Eating in Restaurants

propskat
propskat Posts: 191 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So, I'm spending more time away from the office, in the field, or on the road, and most of the time that means I can't bring my own lunch, I'm usually not alone, so I'm not the deciding factor in where we go, and sometimes we're in a completely unfamiliar place with limited choices for a meal.

1. What are your recommendations for which chain restaurants have the best selection of healthy food?

2. And in the absence of a chain restaurant, do you have a 'go to' that you usually order?

I find that a lot of smaller places have a salad, but it's usually iceburg, cheese, tomatoes and onions, which may be somewhat healthy but wouldn't be satisfying unless you top it with a cheeseburger and fries.

Replies

  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    steak, baked potato, salad
  • grosler
    grosler Posts: 4
    For myself, when I do go out (which has not been often) I've tried to eat baked/grilled chicken or salmon. Both are fairly low in calories and high in protein.

    Just watch out for all of the sauces restaurants try to put on things. They add calories fast.


    Best of luck,
    Greg
  • kvbushman
    kvbushman Posts: 14 Member
    I choose a steak house kinda place and order either a 4-6 oz steak or chicken breast. I asked for it not to be cooked with Butter. Most of them do. And then I order a house salad with no crutons and dressing on the side. If it comes with another choice, I usually get green beans or mixed veggies. This is my stand by.

    If you have a chic-fil-a, that is a great fast food place. I order a grilled chicken breast and a fruit bowl there. I also do Subway in a pinch. I get a turkey sub on wheat 6 in with mustard and all the veggies. Although I am not big on sandwiches, it is a great option on the go!
  • Tanyaclare
    Tanyaclare Posts: 22 Member
    Nando's have there menu on the web site with all the calories etc, and they have some great salads with chicken on and they have really strong taste so again good. I find by pre planning and then not even looking at the menu when I get there it is better as I then don't get tempted by the other chips and yummy stuff, if i don't get the chance to look then I go for baked poatoe and beans or tuna or a salad but always ask for the dressing on the side or no dressing.
  • cinsuccess
    cinsuccess Posts: 333 Member
    Research and plan before the trips. I travel often so on the weekend, I'll see what my schedule is for the week and look online for places to eat as well as looking up their menu if it is available. Every major chain has the nutritional information on their websites and most of them have developed a "healthy" menu section. As for your collegues, if you give them 2-3 options, they will pick one of them most of the time and might even be happy to not have to search for a place last minute.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    steak, baked potato, salad

    ^^^ This, served me well during a 5 day, 4 city, 8 airport trip
  • propskat
    propskat Posts: 191 Member
    Great ideas everyone. I can live with a steak and baked potato. Might have to splurge a little on sour cream though. :wink:
  • mzhokie
    mzhokie Posts: 349 Member
    I stick with the lean meats.... ask how something is prepared. Tell them no oil or butter. Personally I love big salads with grilled chicken or salmon on it. The bad thing in salads are usually the non-veggies... cheese, dressing, croutons. I dip my fork in the dressing vs pouring it on the salad.

    If they have a steamed veggie for a side, I will double order it or substitute something with it.

    The internet is your friend so look up menus before you go out. Some hotels have a menu book that you can look at too.

    I'm not a big chain restaurant eater so I can't help you with that. Stay away from Cheesecake Factory! I know that. Their meals are usually 3-4 servings and rarely under 1000 calories.

    See if where you are staying has a fitness center and try to get some extra exercise in. that helps counter act when they want to take you on a business lunch or dinner. If you are driving, pack a lot of good healthy snacks to take with you. I cut up veggies for traveling since we always tend to buy junk whenever we stop at gas stations.
  • coopersmom2006
    coopersmom2006 Posts: 839
    Outback, Chili's, Ihop and Applebee's all have their nutritional info available online. They all (except Outback I think) also offer lower calorie meals. I like the Simple and Fit stuff from Ihop. ;)

    If it's a place with no info available I'll guess high on my calories and just wing it. I do try to find places with a fitness center when we stay away from home or I bring a couple of workout DVDs along with me.
  • rrrainiii
    rrrainiii Posts: 31 Member
    I'm a big fan of Wendy's when I don't have a lot of time. The chili really isn't too terrible (high protein, low fat), and they have baked potatoes as well. I believe the chili has a lot of sodium, though. I want some right now, actually. :/
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
    I went to Ruby Tuesday's a few weeks back and they have a light menu. The cajun fish was incredible and they had sides like broccoli and spaghetti squash.
  • sisierra
    sisierra Posts: 659 Member
    seafood is my go to. baked/grilled are the safe words lol
  • sisierra
    sisierra Posts: 659 Member
    steak, baked potato, salad

    blasted eat-whatever-i-want-to lifters *growl* lol
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    usually i order fish of some sort with steamed veggies--even if the fish is sauteed..as long as it isn't breaded i figure that the most it'll run is 500-600 calories (Depending on type of fish--white fish is usually less...more like 300-400 for the meal).
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    steak, baked potato, salad

    blasted eat-whatever-i-want-to lifters *growl* lol
    I don't lift and I still eat what I want. I was eating 1500 a day to lose, but I could always fit in something like that. You don't have to order the biggest steak on the menu, and you don't have to cover your baked potato with toppings or slather dressing on your salad.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    If you have to go to a chain restaurant (I don't see how that would be anyone's preference) their regular entrees are often something like 1200 calories. And they are enormous. So eat half... 600 calories is a reasonable amount for dinner.
  • propskat
    propskat Posts: 191 Member
    Last time we went to Cheesecake Factory, we ordered an appetizer (love the lettuce wraps there), and we split it, so I figure we did pretty good. And now I'm craving Cheesecake Factory. :love: And I'm going to be in Jacksonville next week. And there's a Cheesecake Factory in Jacksonville....

    The good thing about field days is that while there's usually 2-4 hours sitting on your butt in the car, there's also 2-4 or more hours of tromping through the woods (sometimes the swamp) with heavy boots on. So I get a little calorie cushion from activity.

    I went to Ruby Tuesday last week when I was out of town and I looked over the menu online before I went, but ended up just getting the salad bar to go. That way I'm in control of the portion size of each element of the salad, and by getting it to go, there's no temptation for a second trip to the salad bar.
  • madman50
    madman50 Posts: 1
    This site http://www.dwlz.com/restaurants.html tracks good info about restaurant foods. She is mainly about weight watchers and points, but also breaks out cal/protein/carb/fats.

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