Need more fast food ideas!!!!

[Diamond Gorrila]

Alright, I'm on week three and I think I'm just gonna stay on induction for a few months. So far I've lost about 15 pounds. I have found i'm addicted to buffalo wild wings garlic parm wings... I've been eating them every other day lol.. Today I went to subway and had a steak salad with cheese, onions, salt-n-pepper, oil-n-vin, and best of all.... SOUTH WEST CHIPOTLE SAUCE for dressing! It was soooooo good. Anybody have any other fast food ideas. I need to find quick options on the go other then taking the bun of of a bacon cheese burger? Thanks.

[liv]

I think fast foods can be an OK option once in awhile but they often contain sugars, fillers, msg, and loads of salt and are not really something to base your whole diet on. People who eat fast food eat a lot of brown food and virtually no veggies (unless you count ketchup as a veggie)
I think you have to be careful with subway for instance. They have quite a bit of sugar on their meat and their salads are somwhat carby (do they add sugars to their salad. I am not sure)
OK - if I go for fast food I may do bun less burgers. Some places have really clean burgers. They usually have a green lettuce option. I may bring my own dressing though.

[Aways2Go]

I agree the best plan is to plan not to eat fast food at all if you can help it.

In an emergency, though, I would go for a higher end burger, 100% angus or whatever and not some pre-made patty, no ketchup or specialty sauces, no bun and no cheese (its almost always processed cheese and not real cheese). Hardee's low carb thickburger minus the ketchup and cheese (they would otherwise include it unless you ask to leave it off) I think is about 6 carbs. Most places will try to wrap a burger in lettuce for you instead of a bun if you ask, some places just do a better job than others, LOL!

In a pinch once I got some big sandwich at Arbys that was just a load of the roast beef with no toppings, I tossed the bun out for the birds to enjoy, and ate the meat with a little mayo. I sent them an email and have asked if there are any carbs in just the meat by itself, plain, and so far have not gotten an answer even though they have emailed me twice.

Salads at a few places - leave off any type of croutons or crunchies, dried cranberries (LOADED WITH SUGAR TO OFFSET THE SOUR TASTE) or other fruits (which are likely in sugar syrup from a can) and be careful about the dressing you put on it. Blue cheese is normally the safest choice. Chicken from a lot of places has been injected before they even get it with solutions of who knows what - sugar, salts, msg, whatever - so even if it is grilled and plain it could mess you up if you ate more than a little. Same is true for pre-made hamburger patties like you get in a really cheap burger and cheap hotdogs and sometimes even all beef hotdogs have corn syrup added to them - maybe 4 or 5 carbs per portion instead of zero carbs like it could be. Plus they salt the fool out of everything in a fast food place, so drink extra water if you are eating that stuff.

Try to see if you can find ways to work around having to eat at a fast food place as much as you can. But in the real world, I know sometimes folks have to choose between that or being hungry and maybe eating something much worse.

Also, try going to the website for places you pass regularly and look at their nutrition info and see if you can pick out a couple things from each place you could have without totally doing yourself in. That way you already know before the situation arises and you are in a hurry and don't have time or energy to study and figure it out. Make a list and put in the car if you need to.

And I would double check that southwest chipotle sauce and make sure it isn't loaded up with carbs in the form of sugars or starches.

Good luck with it.

[Diamond Gorrila]

Thank you both for the speedy reply.. I checked the carb count on the chipotle sauce at ://caloriecount.about.com/calories-subway-sandwiches-chipotle-southwest-i56009 and it look like it's Atkins friendly. I love having a smart phone because before I eat anything I'm usually able to check the nutrition facts on it... I guess i'm just trying to find new lowcarb ideas at popular restaurants and fast food joints. The first time I did Atkins I got really in to it and found all kind of recipes to cook and it was good. Right now I'm looking for convenience while still staying true to the diet. I've found that if I don't eat any starchy carbs, keep my water and fat intake up, and get a green veggie in here and there then I start to drop fat pretty fast. I'm losing five pounds a week on chicken wings, bunless cheese burgers, and bbq ribs with no sauce.. My newest addition is the subway southwest steak salad. From my research it looks like a winner too. If anybody has any other ideas please let me know...

P.S.

Also, it doesn't HAVE to be "fast food" but I'd really appreciate if it's extremely quick and simple to fix. Thanks again.

[chinadoll]

Lots of larger supermarkets now have deli bars and some do really nice interesting salads that are fresh and you pick you own dressing to go with it. They also have rotisserie chicken but many of those have sugars in the injection fluids so be careful.

[Aways2Go]

Haven't been to any of them in a while, but the Cracker Barrel chain has a low carb menu on the back of their regular menu that lists the carb counts of several entrees plus side dishes and a couple salad choices. You can pick out a whole meal for about 12 carbs I think, runs about 9 or 10 bucks.

I think Ruby Tuesdays did have a low carb menu including mashed cauliflower, etc., don't know if they still do or not.

