Where do you grab inexpensive healthy food on the go?

At Sams, try a hot dog! With the Bun and dog and mustard and saurkraut it's only 450 calories. The pizza is @ 650 calories.

Seconding packing your lunch. It's the cheapest, it gives you more control, and it really does get easier and more automatic the longer you do it.

But also, you could loosen up your definition of healthy a bit. Pizza is fine, burgers are fine. Salads can actually be huge calorie bombs.

Use portion control. (A burger with one patty, not three. One slice of veggie pizza, a 0 calorie drink.) And learn which toppings/ingredients tend to be more caloric so you can limit them when you don't have access to the nutrition menu. (Cheese and bacon, for example. Whipped cream. Milkshakes. Meat toppings on a pizza. Sides.)

If there's a grocery store nearby, they always have sections with stuff for people coming in on their lunch hour, or just after dinner, or while on the road. You can get fruit, yoghurt, sandwiches, etc. You'd have to check it out though to see what fits in your budget. (And keeping in mind that you could definitely purchase a pack of yoghurt cups and ingredients to make your own sandwich, cut your own fruit, for less. You always pay for someone else to do that for you.)

Find the nutrition menus for your usual lunch places online, and start looking for items that fit within your lunch calorie budget, as well as your $$$ budget.

Sometimes, breakfast menus are cheaper. So look those up. You can always buy your lunch on your way into work, from the breakfast menu.

Inexpensive, healthy food (that will fill you up) is like an oxymoron. A big part of weight loss is planning ahead. Otherwise, prepare to spend money to get a healthy meal.

If you want an inexpensive, healthy snack to hold you over, that will be a little less challenging. Greek yogurt from a convenience store (like CVS), an apple, etc. will hold you over. The other day I grabbed a stick of cheese and a bag of nuts for about $3 and it did the trick.

I always pack a snack/lunch If I know I wont be able to make my own meals for the day. I have lost about 40 lbs in 100 or so days doing this so I can completely control the portions and quality of the food I eat and there really is no better/cheaper way.

wendy's chicken nuggets and chili is my go-to. I also try to keep some beef jerky and protein bars (perky jerky and clif builder mint are my favorites) on hand as back-up.

Also, places like Moe's or Subway, where you can control how they make/assemble your meal gives you say in what goes in and is easier to customize for your calorie/macro needs. Need protein? Double meat. Lower cal? Extra veggies, no sauces/dressings. etc etc.

Oh! I forgot chick fil a's grilled chicken nuggets 12 count = only 200 cal

My own refrigerator. If you wait until you are hungry to figure out what you are going to eat, you are in trouble.

There is one food chain in my area (Cafe Yumm) that has healthy brown rice bowls. Other than that, I try not to put myself in situations where I HAVE to eat out.

I eat a lot of on-the-go type foods. In a comparison of cost vs convenience, convenience often wins for me. I eat lunch at a Panera near my office (avg $8 per meal). I also grab wraps and salads from the Target deli counter ($5). Breakfast is usually a Quest bar.

When I have to eat fast food and want to eat "healthy" I'll get a grilled chicken sandwich without the sauce. That's cheap too. Packing lunch and planning are so important

I stop at a convenience store and get a cheese stick and a V8. Might put me over the sodium limit but not the calories so I don't care.

If you can't avoid fast food, then stick with their staples. The calories seem to almost always jump up on their special run items unless they specifically state low calorie.

Pollo Loco seems to have options though I can't speak to the quality of the ingredients.

You can grab a grilled chicken salad at McDonald's or Burger King. You can get a Cantina Bowl at Taco Bell (chicken, steak or black bean). They are inexpensive and quick.

futuremanda wrote: »

Seconding packing your lunch. It's the cheapest, it gives you more control, and it really does get easier and more automatic the longer you do it.

But also, you could loosen up your definition of healthy a bit. Pizza is fine, burgers are fine. Salads can actually be huge calorie bombs.

Use portion control. (A burger with one patty, not three. One slice of veggie pizza, a 0 calorie drink.) And learn which toppings/ingredients tend to be more caloric so you can limit them when you don't have access to the nutrition menu. (Cheese and bacon, for example. Whipped cream. Milkshakes. Meat toppings on a pizza. Sides.)

If there's a grocery store nearby, they always have sections with stuff for people coming in on their lunch hour, or just after dinner, or while on the road. You can get fruit, yoghurt, sandwiches, etc. You'd have to check it out though to see what fits in your budget. (And keeping in mind that you could definitely purchase a pack of yoghurt cups and ingredients to make your own sandwich, cut your own fruit, for less. You always pay for someone else to do that for you.)

Find the nutrition menus for your usual lunch places online, and start looking for items that fit within your lunch calorie budget, as well as your $$$ budget.

Sometimes, breakfast menus are cheaper. So look those up. You can always buy your lunch on your way into work, from the breakfast menu.

AMEN! someone gets it

Apples, hard boiled eggs, protein bars, protein shakes can all travel for hours safely without refrigeration.

mcdonald's double hamburger add letuce add tomato add lots of red onion (about $2 CAD up here, about 340 calories including the condiments) or add a slice of "cheese" to go up to about 400 cal by ordering a mcdouble (don't forget to add letuce, tomato, and lots of red onions!), and a "glass" of water (which is usually free)

Wendy's chili (a bit salty) anywhere from 180 to 250 cal depending on size and country (and your free glass of water)

Can you tolerate weird stuff? McDonald's side salad 40-50 cal without dressing, "fortified" with a side order of regular meat patty (or two) @ $0.60 each which you cut into the salad.

Mcdonald's breakfast time! Regular items are not bad. i also like to get two round eggs on an unbuttered english muffin, add tomato for a dime or two less than an egg mcmuffin (trading cheese and meat for an extra egg)

We have quik trips here and they sell a lot of stuff. They have stuff like yogurt, sandwiches, fruit and cheese trays (individual Size) pieces of fruit, granola/protein/breakfast bars. They also have hot dogs, taqitos, pizza, hot wraps, big pretzels, smoothies...