Fast Foods

Eating Out Low Carb at Fast Food Restaurants  – Lunch & Dinner

The Backstory

One of my readers asked about fast food options out there!   I’m here to help!

The Realization

I’ve compiled individual reviews on fast food places, but not a compilation article.  So… here goes!

The Challenge

Let’s face it, we either have busy lives, are late from work, need just a quick bite or simply ran out of time to prepare a meal.  Fast food is a great option, but it is sometimes difficult to find out what is truly low carb.  Hopefully I can assist you finding out what is and isn’t in your carb range. 

Also, at the bottom of the page I give as many direct source nutritional guides as I can find and will keep adding more. 

The Solution

Burger Joints

You can read what I have written about fast food burgers by following this link:

https://lowcarb4ever.com/category/food/eating-out/fast-foods/eating-out-fast-food-burgers/

Here you can get the low carb lowdown on what I consider some of the best fast food burger places like Wendy’s and Five Guys.  In a nutshell, you can put a burger (or chicken or egg or vegetables or other) between “lettuce buns” or on a salad and get pretty far. 

My favorite local burger place makes an amazing cheeseburger salad with a side of fried pork rinds.  THEY know how to give low carb options!  (Shout out to Merv’s in Chattanooga!)

I have to admit, I didn’t review McDonald’s because their beef patties were so unappealing when not concealed by a bun.  However, I recently tried their fresh beef Quarter Pounder without a bun and it was quite good.  Still not as good as Five Guys or Wendy’s, but great when other choices are unavailable.

Chicken Joints

You can read what I have written about fast food chicken before by following this link:

https://lowcarb4ever.com/category/food/eating-out/fast-foods/eating-out-fast-food-chicken/

Basically, I give you tips on eating at Zaxby’s, Bojangles and Kentucky Fried Chicken so far.  Those basic restaurants will help you with other chicken establishments in your area!  In short, there are usually grilled chicken (or un-battered chicken), vegetable and salad options!

Pizza & Pasta Joints

I’ve not delved into the world of pizza and pasta simply because of the temptations of pizza or pasta or garlic bread is so great.  (I am slowly finding wonderful alternatives, but that is another story!)

However, friends of mine regularly go with their kids to pizza restaurants (or carry out) and simply eat the pizza toppings.  Add a salad and it’s a decent meal, and you can do this anywhere!  Pizza buffets would give you many options.  Make sure you can tolerate an increased amount of cheese and try to work vegetables in with the cheese and meat!  It feels a little wasteful to me, but better that then WAISTful!  (P.S.  A reader highly recommended the Garlic Parmesan Wings at Pizza Hut!  Wings, as long as they are naked with a zero or low carb sauce, are great any where you can get them!)

In pasta restaurants, you can ask for your sauces and proteins to go over vegetables instead of pastas.  I’ve only had one restaurant not accommodate that request.  The next time, I asked a different waiter, and they did.  You never know, but don’t be afraid to ask!

Sandwich Joints

I haven’t reviewed any sandwich restaurants so far. There are plenty of franchise sandwich shops, but there are also many local delis.  In any of these, order a sandwich and discard the bun or bread (we often order double meat) and order a side salad instead of the usual sides of fries or chips.  Even an apple will work, if you have less glycemic issues. OR, most of the sandwich places have meal salads.  You can put your favorite meats, cheeses and vegetables on the salad.  The combinations are pretty endless.

Also, many sandwich places have soups.  BEWARE!  Many soups have flour or cornstarch that have thickened them.  Go for broth-based soups instead.  Avoid the pastas, rices and grain soups.

Other Joints

There are fast food Mexican, Chinese, GreekSeafood and many other restaurants too numerous to name here.  Just follow common sense you already know now and also avoid batters, breading, wraps, tortillas, taco shells, and wrappers.  If you can’t avoid them, it’s okay…  simply eat what is inside! 

Also, there are a lot of barbecue fast food restaurants, especially in the south.  Simply avoid the breads, fries, potatoes, baked beans and chips.  Eat green beans, collards, cole slaw, vegetables or a salad if available.  I tend to not eat at those restaurants who don’t offer some sort of low carb side option. 

You already know you need to avoid the donut shops.  Just be strong!  But sometimes they have sandwiches and salads and you already know what to do with those now.

More Information

Know that you can ALWAYS go to a restaurant’s nutrition pages and find carbohydrate information.  I’ll list the ones that I’ve been to below in the Resource List.  I’ll also keep adding to the list!

Resource List

Click on a fast food restaurant name to see their nutritional information.

Some food providers have gone to an online calculator which makes things more complicated for those of us just wanting to see the list of options.  I’ll note those below with a *.

You can also visit a fantastic site called Nutritionix.  It has a great list you can peruse for your favorite fast food places!  You can go online or use their app to track food and restaurants.  A handy tool!

Another site that has good information is Fast Food Nutrition

Otherwise, here are the direct links:

Asterisk * = Unfortunately they don’t give you a chart, but make you dig for information a bit, answer questions or build a menu.