Breakfast places can be an easy quick choice if you get some eggs or an omelette with some cheese and veggies and mushrooms. ASK though, about what they use to make the omelette - lots of places add a little bit of waffle batter, loaded with sugar, in with the liquid egg mix (and what all is in that mix, anyway?) that they make omelettes with. You can tell them you are allergic and to make yours with just 2 or 3 plain fresh eggs and not the mix and they can do that. I would be wary about the meats, bacon could have lots of sugar, etc. When you move up the OWL rungs you can get a small side cup of berries and melon, most always available at breakfast joints.


At most any place, steak without any funky seasonings is usually a safe choice with mix steamed veggies (does every chain restaurant have that as a side? it sure seems like it - zucchini, cauliflower and broccoli) and some butter on there. Hot wings are okay at some places and not at others - have to investigate each place.

I haven't eaten out much in a while, so I'm all out of ideas now. I do sympathize with anyone who is extremely busy and on the run a lot though - I know it makes it harder. I did many, many years of working and going to school both and I know how easy it is to just grab whatever because you are tired and have no time. I would make much better choices now than I did then.

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by Diamond Gorrila

Alright, I'm on week three and I think I'm just gonna stay on induction for a few months. So far I've lost about 15 pounds.

Congrats for the 15 lbs. Depending on your metabolic resistance and on how much you have to lose, staying on Induction "for a few months" might not be the best thing to do. Many people do not succeed on Atkins (success, in my mind, means not only losing X lbs, but also maintaining your weight loss) because they spend too much time on Induction and don't give themselves time to progress through the other phases of the program. It is a mistake to believe that OWL takes something like 2 months; it takes much longer than that, if you want to follow it correctly!

Anybody have any other fast food ideas. I need to find quick options on the go other then taking the bun of of a bacon cheese burger? Thanks.

There are plenty of fast foods you can eat.

Take a bunch of basil leaves, put them in a food processor (works in a blender too) with some dry grated parmesan cheese (you can buy it ready grated... so no extra work required), olive oil and a few tbsp of water... process... and you have Induction-friendly pesto (in OWL you can add nuts too). You can make this in advance and keep it in the fridge (there should be a thin layer of oil on top of it). It can be eaten on "slices" of flax muffins, on flax crackers, cheese crackers. The muffins are better hot, imo... but they can also be made in advance and eaten cold. The crackers can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container.

Another fast food is Linda's recipe for Jalapeno Poppers (you can use other peppers too): Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes. Cut a few jalapenos in half and clean the seeds; this takes 2 minutes. Fill each half with cream cheese and roll a slice of bacon (or 1/2... depending how big/thick it is) around it. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. You don't need to stay near the oven... you can do something else in this time.

Cook 1-2 whole chickens when you have time (like, on the weekend) and then you can eat from them for a few days and just reheat in the microwave. You can eat the meat as such, with some veggies... or you can make a chicken salad... or chop chicken meat and mix it with mayo, and have this with some veggies...

Mix chicken with mayo (or tuna with mayo), some sour cream, lemon juice and a bit of tabasco sauce... and eat this on salad greens (e.g., arugula, mixed lettuces, spinach) with some cherry tomatoes. You can also add some olives to it.

Make a quiche or frittata with veggies and meat. This keeps well in the fridge. Then when you want something quick, just eat a slice of it.

These videos will give you more ideas: YouTube - KQEDondemand's Channel. The recipe at the beginning of each episode only takes minutes to make (but keep in mind that not all are allowed on Induction)... and the others are quick too.


By the way, I did not misunderstand your question. And I do realize that sometimes life "happens" and one is forced to eat at fast food restaurants. But the food served at fast food restaurants is often processed, full of sodium and junk, and not the best choice on Atkins, which is meant to be a healthy way of eating.

[Aways2Go]

Follow up on Arbys - after 3 emails pestering them for an answer, I finally got a response after a few weeks, YAY!

If you get the large roast beef sandwich and toss the bun and eat just the meat off of it, it is about 7 ounces of roast beef and has ONE carb. Not bad.

Like I said, I ate that once and just put a little mayo on it. I didn't even check out the Arby's sauce, which I love, because I assume it has sugar in it. Knowing the beef itself isn't a bad choice, I might investigate the bbq sauce and the horsey sauce just to see, but mayo will probably end up being a better choice (or no sauce at all) for an occasional roast beef snack while out running around.

Just thought I would pass that info along. I also passed along to Arby's that low-carbers would like to be able to find out info on the various ingredients of their sandwiches and not just the full sandwich (with bun included) on their website. Maybe if they get enough requests, one of these days they will actually do that.

[atkinsgal08]

>>Today I went to subway and had a steak salad with cheese, onions, salt-n-pepper, oil-n-vin, and best of all.... SOUTH WEST CHIPOTLE SAUCE>>

Have you ever read the ingredients in Subway's "food"?

Official SUBWAY Restaurants U.S. PRODUCT INGREDIENTS GUIDE

[chinadoll]

WOW! There is an awful lot of starch and sugar in subway meats!