North Carolina (southern food as a special challenge)

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  • starrylioness
    starrylioness Posts: 543 Member
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    I'm in NC myself, born and raised here and yes...I agree...it makes weight loss difficult. We just don't eat out unless we absolutely have to (traveling, very special occasions, etc) and eat as clean as we can (non-processed stuff, fresh meats, vegetables, healthy cheeses, etc) because there's just too many fattening places to eat around here. Far too much fried chicken and BBQ! Not to mention grandma's cooking! :laugh:
  • carrietehbear
    carrietehbear Posts: 384 Member
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    Having lived in Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland & now South Carolina (Just outside of Charlotte, NC).... I can say the hardest thing about living in the south is the southern hospitality. I feel bad for refusing foods that are offered to me. People like to give me a hard time for eating healthy. And I'm not sure why we have to put fat in everything here (I just learned what fat back was the other day... totally grossed me out!)
  • StinkyWinkies
    StinkyWinkies Posts: 603 Member
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    ...

    Sidenote: My first day in NC I tried a burger (and subsequently a hot dog) "Carolina style"....my life has never been the same ;)

    My first meal, ever, in NC was Andy's just outside of Currituck on a day trip me the (then) SO took (I like to ride the ferry between Va to NC) I actually know someone who "won" the eating contest they have with the huge burger...gross.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
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    Been in NC (Triangle Area) for 29 years. Orighinally from Pittsburh, PA Area home of the worlds best perogies, smothered in butter. My 1st meal in NC was to walk across the street from the hotel to Smithfield Chicken and Barbecue. Don't remember what I had for dinner but certainly remember wondering what the heck was on the plates of others. Turns out it was pulled pork and Brunswick Stew. And that squeeze bottle of vinegar with hot peppers and a dash of ketchup in it was for the pulled pork. LOL. Love Eastern NC BBQ.

    To the OP, surely Wilmington has a host of fine restaurants with healthy food choices. I read through your profile and if you're eating less but still gaining perhaps you could find some time in your schedule to dedicate to exercise since you now have a desk job and are more sedentary than before. It really is all about calories in, calories burned. There must be something in that 95% vegetarian diet that is helping to add the pounds.

    The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area (where I live) is loaded with great restaurants but I choose to eat most frequently at home for financial reasons and to better control my calories and macros. Plus both my husband and I love to cook. Now THAT said, DH smokes a great Pork Butt and my turkey @ Thanksgiving will be deep fried however neither are routinely on my daily menu. I certainly plan for them though. Good luck to you. You'll find a way to lose.
  • kjimmie4848
    kjimmie4848 Posts: 123 Member
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    I moved to NC from Baltimore and gained 60 pounds in 2 years. It started as just trying all the restaurants to eating all the restaurants all the time. McCall's BBQ Buffet and BoJangles!
  • comalua1
    comalua1 Posts: 80
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    ...

    Sidenote: My first day in NC I tried a burger (and subsequently a hot dog) "Carolina style"....my life has never been the same ;)

    My first meal, ever, in NC was Andy's just outside of Currituck on a day trip me the (then) SO took (I like to ride the ferry between Va to NC) I actually know someone who "won" the eating contest they have with the huge burger...gross.


    ohhhh andy's...

    it's now called highway 55 lol but i had an andy's burger, minus the bread, just the other night.
  • kramalicious
    kramalicious Posts: 143
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    Southern girl here! While there's no doubt the south has some healthy traditional food, you just have to look to find it. Maybe it's the choice of places to eat. The RTP area can give you whatever healthy food you need. Durham was named one of the best food cities in the South by Southern Living and their whole dining scene has blown up into incredible restaurants and food trucks-- I was born there and cannot believe the change. When I went back home after being away a while, I swung down through Calabash to get my hush puppy fix satisfied. So watch the fried foods and ask for them broiled. Good seafood is good seafood whether broiled or fried. And watch southern desserts, like the pies, pudding and cakes, or work them into your daily goals. You do not want to regret eating a piece of homemade peach pie. . Srsly.
    Also, try to cook in or find a friendly health restaurant , and use the crazy fat southern staples for treats within your budget. .Farmers markets and locavore approach is quite popular and you'll find some great local produce. Close to the coast, it gets better. If you're going to be there a while, llook for a local CSA program, where they supply you with a basket of seasonal veggies and fruits and learn to cook them. When I develop a healthy version of Brunswick stew, I'll let you know ,

