. You can easily eat out with planning ahead. Good luck.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,306 Member
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    If I'm out I always look for a chicken salad of some sort. I love the ones with walnuts and apples. Dressing on the side of course.

    Also I'm a big fan of the Subway Veggie Delight. I mix up my own tuna with light mayo, keep it on ice and add that for protein since I'm not a huge fan of theirs.

    Grilled chicken sandwiches are a good bet too without the sauces.

    Now I'm starving...haha :tongue:

    Great idea!
  • fairykelly13
    fairykelly13 Posts: 79 Member
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    If you have a Red Brick Pizza near you - their Fhazani sandwiches are generally lo-cal. The BBQ Chicken one is only 250 calories for the entire sandwich - super filling and AMAZINGLY delicious....
  • nmalek1025
    nmalek1025 Posts: 72
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    I always order a fresh salad with protein and dressing on the side. Or I will get any option that is grilled like grilled chicken with steamed veggies, or salmon with steamed veggies. I usually never order another side other than veggies. If I am indulging, I eat whatever meal I want but try to stay away from too much fried foods because after eating healthy it doesn't sit well in your stomach regardless of how good it tastes at the moment!
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    Chipotle burrito bol with:

    Double chicken, white rice, black beans, lettuce, cheese, hot salsa.

    Approx macros:
    Calories 795
    Total Fat 26 g
    Saturated 0 g
    Polyunsaturated 0 g
    Monounsaturated 0 g
    Trans 0 g
    Sodium 0 mg
    Potassium 0 mg
    Total Carbs 60 g
    Dietary Fiber 0 g
    Sugars 0 g
    Protein 84 g
    Cholesterol 0 mg

    Curious about where you got that breakdown of info, especially about the sodium? According to Chipotle site the breakdown for that order would be:

    Calories 790
    Total Fat 26.5 g
    Saturated 10 g
    Polyunsaturated NA
    Monounsaturated NA
    Trans 0 g
    Cholesterol 260 mg
    Sodium 1600 mg
    Potassium NA
    Total Carbs 60 g
    Dietary Fiber 13 g
    Sugars 5 g
    Protein 82.5 g
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
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    If it is subway I get a roast chicken salad. If my choice then I will go to a taco bell and get 2 tacos. Sad but that is less sodium then stupid salad dressings.

    Some sammich places where I live make "unwhiches" where they use lettuce instead of the bun. Still loads of sodium but fewer calories/carbs. Hardees even has two Gluten Free burgers that are made that way.

    If I have time to go pick up from a sitdown restaurant that is preferable then I can order meat and veggies.
  • ovenbird
    ovenbird Posts: 9 Member
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    Eating out is fraught with pitfalls.
    I was week willed, in a hurry, and hungry one Wednesday so I drove through Culver's and got a Co Jack Pub Burger double with sweet potato fries. After I came home I checked the info when logging it into MFP. EEK! I had consumed 963 calories in the burger and 441 in the sweet potato fries. I know better, but I sure did flub up on that one.

    Several days later we went to Texas Road House. I was wise and checked ahead on their web site for calorie info of entrees. I chose the grilled salmon. For sides I got Caesar salad without the croutons and dressing on the side, plus steamed veggies. I ate 2 rolls with a little of their cinna butter. I went way over calories there too, because I ate the whole 8 ounce Salmon portion, and the rolls are 225 calories each! Still, I would have done worse had I had the croutons on the salad and ordered my other normal side, a baked sweet potato with nothing on it. their potatoes are all too big!

    So last night we went to Hu Hot. I always get a lot of veggies, but last night I was careful in my sauce choices. they want you to put 5 ladles of sauces in each bowl. I went mainly for the lemon juice and the ginger broth, avoiding the high sugar and fat levels in may of the curry and BBQ sauces. that worked out very well for me. My plate came to 380 calories. They also give you choices of soup or salad with the meal. I ordered their Asian Salad, which I love. then I came home and checked on that. That 12.75 ounce salad has, get this, 570 calories. That's a whole meal's worth of calories right there.

    I will be pre-planning my meals out using web sites in the future. Every time!
  • ennysmith
    ennysmith Posts: 26
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    truely,I buy a chesse sandwitchand soft drink.
  • HelenDootson
    HelenDootson Posts: 443 Member
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    I always go Sushi - High protein, easy to eat and soooooo yummy
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
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    If you mean buying something to eat because you haven't had chance to make your own lunch to take to work, I buy a little sushi pack from the supermarket. Or if I'm by a Marks and Spencer, I buy one of their crayfish and mango salads - I love those.

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