Hi!

Picture this:
You're shopping at the mall, it's around 4 in the afternoon and you ate lunch at noon. You haven't had an afternoon snack. It was a last minute shopping trip so no healthy snack was packed "just in case".
You're walking along and start feeling hungry... really hungry like when your stomach is hurting and you're getting a headache type of hungry.
You look around and all you see is pizza, kfc, mexican food, ice cream, popcorn stand, jugo juice, asian fast food, starbucks...
What do you do?

Any suggestions?

I would go in the health store. Most malls have one, and buy a nutritious bar or snack

I would buy a drink of some sort - Water, coffee, diet pop, just to hold me over until I got home and could eat.

Every mall I've ever been in had a "health" store, a drug store, or an "anchor store" that carries healthier choices.

You have identified the main reason that there is ALWAYS a protein bar in my purse

Ask for a banana at Starbucks. They are usually behind the counter and are 90 cents. You could have a fat-free soy milk with it too.

If I didn't really need to stay I'd just leave and make food at home or something.

Or do what the above did lol.

I would recognize that it was probably no coincidence I found myself in that situation. It sounds like the type of situation I've been known to unknowingly create in the past as a way to not feel guilty about eating stuff that I shouldn't. I used to time my errands so I was 'out and about' at a time I knew I'd be hungry and therefore have a 'reason' to stop for fast food.

That may or may not be the case with you, however. There are very few places that don't offer at least SOMETHING healthy on the menu. Ideally, I'd try and choose the least naughty thing and eat it.

Sugar free skim milk caramel iced latte!

these are great! thanks! I didn't know i could get a banana at starbucks!
I know i didn't "create" this situation to eat junk because I don't normally eat in fast food restaurants anyways... but it's great to know i could find something healthy and not ruin my day because of bad planning!!

I would normally go into a drug store and pick up a protein bar or something of the like.

I would head to the KFC, and grab a couple of sides of veggies. Yes, they put butter on them, but they're still fewer calories than whatever else you might eat there. Or ask the popcorn vendor if they have any unbuttered pc. Maybe not, but it's worth a shot!

If I needed it to be dinner, I'd have a piece of pizza with lots of veggies if possible, or Chinese food. If I just wanted to tide myself over, I'd get a latte.

Get the **** out of there!!

Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Latte...............yummmm

Tall non fat skinny latte and a biscotti is my go-to "fast food" snack of choice.

Honestly - I always know what I'm having for every meal for the entire week by Sunday afternoon, I can't recall ever getting stuck at the mall at mealtime without a healthy option. I know I'm an "over planner" but it really works for me. If I were going to be at the mall for "snack time" I'd have dried mango or a Nectar bar in my purse (they are nearly always in my purse, anyways).

I don't like "I'm hungry, but I dont have a healthy choice options!" so I try to limit it from happening. I'm like Kirk and the Kobayashi Maru - I cheat the test in advance to make sure I always pass.