Burgers:

Chicken:

Pizza & Pasta:

Sandwiches:

Others:

 

Until next time…!

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Fast Food Carb Review – Zaxby’s

c6286-img_2261255b1255d.jpgI was a little wary of going to many chicken places, but when I was out on the road and striking out finding KFC baked chicken and not wanting Bojangles or Popeye’s options (although I love them).  I decided to see what Zaxby’s had for this low-carb eater!

What I discovered were some of the most delicious wings ever.  And they were huge!!!

Oh sure, you can get a salad, but who always wants a salad?

As it turns out I decide I did want a salad after all.  I got their Grilled House Zalad which if you leave off the fried onions and Texas Toast is only about 9 Net Carbs.  Less if you only eat half because it is a pretty big salad.  I shared it with my husband.  The Grilled Caesar Zalad is only 7 Net Carbs if you leave off the croutons.  The Grilled Cobb Zalad is only 10 Net Carbs if you leave off the fried onions and Texas Toast.  Like I said, these are big salads.  Ranch, Blue Cheese and Ceasar dressings are each only 2 Net Carbs that would need to be added to the count.

You could get their Chicken Salad or Grilled Chicken sandwiches and not eat the buns.  The Chicken Salad is about 5 Net Carbs each.  The Grilled Chicken you would have to watch out on the Honey Mustard and just barely get a taste or opt for Ranch or Blue Cheese, taking it to about 5 Net Carbs.

What I really came for though… is a baked chicken or alternative.

I got their 10 piece traditional “naked” wings with Ranch Dressing.  So pretty much 2 Net Carbs for a delicious meal that curbed my craving for baked chicken. I know it is fried, but they were delicious!  Like I said earlier… they were the biggest wings I’d ever seen! You can get most of the wings with sauces that only give you from 2 to 6 Net Carbs!  Not only that… it comes with several stalks of celery! A wonderful discovery!  I could have gotten the 20 piece option!

I’m going back!

Update
I did go back!  I still forgot to take pictures!  IT was still delicious!

Update
I went back again with my sister and got the 20 piece… that is the picture shown!  Okay, we did share.  10 pieces really is enough!!!  I almost couldn’t eat it all!  I say almost.  😉

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Fast Food Carb Review – Five Guys

IMG_1670[1]I had only eaten at Five Guys twice before.  Good burgers.  Good fries and onion rings.  Not my favorite.  It was my sister’s favorite.  I hadn’t been to one in many years.

I tended to not like to walk into a fast food place when a drive-through was more convenient.  It wasn’t “fast” enough.

I liked McDonald’s fries better than Five Guys’ for some reason (although I loved Wendy’s best until they changed their oil or product many years ago and they dropped off the top of my list.)

I hadn’t been there, that is, until I was out a few weeks ago at a store that was next to a Five Guys.  I thought I would walk in since it was close and I was already parked.  Why not? I was on this new low carb way of living and burgers were always a good way to go when out shopping or traveling.  Especially until I could get what I could have and not have under my belt when eating out.  I was and am still working all that out.

What greeted me (aside from the delicious smell of potatoes and onions frying) was a sign I hadn’t expected.   At the top of their toppings menu it said “ALL TOPPINGS FREE”. At the bottom of their menu it said “ALL BURGERS AND DOGS AVAILABLE BUNLESS”.

First of all, even though you give Wendy’s, McDonald’s and other burger chains their bun back when you ask for it bunless… they then proceed to CHARGE you 20 to 25 cents for putting extra lettuce on it.  My husband just gets the burger and takes the bun off.  Me?  I don’t like cheese to stick to the bun and so I pay.  But Five Guys doesn’t charge you no matter HOW you want your burger or WHAT you want on it!  Their cred with me immediately went up!

I ordered a double beef patty with cheese “bunless”. I was asked if I wanted it in a lettuce bun or a basket.  The difference was one was wrapped up to eat as if it were in a bun only this one was made of lettuce.  The other was laid on top of the lettuce in a basket to to use a knife and fork.  I got the lettuce bun but still used a knife and fork.
Basically what I had was around 5 Net Carbs with 2 patties, cheese and lettuce.  If you start adding things is where you have to be careful.  Tomatoes 2 carbs, Onions 2 carbs, Mustard 0 carbs, Mayonnaise 0 carbs, Ketchup 5 carbs, Pickles 1 carb.  If you stick with basic beef, lettuce, cheese you can usually stay low carb.  It all depends how many Net Carbs you have to play with.
I have to tell you… hands down… short of cooking at home or a gourmet burger at a service restaurant this was the best burger I had ever had!
Not to mention the polite courteous service.  No judgement.  No confusion over what was being asked for.  Just a great place with great food!
Other diabetics I knew already knew this secret.  I didn’t, but now I want to tell everybody!

GO!  Go eat at Five Guys!  A delicious surprise and they have a fan forever!

