I eat at Salad Works often. I love their buffalo chicken salad. I substitute the romaine lettuce for spinach, and the cheese for a nice corn bean salsa. Add alittle light ranch (I usually carry my own if Im getting a salad) and its soooo delicious
www.dietfacts.com is a great site to use when eating out, but honestly, I don't think there really is such a thing as healthy fast food. Until restaurants start publishing all the ingredients and trade secrets (not just nutrition info) we'll never know just how healthy fast food is.
I remember seeing a news show that mentioned how fast food places spray their salads with sugar water to keep them from browning. This was several years ago, so I'm not sure if this is still the case, but it makes my point that you just don't know what's in the food.
It's hard to completely avoid fast food all together, but I make an effort to make fast food a rare occasion. Just make the best choices you can with the information you have available and try to eat at home more.
Eating healthy at home doesn't have to be pricey. Dried beans, eggs, brown rice, and frozen veggies are all cheap. If you look around, you may find cheap sources of other protein and fresh veggies too. I belong to a CSA and for a monthly fee I get lots of fresh organic veggies for less than what I spent on non-organic veg at the grocery store.
Eating out is so much more expensive than cooking in, no matter how you slice it!
We're on a budget too so I got a big bag of frozen chicken breasts, a few bags of dried beans, a bag of rice, a bag of potatoes, Some fruits and veg's, Some lean pork and chicken cuts, and ground turkey for the week or longer.
I spent about $50. That wouldn't go very far AT all for our family of 4 eating out.
There are alot of ways to eat healthy on a tight budget. There are some wonderful books on the subject (which can be bought cheaply on amazon.com - or better yet ordered from the library).
I do have several that I liked enough to buy for keeps (or picked up dirt cheap at thrift stores or yard sales)
Good Cheap Food by Miriam Ungerer
The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn
The TVP Cookbook: Using the Quick-Cooking Meat Substitute by Dorothy R. Bates
The Beardstown Ladies' Stitch-In-Time Guide to Growing Your Nest Egg: Step-By-Step Planning for a Comfortable Financial Future by Robin Dellabough
Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: Feasting with Your Slow Cooker by Dawn J Ranck
Crockery Cookery by Mabel Hoffman
_____________
Hubby and I are on a very tight budget, with both of us being on disability. We're needing to find an apartment with more handicapped accessible features, and that means about $200 more going to rent and utilities - so we're going to have to find ways to cut $200 from our existing budget. That's going to be tricky, so I've recently been checking out a lot of frugal living cooking and living books, and trying to find more ways to trim the budget.
Books I've either checked out from the library or am on a waiting list for at the library are (there are a lot more, these are just the one's my library had and I've not read yet - there were about 10 books I checked out from the library last month, and can't remember the titles of. The Miserly Mom series are the only I remember by title):
The best of living cheap news : practical advice on saving money and living well
by Roth, Larry.
Everyday Cheapskate's greatest tips : 500 simple strategies for smart living
by Hunt, Mary
Yankee magazine's living well on a shoestring : 1,501 ingenious ways to spend less for what you need and have more for what you want
$3 meals : feed your family delicious, healthy meals for less than the cost of a gallon of milk by Brown, Ellen.
The Biggest Loser family cookbook : budget-friendly meals your whole family will love by Alexander, Devin.
Cut your spending in half without settling for less : how to pay the lowest price for everything by Rodale Press.
Have you considered purchasing frozen micro-wave meals to substitute for the times you would go out for fast food? They have the convience without all the guilt, and you can purchase them for what it would cost for 2 items on the dollar menu. And they are just as quick as waiting in line at the ff counter or drive-thru. They may not be as tight nutritionaly home cooking, but they are better than ff.
Have you considered purchasing frozen micro-wave meals to substitute for the times you would go out for fast food? They have the convience without all the guilt, and you can purchase them for what it would cost for 2 items on the dollar menu. And they are just as quick as waiting in line at the ff counter or drive-thru. They may not be as tight nutritionaly home cooking, but they are better than ff.
This is a fantastic Idea. There are some pretty good quality ones on the market right now! I use them a lot when I need to grab lunch on the way out the door to work .
The problem with eating even the healthier options at a standard fast food place is that it can be loaded with hidden dangers like high sodium or sugar.
