Recent drama aside, Wendy's has one of the best menus. Although I cringe as I write it, Wendy's chili, combined with a plain baked potato and a salad w/low fat dressing is one of the all-time best fast food training meals. Put the potato on a plate, cut it up in cubes, and dump chili on top. Added benefit for some people is that salt content is low.

Their salads are usually first rate for drive-by eating.

I know there are some nice regional chains, esp. in the west and SW that have great salad bars. Not too much of that in the east and mid-west.

I tend to east mostly fresh, self-prepared foods, but that is expensive and takes a little time. The Lean Cuizine-type meals have way too much salt for me, as do most prepared pasta sauces.

Bolthouse farms has great veggy, fruit and soy-protein drinks. I usually have a Bolthouse soy chai tea latte drink after riding.

actually you may want to reconsider eating their chili. The small has .5 grams of trans fat. I think the large has either 1 gram or 1.5 grams.

Havn't been eating much of it recently Yea, it's not organic soy turkey chili, but compared to other truly fast food alternatives, it's not bad. I'm sure if you loaded the baked potato with their "cheese" topping, the trans-fat level would go thru the roof.

What I'm saying is that there are other alternatives that don't have any trans fat

I had a good bookmark for healthy fast foods, but the Men's Health website changes stuff up, seemingly so you can't keep bookmarks (grrr) but I found this:

https://www.menshealth.com/cda/articl...00cfe793cd____

and two more seconds of google:

https://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcou...ting_well.html

Noodles and company if you have one in your area has some reasonably healthy menu, not to mention if youre working out almost everything on their menu has tons of carbs. I prefer getting the buttered noodles and parmesan with no butter and light on the cheese, dont forget the extra seasoning, that **** makes my mouth water!!

If you're looking for organic stuff, Amy's Kitchen makes a whole line of frozen organic vegetarian meals and foods that are really good. Not all of this stuff is necessarily very healthy, but certain items (ones without a lot of cheese) can be pretty good from the health side. They use a lot of spinach which is nice if you can bear eating frozen spinach.

I just keep a cooler in my trunk and throw one of those blue ice things in with whatever food I want for the day. It works well enough so that lunch foo will keep fine for a few hours.

THREE CHEERS FOR HUMMUS.

Subway sandwiches with honey mustard. YUM!!!

Awww, that is the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Since I've started eating more healthy, I've given up stops at fast food places and have begun shopping for lunch at grocery stores. I'm on the road quite a bit but have learned that a quick run into the grocery for some fruit, veggies, cheese, nuts, lean deli meat, etc. and the 10 items or less line is quicker, cheaper and healthier than almost ANY fast food option.

Wendy's - you can get an entire cup of mandarin oranges for 99 cents

Or a large fruit bowl w/yogurt for (I think) $4.99 or cup for $2.99

Their mandarin chicken salad is not bad if you forget (or limit) the dressing (loaded with stuff) and cut the pretzel thingies way down.

Baked potato combined with the chicken from a grilled sandwich with reduced calorie ranch dressing (throw away the bread, keep the tomato and lettuce).

McDonald's just started a fruit bowl, but they had to add candied walnuts! Not near as good as Wendy's.

Get a McD's Sausage McMuffin WITHOUT THE SAUSAGE (egg and cheese only).

McDonalds has a pretty good fruit parfait with low fat yogurt, berries. Forget the granola.

McD's ice cream is low fat, and pretty low in calories.

Since January I have lost 95 or so lbs at this point. I have pretty much given up fast food but if I must a 0.99 side salad at Mickey D's and a Piece of grilled chicken (0.99) to go on it make for a easy 2 dollar meal. If I am really hungry someplace with decent Burritos like Chipotle Mexican Grill will almost always be healthier than most other places I have found.

I looooove Chipotle!!!

A Chipotle burrito (not Bol) has over 1,000 calories and over 12 grams of saturated fat:

https://www.cspinet.org/new/200309301.html

My favorite healthy and quick foods are casseroles or soups made in the slow-cooker. Simply make a casserole (tuna noode, mmmm) on the weekend and load up the extras into a few reusable plastic containers. Or cook a pot of beans and veggies overnight: high protein, fiber, carbs, nutrients, yum!! The cost is super-low (beans are something like 50-75 cents a pound!), compared to eating out at a fast food joint. I find that these last for 4-5 big meals or keep for a couple of weeks (longer if you freeze the extras).

My latest favorite is an Orthodox Jewish recipe traditionally prepared on the Sabbath, when cooking is forbidden. Perfect for the slow-cooking of a crock-pot!

Veggie Slow-cooker Cholent:

2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper

* Combine spices together and set aside

2 large onions, chopped
4 large carrots, cut into coins
2-3 stalks celery chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil

* Mix together veggies and oil in bottom of crock pot, cover with 1/2 of spice mixture

1 cup Dry Lima Beans
1 cup Dry Kidney Beans
1 cup Dry Pearl Barley

* Mix together beans and layer over veggies, sprinkle other half of spices over top

1 1/2 - 2 lbs of potatoes

* cut potatoes in half and then in 1 inch slices, layer over top
* cover with 2 inches of water. This fits just right in my 2.5 gallon slow cooker, so adjust according to the size of yours
* cook on the low setting for 8 hours, then refrigerate/freeze extra

You can also add spices, garlic, or meat to this recipe. Cubed beef or chicken would be a good addition.