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Fast Food Carb Review – Bojangle’s

IMG_21571.jpgI mentioned before that I was a Bojangle’s Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits addict.

They have the BEST fast food biscuits in the world, and I happen to love their chicken even though I don’t like spicier things.  Their combination of seasonings just clicks for me!

However, I no longer can eat their biscuits.  Just one biscuit is 37 Net Carbs.  If you put that in perspective, that is 2 DAYS worth of food for someone like me or other low carb livers.  I was desperate to find options to keep patronizing Bo’s.

To my delight, there were options!  I can still eat their chicken.  Just differently.

You can certainly pull the breading off your Chicken if you love it like I do.  You still risk getting accidental carbs from eating breading you missed.  For me, it is too tempting to eat the whole thing… breading and all.  You can always add Green Beans as a side for an additional 5 Net Carbs.  Just stay away from the biscuits!  They will call to you!  They will smell amazing!  Don’t do it!

The Garden Salad has 6 Net Carbs.

The Grilled Chicken Salad has 6 Net Carbs.  This is an excellent choice! (Compare this to the Homestyle Tenders Salad, that has breading, at 34 Net Carbs!)

Also, a little higher in Carbs but still workable in the carb count for the day is the Roasted Chicken Bites Salad with 10 Net Carbs.

You can get just the Roasted Chicken Bites with Green Beans, but you are still looking at 13 Net Carbs.

Remember to add in the dressing.  The Ranch and Blue Cheese dressings only have 2 additional Net Carbs.  The Italian dressing has 5 Net Carbs.  Beware of the Honey Dijon dressing as it has 15 Net Carbs. Leave off the croutons!

I was relieved that there were so many options.  Ones I hadn’t really tried before… and they are all delicious!

Just remember the rule of thumb… basically, leave off the breads, breading, potatoes, onions, high carb fruits and veggies and desserts.  Get lettuce wrapped double meat proteins (if they aren’t on a bone) or  have proteins on top of the salads.  Beware of hidden salad carbs, especially in croutons and sugars in dressings or toppings!  If you follow this rule of thumb you can find quite a lot to eat.

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Fast Food Carb Review – Kentucky Fried Chicken

IMG_21961-987413609-1511891023577.jpgOne of the most amazing discoveries in fast food finds has been at Kentucky Fried Chicken.  I hadn’t really been to one since I was a long time Bojangle’s Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits addict.

The find?  Their Grilled Chicken is Uh-Maze-ing!  Best of all… it has 0 Net Carbs!  As in ZERO.  Nada.  Big Goose Egg!  The seasonings on it are perfect!  Super tasty!

Get a three piece box with a breast/leg/thigh with Green Beans (which are also delicious… and I’m picky about my green beans!) and you are only looking at 4 Net Carbs.  All from the green beans!

Or for the budget conscious… get their $5 meal deal with a leg/thigh, side, drink, biscuit and cookie.  Get greenbeans for the side.  Give your biscuit and cookie to a friend or family member.  I often tell them to keep it if I am by myself. It is such a cheap option.  They also have zero calorie Sobe water along with diet drinks and unsweet tea to drink. Water is always the better option, but if you have paid for it why not get something flavored.

Their house Side Salad only has 3 Net Carbs and their Ceasar Salad only has 2 Net Carbs!  What’s not to love?  Their Buttermilk dressing has 1 Net Carbs.  Their Fat Free Ranch dressing has a whopping 8 Net Carbs so be careful of that one.  Not all dressings are created equal… no matter if the name is the same! Their Creamy Parmesan dressing has 4 Net Carbs.  Light Italian dressing has 2 Net Carbs.  Remember NO CROUTONS!  Those are about 10 Net Carbs you don’t need!

I could pretty much eat there (or take it home) every week, and very nearly have!

Tip: Make sure to call ahead if you or your party need a lot of grilled chicken.  They don’t always have grilled chicken ready like their breaded chicken. So you might have to wait in line and then wait on the chicken to cook.  I’ve called ahead in several different states and they are always very nice and throw a batch of  the Grilled Chicken in for my “pre-order”.  It’s always nice, hot and ready when I get there for pick up.

Just remember the rule of thumb… basically, leave off the breads, breading, potatoes, onions, high carb fruits and veggies and desserts.  Get lettuce wrapped double meat proteins (if they aren’t on a bone) or  have proteins on top of the salads.  Beware of hidden salad carbs, especially in croutons and sugars in dressings or toppings!  If you follow this rule of thumb you can find quite a lot to eat.

Update
I just came back from being on the road.  EVERY KFC I went to did NOT have grilled chicken.  One went so far as to tell me that they didn’t carry it any more!  I drove out of 3 KFCs on my trip and finally ended up at Zaxby’s!  (More on that shortly!)  So I hope more stores get it.  It was not marketed overly well, in my opinion.  And I will be sad indeed if my local store stops making it.

Update
It seems that more small towns have the grilled chicken rather than the larger towns.  Kinda strange.  I ended up at a KFC out in the middle of nowhere yesterday and they had it!!!

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