    Best suggestion --- if you know you've got an occasion coming up where you 're going to be eating only old southern food, plan ahead and work out like crazy the week before! Then you can enjoy the day. And leave the fast food joints alone. Nothing good ever happens there for people watching their weight LOL
  • Comonemo
    Comonemo Posts: 42
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    Yes, Hwy 55 (formerly Andy's) has some awesome burgers... However, my introduction to "Carolina style" was at Cook Out. I thought I hit the jackpot when I realized it wasn't a joke that chicken nuggets and corn dogs were actually a SIDE ITEM choice to a main meal.....And I definitely made my rounds with the milkshake menu!
  • _db_
    _db_ Posts: 179 Member
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    Yes, Hwy 55 (formerly Andy's) has some awesome burgers... However, my introduction to "Carolina style" was at Cook Out. I thought I hit the jackpot when I realized it wasn't a joke that chicken nuggets and corn dogs were actually a SIDE ITEM choice to a main meal.....And I definitely made my rounds with the milkshake menu!

    Cookout tray with burger, two corndogs and a cheerwine float! Most food you can get for $5.37, especially at 3am.

    On the topic of awesome NC food, any of you within a couple of hours of Durham, really should make your way to Backyard BBQ on Hwy 55...and take a cheat day. I highly recommend the baked beans and mac & cheese to go with their amazing bbq. Of course, the green beans are awesome, too. Aw *kitten* it...just order two plates. :-)
  • astralpictures
    astralpictures Posts: 218 Member
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    Ah, so OP is in the Wilmington area. My wife and I LOVE to eat at Fish Bites when we visit. In fact, we made a trip down there JUST so we could stop at Fish Bites on the way back. We get the steamed platter for 3 (so we have some leftovers) and a plate of scallops.

    My first southern food experience when we moved here was at a place called Country BBQ. The food was excellent, and I had my first hushpuppies... which became addicting. The next place we tried was Stamey's . My wife asked the waitress what a Brunswick Stew was. She pauses, then replies that it's a Southern stew. My wife asks, "What's a Southern stew?" The waitress pauses even longer before finally telling us what's in it, then replies, "Damn Yankees" as she walks away.

    I tried Cookout - love their shakes, but found a foot long hair on my foot long dog.

    So far my favorite restaurants in the cities I've visited in the area are:

    Greensboro:
    Natty Greene's
    McCoul's
    Green Valley Grill
    Crafted
    Village Tavern
    Country BBQ
    Mythos
    Europa Cafe

    Winston-Salem:
    Old Fourth Street Filling Station
    Sixth and Vine
    PB's Takeout

    Raleigh:
    Sitti

    Charlotte:
    RiRa Irish Pub

    Wilmington:
    Fish Bites

    Myrtle Beach:
    Mr. Fish

    For Raleigh, Charlotte, and Wilmington, those are the only places we tried, but they were excellent! We hope to visit more and try some new places to eat there. Pizza is my true food love, but I haven't found any place down here that compares to pizza in NY. Marios, Elizabeth's, and NY Pizza are all okay, sometimes good, but not great. I heard about a place called Sticks and Stones that I want to try next.
  • _db_
    _db_ Posts: 179 Member
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    Pizza is my true food love, but I haven't found any place down here that compares to pizza in NY. Marios, Elizabeth's, and NY Pizza are all okay, sometimes good, but not great. I heard about a place called Sticks and Stones that I want to try next.

    There's an awesome pizza place called Bella Mia in Cary that makes a proper neopolitan style pie in a brick oven. Their pie would be in the top 10 in NYC...maybe in the top half of that list. It's really outstanding, and I say that as someone whose favorite pie is the margherita from Grimaldi's on Clinton St. Oh, and their meatballs are out of this world, as are the oven baked chicken wings.
  • astralpictures
    astralpictures Posts: 218 Member
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    Pizza is my true food love, but I haven't found any place down here that compares to pizza in NY. Marios, Elizabeth's, and NY Pizza are all okay, sometimes good, but not great. I heard about a place called Sticks and Stones that I want to try next.

    There's an awesome pizza place called Bella Mia in Cary that makes a proper neopolitan style pie in a brick oven. Their pie would be in the top 10 in NYC...maybe in the top half of that list. It's really outstanding, and I say that as someone whose favorite pie is the margherita from Grimaldi's on Clinton St. Oh, and their meatballs are out of this world, as are the oven baked chicken wings.

