Healthy Fast Food
 

Does such an animal exist? Between full-time school and full-time work, I don't have much time to eat during the day. What I usually do is grab some Subway or Wendy's chicken and salad and eat at my desk. This isn't the best thing ever, but it's better than chowing down Mc D's grease burgers. The problem is I'm starting to get very tired of Subway and salad. What can I do to eat healthy at work? Don't tell me to put food in my desk, because if it's in there, I'll eat it all in a day or two.

I could bring things with me, but I usually forget to make lunch for myself the night before, or accidently leave it at home when I leave in the morning. My other problem with taking lunch with me, is I usually have class in the morning, then go to work. If i bring my lunch, I have no place to store it other than in my bag, which can get hot and spoil some food by the time lunch hits.

What can I eat either at my desk or pick up very quickly, and still be good for me? Calories do count, as I like to go on 30 or mile rides right after work and need the energy, because lunch is usually the first thing I eat. (i'm not a morning person)

Healthy fast food? Kind of an oxymoron isn't it?

McDonald's used to have a sandwich called a McLean (or something to that effect). It only had 10 grams of fat, which wasn't bad compared to the rest of their lineup. They dropped it a long time ago though. I don't know the reasons. Their new salads are terrible. Lots of fat. I'd rather have the fries and ride more.

I don't blame you for getting sick of salads. Soooo incredibly bland. Rather than keeping food at your desk, why not take in your day's ration each morning? Mix it up a bit - oranges, apples, bananas, etc. If you just can't take it anymore and have to get out of the office and get some fresh air (and get away from the coworkers ;) ) try drinking a quart of water before you go so that you can't fill up on burgers.

Fazoli's might fit the bill, but their portions are measly.

Personally, I am eating so darned much and worrying about money spent on food so I have lately been making the effort to get up early enough and make some food. Today I made pasta, dumped some sauce over it and grated parmesan on it -- it'll be great microwaved, and will keep till noon. I also brought a PBJ for a snack, and a banana, and some grapes. Yet I expect I'll still have to buy something. I'm thinking a berry smoothie with protein powder from the health food cafe. They also have hummus with bagel chips (OOOH, I left some in the fridge last week, I could have those this afternoon!), falafel in a whole wheat pita with veggies, pita pizzas, and other yummy options. There's a bagel cart on campus where I like to get lowfat minestrone and a bagel with hummus. If I have cash I can go to the hospital cafeteria where they have a lovely salad bar. The campus has a Subway too but I don't get there too often. Sometimes I'll indulge in a quesadilla with roasted vegetables from the grill at the student caf. There's a health food grocery store 15 minutes' walk away that has grab and go options like mediterranean dishes and soups and deli foods. I would guess that the regular grocery store isn't more than 15 minutes either, I could get a sushi tray there which would be a nice lunch.

You should also stop going to the chain restaurants. It's a given sometimes you're going to want a burger. One from a Mom and Pop diner (and I'm told they still exist in some places) will be much healthier than some McYuck.

true, something from a local "fast food" place will have more fresh ingredients. But if you must go to a chain, get the grilled chicken if they have it. That's gonna be the lowest cal/fat sandwich you're gonna find unless you go to Backyard Burgers or another place that has a veggie burger.

It's called subway. Get a ft long turkey sub on wheat bread. lots of veggies and stuff but no mayo or oil, instead try musterd or honey musterd.

It's not cheap though, that sandwhich above costs $5.40 without the meal.

I guess it is true that fast food causes memory loss! :)

In the OP, it seems like you already know all the answers, but you have excuses for everything. Obviously, to acheive your own goals, you must take your lunch to work. No more excuses!

To make it easier, follow the good tips posted here by me and others. Do you have a microwave at work? if not, get one, or have the company provide one, or 5 bucks from each worker will buy one. Make nice lunches on the weekend (pasta, stirfry, burritos, casseroles, soup, etc.). Freeze them in tupperware and reheat in the microwave. Or make sandwiches the night before, freeze them and they will safely thaw by lunchtime. Eat your breakfast! It is not a problem that you "are not a morning person." Anybody can soon get used to enjoying breakfast if they consistently try. (You have never really tried, have you?) Also, since calories are not an issue for you, eat snacks in mid-morning and especially in the afternoon. I would suggest nuts, yougurt, fruit, but maybe you even need a "second lunch"--like a sandwich at your desk--in the afternoon.

Come on, you know how to do this! I feel stupid even writing such simple solutions, when the real problem is your own attitude. :)

Baja Fresh Baby! Yummmm

Ooh, I miss them so much! I just got a flashback of corn tortilla with grilled chicken sprinkled with lime...drooolll...

