Okay, I am the first to admit that eating out and making bad choices probably got me into this mess in the first place... but now 5 weeks out, I realize that eating out or on the run is a reality of my single mom life. I do find that most places have 'good' choices, that I never noticed before! Of course I cannot eat more than a couple bites, but as I am learning what I can tolerate, I always have left overs to share with the kiddos, or for lunch the next day...

So, at the risk of being lectured, my question is: What are your 'go to' restaurant choices or fast food? This is what I have found works for me so far:

Rubios, Grilled Salmon Fish Taco

Sansai, chicken Kids meal (minus the rice, steamed dumplings)

Subway, tuna salad

Vons (yes, I run into the the grocery store deli), Chicken Salad

KFC's BBQ chicken snacker is really pretty perfect. I don't eat all the bread.

Not a fan of fast food, but from time to time it is a necessity.

Chick-Fil-A has grilled nuggets, and you can order the kids' meal. They also have chicken noodle soup, and have (or had) a chicken tortilla soup that was very good.

Steak N shake has chili and you can get a side of cottage cheese.

Any "Mexican" place, like Taco Bell or Del Taco, where you can get a side of refried Beans. I'm guessing those have lard in them though.

I'm with you Catracks. I'm scared of the mayo in the tuna's, the msg, etc.

I'm with you Catracks. I'm scared of the mayo in the tuna's, the msg, etc.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a health food Nazi , but I'd rather eat something nice for 100 calories than waste it on a measly tablespoon of mayo. I only have room for around 700-800 calories. For that I can have yogurt or 3 oz of salmon or something else nice.

Places like Cheesecake factory add gratuitous amounts of butter and oil to their foods so that healthy sounding things are disasters. God only knows what fast food places do to the food.

So this is what I do, now remember no fast food is good for you, but when I am at work and I want something I go to Panda Express and just get a side of Mushroom chicken (no sides) it is 180 calories per serving with 13g Protein however it does have 15g of fat and 870mg of salt. One serving will usually last me 2-3 meals. However the Shiitake kale chicken my be a better option 170 cal 14g pro 8g fat 570mg salt

i have to eat a few meals out every week and right now i'm 8 wks post op. i have done Wendy's chili, hard shell taco from taco bell, 1/4 of a mcdonald's hamburger with 90% of bun removed, and Soups from different places.

i am TRYING to figure out how to make eating out a healthy option but truthfully most eat-out places have a ton of sodium. i am not carb phobic and can eat a very small portion of them several times a day (following my bariatric program) but most of the carbs are over done too (HUGE carb portions). i went to subway and got a turkey 3" and took ALL of the white spongy bread out of the bun and just had the very crusty outer shell. it was good but still couldn't eat most of that either

I think pretty much every place has a grilled chicken sandwich, no bun.

A piece of grilled chicken, a bit of mayo, slice of tomato on top....that can be two or three meals for me.