However, when I eat fast food I try and make my items a little bit healthier by modifying it to fit my food guidelines. I leave off any sour cream or cheese, because those can add massive calories depending on the type used. No bacon or creamy sauces used for toppings. Most places now offer a healthier side option in place of fries like side salads or fresh fruit. I drink water or unsweetened tea instead of soda. Also, if I can avoid it, I never eat at the resturant. I bring it home and serve it like a regular meal on a regular plate. That makes me feel like I am having a real dinner and really works for me for some reason..lol. And the big thing is that I try and eat my food slowly so I have a chance to feel full and not cave and purchase a large fry.
But if money is your issue, it is definitely more expensive to eat out. Even if you are just buying 2 value meals at about $5 each, that is $10 for just one meal. You can cook a meal for $10 that will probably leave leftovers for lunch the next day. I had to get serious about menu planning for each week when money got tight around here. I planned out every meal for each day. It usually took me about 2 hours during the week, but it was well worth it. It is amazing how much less you spend at the grocery store when you have a list and you stick to it! Our grocery bill was practically cut in half.
You can get a wonderful salad for very few $$$ at Chipotle Mexican Grill but you have to be careful what you have them put on it or it will be loaded with calories! But I often get one and make it into two meals, as it is big enough. Their food is all organic and very fresh. And again, there are options... I always leave off the dressing and double up on fresh pico de gallo for instance. They have several meat options but I go for the grilled chicken. Delicious!
You can get a wonderful salad for very few $$$ at Chipotle Mexican Grill but you have to be careful what you have them put on it or it will be loaded with calories! But I often get one and make it into two meals, as it is big enough. Their food is all organic and very fresh. And again, there are options... I always leave off the dressing and double up on fresh pico de gallo for instance. They have several meat options but I go for the grilled chicken. Delicious!
Yum we love chipotle here too! I often get a burrito bowl (no tortilla pretty much a salad) and have them add the fajita veggies, chicken, and leave off the sour cream and cheese. Double fresh tomato salsa and every once in a while corn salsa too.
Do you have Albertson's where you are? I see that you like salmon. The sockeye salmon (Alaskan wild caught) goes on sale for $3.99 a pound tomorrow. That is just $1 a serving. Sockeye is the very best nutritionally.
I don't often eat out. Other than Subway, I don't really "trust" restaurants. I mean how do you know if someone there is putting on 1 Tbs. or 3 Tbs. of mayo or ketchup? Same goes for sauces and dressings and the like. I don't really stress about it though since we don't eat out frequently but if you do dine out frequently it may be something to consider. There have been many, many reports on local news stations testing the nutrition content in these so called, "heart healthy" or "calorie wise" menus. More often than not they are grossly incorrect.
Hi MeganBeth... yum your burrito bowl sounds pretty much like my salad. And I love their fresh pico de gallo (or tomato salsa). I always get a double scoop of it too. Plus here you can get up to four free little containers -- and I usually buy four more so I have eight to take home and use all week. I just used my last one tonight. I wish the restaurant was closer... I always go out of my way to go there when I am on that side of town... generally on Sundays as my church is over that way. It is a wonderful treat.
THANKS. I am actually cutting back on eating out because I need to eat healthier. But, honestly, eating healthy at home is not that cheap either...well chicken can be if you catch it on sale. But I made baked Salmon fillets the other night with baked sweet potatoes and veggies. I love Salmon but cannot afford it very often! Seriously, I would lose some serious weight if I could afford to buy all the salmon I wanted to eat! And I am sick to death of grilled chicken, so I need to check out some recipes!! THANKS FOR THE HELP!
Even so if you think about what food you would be eating if you were eating out THE SAME food will be healthier and cheaper at home. Yeah salmon is expensive, but I bet you arent getting baked salmon at the cheap fast food place.
Get lean ground beef and whole grain buns and make a burger. Get a potato and make oven fries. Burger and fries. Healthier. cheaper (although you will probably not make a patty so small at home that it can barely be seen)
soft corn tortilla shells. Lean shredded chicken or ground meat. reduced fat cheese. Fill it out with canned black beans. lettuce, tomato Tacos. healthier. cheaper
etc.
Also you can stretch ground beef with black beans or lentils to make leaner, higher in fiber and cheaper.
Today I tried my hand at making falafel and it was wonderful! I did use the organic mix which made it super easy to make. Just mixed it with water and made it into little balls. Then I put them on the George Foreman grill and mashed each one down into a little patty! YUM! And no deep frying!!!
.