    Excellent! I'll make sure to check it out the next time we swing through. Incidentally, we have considered moving to the Triangle in the future, and Cary is towards the top of my list. Thank you.
  • DeniseB0711
    DeniseB0711 Posts: 294 Member
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    I'm in TN and half my family is in NC and I know what you mean by the infamous southern food, however you have to learn how to clean it up that you still have the flavor without the calories. I find chicken to be easy to clean up as well as veggies. Once you get all the butter and salt out of your system it is so much easier, or at least it is for me. I still have my cravings, but I get creative to help the binges to not happen as often.

    I agree with this. We have healthier for you meals. You can oven fry anything in whole wheat bread crumbs and a little olive oil. There's also the healthy classics like hoppin john, and suckatash.
    Sometimes portion control goes alot further than clean eating. ;)
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    The mere mention of biscuits makes me sad that I'm gluten intolerant. They're just not the same when they're gluten free.

    Southern cooking includes a lot of great produce and vegetable dishes, and you can easily reduce the amount of fat in them, but that doesn't help you when you're eating in restaurants. Still, I envy you!
  • paintlisapurple
    paintlisapurple Posts: 982 Member
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    I'm from up north originally, but transplanted down here in NC to live with my hubs. I was amazed by the caloric content of most foods here especially the greens!
    Experimenting with the flavors of maybe not so healthy (ok no maybe about it) favorites has become a favorite hobby of sorts. For instance, I've found that if I rub a pan with a dab of oil and add onion, garlic and a Tbsp of bacon bits cook over med high for a couple of minutes then add greens and saute another minute then splash with a teeny bit (couple Tbsps to taste) of vinegar and about a quarter cup of water then let steam for a minute or two... I get a very low cal and healthy version of an old favorite.
    :wink:

    Sorry had to edit due to the fact that im up wayyyyyy past my bedtime. LOL :yawn:
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    Bacon is not bad. I just cooked 5 cups of collard greens with 6 oz of ham and 3 thick slices of bacon, including all of the fat. I crumbled the crispy bacon over the top. Even adding a half cup of black eyed peas to each serving, it still only came out to 192 calories per delicious, smoky serving, with 5 grams of fat. There were 5 generous servings in total. Alone, it's a light meal, although a little light on protein for me. With 1/2 of rice, it's a filling meal. With more ham, it would be perfect, and not much higher in fat.

    I don't have any reason to avoid salt, so I didn't worry about that, and seasoned to my heart's content with pepper, salt, hot sauce and garlic.

    If I had more time, I would use stock made from ham hocks, and skim most of the fat off.
  • Mfarrell743
    Mfarrell743 Posts: 1 Member
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    Ah this thread makes me miss home, just moved to Maine from Wilmington, NC. Just getting started here. Was huge into crossfit a while back but been pretty lazy over the past year, moving a lot of traveling for work etc. all excuses. And started back into the gym last month but no CF gyms here and I miss that environment. Using the app here as a tracker starting today
  • tripledipped13
    tripledipped13 Posts: 78 Member
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    Well after reading this tread I now want a burger with chili, slaw, mustard, and onions, some shrimp and grits, hushpuppies, southern fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and cream gravy, corn bread, sweet tea, and maybe some fat back....yup North Carolina girl born and raised!!! And I have to say that I do tend to agree with the OP, going out to eat here can be a challenge! Most of the time the only "healthy" choice is grilled chicken salad with no dressing! Sometimes you can find a place that will serve grilled salmon!

    Oh and some Carolina pulled pork!!!!! Dern I think a trip to the mountains is in my near future!! LOL
  • devilwhiterose
    devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
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    I LOVE IT.

    I moved here from Wisconsin and just love the food.

    I'm pretty convinced that I became a gestational diabetic during pregnancy because of all the sweet tea I drank. :tongue:

    Anywho... I try to focus less on the deep-fried south and more on the abundance of produce we have. With the longer growing season, I have expanded my palette to different fruits and veggies.

    I will still tear up some country fried steak and boiled peanuts though... washed down with some sweet tea or Cheerwine. :wink:
  • jennifermjones357
    jennifermjones357 Posts: 2 Member
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    Another NC resident! Raised in Carolina Beach near Wilmington and now living just South of Raleigh, but work in Raleigh!

    My in-laws are all NC born/raised, and let me tell you eating out is easy, but going to a family gathering is another story. There isn't one healthy thing being served except for sliced tomatoes! Fried corn flitters, veggies in bacon/butter, etc., the most decadent lasagna ever, you name it.

    Wilmington has lots of great seafood options that aren't fried! And I think the key to eating out is to 1) not do it often; 2) try to review the menu and calorie information beforehand, preplanning what to order; 3) sharing meals, or only eat half of your meal and take the other half to your spouse or for lunch tomorrow for a few tips.

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