fast food?

[Mothercooter]

My hubby decided white castle was in order tonight. When I reminded him I couldnt eat it he was just gonna go home but its been such a long day I didnt want to make 2 meals like I have been having to do so I told him go for it for him and the kids. I got to thinking about it...is there ANY fast food or anything that can be gotten from any fast food places? We might be going outta town here in a few weeks and its a very long drive and would only be able to stop at fast food places. I know thats when i should pack my own lunches. I plan to. Just curious. I heard those fast food salads have all kinds of hidden carbs!

[Chef Kevin]

Re: fast food?

sure. Hardees still has the low carb thickburger on the menu.

most chains will hold the bun if you ask, but remember the processed american cheese has carbs in it.

avoid the chicken nugets, they have tons of flavor enhancers and breading, which have carbs.

most fast food chains offer a salad with grilled chicken on it. ranch and ceaser dressings are almost always safe.

[2big4mysize]

Re: fast food?

Go tot he website oif the chain you want to visit and look under nutritonal info. you can find the nutritional values and ingredients in every food they make. remember most of the chicken is ionjected with sugar and salt water for better moisture and taste and you will want to avoid them.


hey cheese processed american cheese is just cheddar and another cheese mixed together it has no more carbs then any other cheese. I've posted the exact meaning by law of those words in several topics if you want to do a search here.
we need to avoid proccesed american cheese food and all the other cheese foods out there

[Chef Kevin]

Re: fast food?

yeah, the american cheese at most fast food places is nasty fake stuff that costs next to nothing and is all chemicals.
I think it's safe to just avoid american cheese altogether at fast food places, after all, they aren't in business to look after your health.

[2big4mysize]

Re: fast food?

no Chef Kevin you are missing the point the cheese is the legal stuff, Pasteurized Process American Cheese is a mixture of cheddar and colby and is induction legal cheese.
that is what McDOnalds uses Hardees, Burger King and Wendy's use american cheese which means it is cheddar and another cheese notr colby in the mix but still cheese not cheese food

[BabyDreamer]

Re: fast food?

I am not sure what you mean by fast food, but Applebees, Ruby Tuesday, and O'Charley's have some nice selections.

Deb

My hubby decided white castle was in order tonight. When I reminded him I couldnt eat it he was just gonna go home but its been such a long day I didnt want to make 2 meals like I have been having to do so I told him go for it for him and the kids. I got to thinking about it...is there ANY fast food or anything that can be gotten from any fast food places? We might be going outta town here in a few weeks and its a very long drive and would only be able to stop at fast food places. I know thats when i should pack my own lunches. I plan to. Just curious. I heard those fast food salads have all kinds of hidden carbs!

[sadie147]

Re: fast food?

Re: going out of town, last March we drove from here to Florida (it's a 24 hour total drive). I packed a small cooler, Sandwiches etc for my husband and his daughter, legal treats for me, lots of water and drinks and snacks. We ended up saving a fortune in meals compared to what we would have eating constantly at restaurants.

We did decide that one meal would be at a restaurant each day, so on day 1 we had dinner at a restaurant near the moteal we stayed at in TN...On day 2 we had breakfast at Crackerbarrell which has a low carb menu. I also had lunch coming home at a Hardee's..their low carb burger is awesome.

When I'm stuck I normally stick to the grilled chicken salads at wendy's or mcd's, subway also has salads. Yes, the chicken does have some added carbs, but a negligible about IMO. McDonalds here has low carb platters, but they're crap, for the money you get a better deal with the salad.

[knicknack]

Re: fast food?

Fast food:

Wendy's has fantastic salads. Get the caesar dressing, the others have carbs in them.
McDonald's also has some salads now. Not as fantastic, but they'll do in a pinch.

For the car, you can always find beef jerky in the gas stations, and sometimes string cheese. There's lots of salt and some carbs in beef jerky, but it beats going hungry in my opinion. :P

[Lyssie]

Re: fast food?

