Your Favorite Healthy Eating Out Choices in the USA

Jenninscotland · June 2014

Hi there,

I am an Expat living in Scotland and taking a wonderful vacation home to the USA in a few days for a couple of weeks. I however don't want to gain weight while on my trip. Having lived abroad for several years, I feel like I have increasingly become oblivious to the various restaurant chains and what they have in terms of healthy eating choices.

I will be travelling through a few states, so most chains should be represented. I'd be very appreciative if you could share your experiences/thoughts of any places you love to go because you know that they have some fantastic healthy options (Chipolte springs to mind as I ate at one last year when I visited Nashville). Healthy options could include great low cal options or foods of high quailty cooked with natural ingredients.

Thanks so much in advance and I very much look forward to reading your ideas/thoughts/experiences.

Jennifer

leggup · June 2014

Which states are you traveling through? Are you going on the 95 corridor? Subway is freaking everywhere along the highways. Chipotle.. not so much. I have held my hunger multiple hours to get to the next Chipotle.

Panera has recently made their calorie information even more transparent. Their salads are awesome: https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/menu-categories/salads.html I usually get the paninis, but that's much more "make it fit the calories" vs "eating low cal."

If you tell us the general area you're going we can be of better assistance. There are a lot of chains that don't repeat as much as you'd think, especially regionally (like Wawa, Blimpie, etc).

ETA: Wawa has some great pre-packaged cheese and grapes-type packs. Hummus and carrots. Veggie + spread. You get the idea. They also have hard boiled eggs, yoghurts, hot oatmeal, and smoothies.

hallo_spacedog · June 2014

Wawa is only in the NJ, PA maybe DE area though.

Grumpsandwich · June 2014

Applebee's and Olive Garden both have a "lighter " section where the entire meal us under 500 calories and they are clearly marked on the menu. I dont eat in very often but they have car side to go which i do every so many months for a treat ( hate eating out with crowds)

The grilled chicken lasagna at Olive Garden is one of my favorites! ugh its a light ricotta and summer veg lasagna, very light n fluffy topped with grilled chicken and the BIGGEST salad you ever seen hehe

Also for a quick bite through the drive through. A small chili and baked potato at Wendy's is under 500

Low calorie is becoming quite popular and a majority of places now have a few selections on the diet friendly list. I suggest checking for eating establishments in the area you are visiting and looking at the online menu's ( and try not to drool too badly lol)

81Katz · June 2014

I've had the Napa Chicken & Portobello's at Applebee's and liked it.

480 calories
14g fat
Sat. fat 3.5g
Sodium 1450
Carbs 35g
Fiber 5
Protein 54
They have other 'light' menu items.
Their nutrition guide: http://www.applebees.com/~/media/docs/Applebees_Nutritional_Info.pdf

I recently had the 'Lasagna Primavera with Grilled Chicken' at Olive Garden and while it was tasty the portion was reallllly small. Like child's size, maybe smaller. Which I guess is why it's on the 'lighter side' menu choices. :laugh:

Calories 560
Fat 29g
Sat fat 10g
Sodium 1700
Carbs 41g
Protein 38g
Their nutrition guide:
http://media.olivegarden.com/en_us/pdf/olive_garden_nutrition.pdf

leggup · June 2014

Wawa is only in the NJ, PA maybe DE area though.

... I know. That's why I prefaced that suggestion with:

There are a lot of chains that don't repeat as much as you'd think, especially regionally (like Wawa, Blimpie, etc).

lisalsd1 · June 2014

I usually eat at Subway or Chipotle. My rationale is that I "control" what goes into my meal to some extent. Of course, you can get less healthy options at both...and load both up with less than stellar options.

My default at Subway is a 6 in. Turkey & Cheese (no mayo); it's just over 300cals. My default at Chipotle is the chicken tacos with veggies and salsa...and yes, sour cream. That's closer to 600 cals, but 42 grams of protein.

lisalsd1 · June 2014

I should add...we went to England/Scotland in 2007. We ate at groceries stores for the majority of our meals (I can't remember the big chain there). We bought sandwiches from the deli and supplement with yogurt cups/fruit/etc. That worked very well for us. You could do the same here. Depends on where you are going, but stores like Giant should have a premade sandwich section.

ahamm002 · June 2014

Most chain restaurants have their menus with caloric information available online. You can eat responsibly at almost any restaurant if you're careful. The problem is resisting the high calorie food once you look at the menu.

_lyndseybrooke_ · June 2014

The only "healthy" thing I ever get while eating out is the McDonald's egg white delight with a fruit and yogurt parfait and iced coffee with sugar free vanilla syrup. I very rarely eat out during the week and I leave more calories on the weekend so I can eat out - I don't pick "healthy" options. I eat what I want and work it into my weekly goal.

I did try some chicken thing on the Applebee's "under 550" menu. Never again. I'd rather eat at home than pick some mediocre "healthy" option at a restaurant.

ETA: Oh, now that I think of it, I did try the Hook & Ladder Light sub at Firehouse last weekend for about 450 calories. It was surprisingly good, but the 900 calorie Steak & Cheese is better.

silverstarrlyte · June 2014

don't know which part of the country you will be in, but if you are looking for fast food, Chic Fil A has grilled chicken sandwiches, and grilled chicken nuggets. You can get a cup of fruit instead of the fries and it is a quick and healthy alternative...

knitapeace · June 2014

I second Panera. I can fill up there very easily for 400-600 calories. They have a great online meal builder tool that lets you plan ahead. They even tell you what soups are on the menu that day.

ahamm002 · June 2014

I second Panera. I can fill up there very easily for 400-600 calories. They have a great online meal builder tool that lets you plan ahead. They even tell you what soups are on the menu that day.

Panera is also nice b/c they have the calories for each dish listed in plain sight on the menu in the restaurant. And their food tastes great!

bingo_jenn · June 2014

http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/weight-watchers-points.html

I found this when I was doing WW and when compared to the websites it seems pretty accurate for calorie count and whatnot. Just a nice, one-stop shop resource for finding options.

PRMinx · June 2014

Wawa is only in the NJ, PA maybe DE area though.

Wawa is definitely all over DE and parts of MD, too.

If you are in any of these states, Wawa is definitely one of the best options. I can always find food to fit my macros well at Wawa.