Subway is a good bet if you don't load it with oil and mayo and what not. One thing about the wheat bread at subway . . . i read an article (no idea where it is now) about the whole carb think and fast food. It pointed out that subway's wheat bread is just their white bread that has been artificially colored and dyed to look like wheat, but the actual percentage of wheat is miniscule.

That's true of most commercial "whole wheat" breads. A little bit of the bran gets added back in for color, but most of the stuff in the germ that makes whole wheat good for you is gone forever.

FWIW their Honey Oat has a gram more fiber per 6" than either white or whole wheat, so that's what I usually choose.

I highly recommend Lean Cuisine frozen meals. They are quite tasty, and it's easy to throw one in a bag and take it to work with you. It'll still be partially frozen by lunchtime, then just throw it in the micro. They even have a line of meals now (cafe classics I think) that use whole wheat pasta and brown rice. Throw in an apple for desert.

Before you totally poo-poo McDonald's, take a look at the Egg McMuffin. An egg, slice of cheese, Canadian bacon, and English muffin, no added grease. It's actually not bad. I used to eat them a lot for breakfast when I was on Weight Watchers.

For me eating salad is a chore.

I know you're sick of Subway, but it really is the best option. But there are other meats besides turkey. The roast beef and ham don't have much more fat than the turkey does.

Someone above mentioned hummous and falafel. Delicious and nutritious, but they usually have LOTS of oil, so be careful with that stuff. Hummous is basically chick peas, tahini, and olive oil all mixed together. Tahini is like sesame butter, so that's not exactly low in fat either.

Healthy and low fat don't have to be synonymous though. 50% of the calories in hummus might be from fat, but it's healthy plant fat. At just 100 calories per quarter cup, plus it's got a significant amount of fiber and a reasonable amount of protein, I find that it's a fine munchie. I just had a second meal from a single $2.50 serving of hummus and bagel chips; the dehydrated bagels are low fat and their protein complements the hummus. It's a nice macronutrient balance for something so darned cheap!

it's not whole wheat, it has enriched flour just like the white bread. aka: not really that good for you. also the veggies are certainly not organinc aka: loaded w/ pesticides and what not. subway is crap. fast food is not good for you.

Alison have you tried the baked tortia chips with the hummus? YUMMMMMMM!!!!

yes - HUMMUS on anything. carrots, cucumbers, fingers.
yes to hummus!

And it's so easy to make! I usually make a big batch at the beginning of the week.

manual_overide: Try to find a health food store like Wild Oats or somethign locally owned. They should have a good selection of ready-to-eat type stuff that is low fat and made with whole ingredients. But get ready to pay for it.

Lots of suggestions to bring my lunch along. That's great except I usually have to go to class all morning before work, and food does not keep well in a hot car or likes to get squashed by books in my bag. I've also tried bringing enough lean cuisine/rice bowls to last a week, but those get old after about a day. I guess I'll have to suck it up for one more year until I'm finished with school, and my schedule gets easier.

Thanks for the tips on healthy grab and go stuff, though. I've been trying to buy natural or organic foods at the grocery if I can help it (if it isn't rediculously more expensive). The hardest to find outside of the wild oats stores and the ilk is the meat. I'm convinced BGH is a major cause, if not the leading cause, of most of the obesity problems in America.

Keep the healthy fast food ideas coming! I know there are a lot of people who are pressed for time and would like to eat better.

I hate fast food but I really like Subway. It's not greasy and they also have a veggie pate sandwich, lots of good salads, and delicious soups. THe best, believe it or not, is cream of broccoli. It sounds gross, but it's great. Everything there is fresh too.

fat has a bad rap that is not earned. well real fats that is not the processed crap. your better off eating real fat thats in meats and veggies and nuts then the processed carby crap that is in most junk food. hell 1/2 the calories of a burger come from the bun and look at the whole meal the bun fries and drink are the worst.
I keep eharing if it is low fat it's ok bull crap.

do you have a blender? How about a drink with 1 cup unsweetned soy milk, or
cow's milk, one scoop Trader Joe's Vanilla protein powder, I banana, and any other
fresh/frozen seasonal fruit? Whirl it all together. UMh umh GOOD!

you could keep a cooler w/ fuits and veggies in your trunk while you're at school. go to work about 20 min. early and prepare your lunch, and throw it in the fridge untill your lunchtime. all you would need is a knife and cutting board that would fit in your cooler w/ the food. just rinse it off in the sink and take it home to wash.

Subways is the better of the fast foods. Otherwise, go to mom & pop places and have them rig up something for you. Otherwise, bring your own fruit.

Roly Poly: anything on their veggie & cheese menu.

Subway: Have them make you a veggie style w/ their wrap.

Amy's Organic's (vegetarian) are good.

I found that Boca's BBQ ch'ckn stays frozen on a 15-20 mile ride.

Of course, if you can't come up with ideas that surpass your excuses, I honestly have no answers for you though:(