Most places have oil and vinegar as a dressing, some places call it "special dressing", though I think it might be balsamic vinegar sometimes which does have some carbs in it. I totally mutilate the salads by stripping tomatoes, croutons, etc. but when you do it that way, it makes the food last longer anyway. :P There's the whole stripping the burgers thing, and wendy's also has a side salad that's just lettuce.

[Chef Kevin]

Re: fast food?

OK 2big, I know exactly what you are saying. All I'm saying is there are too many definitions for american or process cheese of process cheese food, so I avoid them all. Some are allowed, some aren't, to me I'd rather eat real cheddar or swiss, or colby, gouda, etc.
(Besides I think it tastes like plastic.)
here, this is from the Chemical and Engineering News site (because they should know what food is)
Pasteurized process cheese, for example, is made from one or more cheeses, such as cheddar or colby, and may have cream or anhydrous milkfat added. The cheese is blended and heated with an emulsifier—typically a sodium or potassium phosphate, tartrate, or citrate—and other optional ingredients such as water, salt, artificial color, and spices or other flavorings.

The cheese is then poured into molds to solidify and is later packaged. This processing produces a smooth, mild-tasting cheese that melts easily. For pasteurized process cheese, the final product can have a maximum moisture content of 43% and must have at least 47% milkfat. An interesting twist is that the product alternatively can be labeled as pasteurized process American cheese when made from cheddar, colby, cheese curd, granular cheese, or a combination of these; when other varieties of cheese are included, it must be called simply American cheese.

Here are some of the other definitions:

Pasteurized process cheese food is a variation of process cheese that may have dry milk, whey solids, or anhydrous milkfat added, which reduces the amount of cheese in the finished product. It must contain at least 51% of the cheese ingredient by weight, have a moisture content less than 44%, and have at least 23% milkfat.

Pasteurized process cheese spread is a variation on cheese food that may contain a sweetener and a stabilizing agent, such as the polysaccharide xanthan gum or the Irish moss colloid carrageenan, to prevent separation of the ingredients. The cheese must be spreadable at 70 F, contain 44 to 60% moisture, and have at least 20% milkfat.

Pasteurized process cheese product is process cheese that doesn't meet the moisture and/or milkfat standards.

Imitation cheese is made from vegetable oil; it is less expensive, but also has less flavor and doesn't melt well.


For the record, I avoid all of them and do not eat any american cheese because there are too many definitions and I hate the plastic taste of all of them.

[2big4mysize]

Re: fast food?

yes and you just perfectly illistrated my point if it says American cheese it can't be spreed, product, cheed food nor imitation.

[Chris]

Re: fast food?

I certainly agree with Chef on one thing, though; any kind of cheese, or cheese product, that's labled American has about as much taste as cardboard. Pre-Atkins, I never, ever bought cheeseburgers at fast food restaurants.

[presidentholmes]

Re: fast food?

McDonalds!
Cheeseburgers or whatever burgers, throw away the buns.
Voila!
Yum. (In moderation)

Gyros, Doner Kebabs. Again throw away the bread. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmm

[2big4mysize]

Re: fast food?

watch the donner meat as it can be a shapped mass like a dense meatloaf for the spit and not a real cut of meat. Always ask for the ingredients in any food you are about to purchase.

[bizzlekitty]

Re: fast food?

Check out nutritional information ahead of time for any fast food place you might like to visit then choose accordingly. Watch out for potential hidden carbs (breaded chicken!). Watch out for salad dressings too, as they are often contain added carbs, even the ranch mixes some of them have. Ask to see the packet ahead of time before you get it, though ranch is usually safe I've seen some that are not straight ranch either.

I haven't been in a McDonald's since I started Atkins. This coming from a person that used to eat McD's 3-4 times a week!

I do have Wendys double cheeseburger (hold the cheese) with a side salad every once in a while. Throw some mayo and mustard on there and yum! I used to get their chicken strips as a treat until I found out how many carbs they had (yikes!).

I don't think it's bad to have fast food every once in a while if you choose wisely. Just don't do the "Supersize me" diet.