I only ever eat the burrito bols, but that's interesting how many calories are in one of the tortillas! Wow. I eat Chipotle every now and then and it's my entire dinner at around 650 cals w. rice, not too bad for a treat. I like that they have free range pork...and the seasonings are so good. Man, this is making me hungry!

Taco Bell has a ton of low fat items, if you order them right. The bean burrito has 9 grams of fat with cheese, so if you dont get cheese im sure itd be like 7 grams.
You can get a lot of their foods under 8 grams of fat if you:
Always go for chicken as the meat.
Order the food as Fresco Style. Fresco style means no cheese, and no sauce. They put tomatoes and onions on instead. Then you can put your own mild sauce and tuff.

check out: https://www.tacobell.com/ and check out the info on fresco.

Taco bell is actually really healthy, if you get chicken. I dont know about the ground beef.

I had the same predicatment when I used to travel - I often just hit the grocery store.

I get a little box of milk, 2-3 apples, a few thick slices of ham from the deli counter, little bag of carrots, cottage cheese, premade wraps, etc etc

Depending on your appetite you can get a wide variety.

Often one needs the calories. Since I cycle to work, I often get rides to lunch places and co-workers like Chipotle. I usually get some meat burrito, no cheese, sour cream or guac. Without those three items, its likely a bit less than the 1000 calories and less sat. fat, but I still get the carbs & some protein I need.

Al

I wondered about the salt content of the Chili a year ago and found out that it's pretty high. Or at least it seems to me to be high. The small (8oz) has 780mg of sodium and the large (12oz) has 1170mg. Isn't that considered high? Or is it where cyclists need more sodium because we sweat more? Either way I think it's high. But that doesn't keep me from eating it

Wendy's nutritional data (Adobe Acrobat format): https://www.wendys.com/food/US_Nutrition_2003.pdf

Do any of you have a concern with the lunch meat and sodium nitrates found in them??
Until my nutritionist pointed me to some studies, I thought Subway was a good fast food. Ha, at least that's what the commercials told me.
If you research the topic, you can make your own decisions - you might just end up staying away from foods with Sodium Nitrates.

I post this one cite because my father in law died of Pancreatic Cancer this past year.


April 29, 2005


Two different studies, one from the University of Hawaii and the other from the University of Pittsburgh, point to potential cause and cure of one of the most aggressive cancers - pancreatic cancer. With the highest cancer mortality rate (some 80% of all those diagnosed die within one year) pancreatic cancer is now the fourth leading cause of cancer death among men and the fifth among women in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.



In previous hallmark studies of pancreatic cancer prevention, the consumption of fish and green tea were shown to provide some improvement in the condition of pancreatic cancer patients and contributed to the fight against carcinogens. But in a study released last week by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the focus was not on a particular food or beverage, but on a spice, capsaicin, the element in hot peppers that make them “hot.”



Sanjay K. Srivastava, Ph.D., lead investigator and assistant professor, department of pharmacology for the university, treated human pancreatic cells in the lab with capsaicin to examine its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory potential. (Antioxidants are known to fight cancer cells.) What they found is that capsaicin induced programmed cell death without affecting normal pancreatic cells, giving this spice chemotherapeutic potential as a novel agent in the fight against pancreatic cancer.



In the Hawaii study, conducted by the University’s Cancer Research Center in Honolulu, these researchers followed 190,000 men and women of five different ethnic groups for seven years. The scientists concluded that those who ate high amounts of processed meats, like hot dogs, and breakfast or dinner sausages, had a 67% increase in the risk of developing pancreatic cancer over those who did not consume the products or consumed very few. The study also indicated that eating pork and red meat increased the risk of pancreatic cancer by 50%.



Those participants who did not consume cured or processed meat but ate chicken, fish, eggs or dairy products did not have increased rates of pancreatic cancer despite their equal or similar levels of natural fat and cholesterol. This led the scientists to believe that it is not the meat itself, or the fat, but the chemical agents, especially the use of sodium nitrates, which can lead to cancer. Sodium nitrates are well known to increase the development of nitrosamines in the body that promote the growth of cancer cells, particularly in the colon and the pancreas.



Once again reaffirming: we are what we eat!

I NEVER get the "lunch meat" at Subway - only the chicken varieties of sandwiches.

I'm sorry to hear about the death of your father in law - If you have any links you can post - I would like to read more.

GG

ewwwwww. I would never ever buy or even suggest a burger from a Mom and Pop diner.
The health and sanitation ratings on those are usually so bad. I don't eat out period because of health and sanitation reasons but eating at some Mom and Pop diner is almost always a ticket for something worse then what you could get by eating at one of the better burger places.

When I do i usually eat out it's at McDonald's or Subways and this happens once every other month approximately although I think i've aten at Subways 12 times this month, not paying however .