Hot Days, healthy choices?

Lefty

Yank
I have problems on hot days. I usually end up eating out and not making the best choices on food. What are the better things to order out that can be considered healthy? My fall back is pizza. Not healthy unless I go veggie, and most of the other choices I make are not good. Do you guys have any healthy options for take out?
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
My favorite summertime quick "grab-n-go" is a Chargrilled Chicken Deluxe Sandwich on a multi-grain bun from Chick-fil-A along with a bowl of fresh fruit or a cup of their chicken noodle soup.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Lefty, most pizza places around here also sell antipasto - some of which is spectacular!

Rotisserie chicken and salad bar. If you don't like salad bars, my supermarket usually has some kinds of salads (like Caesar, for example) already prepared.

Sliced turkey, lettuce and tomato sub.

If you eat take-out a lot, maybe the best thing to do is order off menus (online or paper), calling in your order and picking it up on your way home. That way you can get almost anything you want.

Lee
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
I was going to say the same as Mama, the grilled grab and go and a cup of fruit from Chick-fil-A. Their chicken salad sandwich on wheat is good too.

Fish tacos (grilled fish), especially if you get a vinegar based slaw instead of the mayo based

If you have a cafeteria type place nearby, you can get a vegetable plate to go and get things like greens, peas, and squash.
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
any place that offers grilled chix. skip the sauce & get a side salad rather than fries.

thin-crust pizza w/ tomato, mushroom, & redd or wht. sauce is actually not so very unhealthy.

wraps on whole wheat w/ no-fat dressings & grilled chix or other lean proteins. request double veggies. or get all veggies. grilled veggies add complexity.

salads can be healthy. skip the croutons, get lite/no-fat dressings, cheese on the side, & a lean meat or grilled salmon on it.

if yinz have a fuddrucker's, try an ostrich burger w/ scads of veggies.

they sell sushi @ the 'iggle here.

if u get pasta, get marinara on it.

request half portions, kiddo meals, or senior citizen meals, etc.

avoid breading, too much dipping sauce, deep-fried items, generous portions, cream sauces, yogurt parfaits (many ppl think granola is always healthy, & while it may be in several ways, it is usually high in fat), blot pizza, & choose h2o over pop.

a few other things- generally, the more colorful a food, the more nutrients. & if ordering a pizza, aim for, say, 2 cuts, or a personal pie. take a few seconds to see if ur actually hungry anymore after each cut, too.
 
Last edited:

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
"healthy" and "take out" / "eat out" methinks are all but mutually exclusive terms.
well, except for strange and unusual food establishments - the std fare is: more salt, more fat, more better taste. so pipples like it and come back. . . .

there are, as pointed out, any number of options for "pre-cooked" foods morphed into (essentially) cold plates that one can consider for summertime "cool meals"

rotisserie chicken - if you take the skin off (that removes most of the ueber applied salt . . .) and slice for a salad, works fine.

one of my favs is a loose interpretation of Cobb Salad - I get the deli section to slice 1/4" thick slabs of ham & chicken/turkey - then julienne them into strips for the salad. low salt / low fat is a usual option at the deli counter for "lunch meats." hard boil some eggs, chop up some lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado - make up some bacon bits if you'd like - can be made in a size for a whole meal. bread sticks / grissini / reheated rolls (I've found Rhodes brand pretty dang good) - biscuits - whatever, make it complete. I find the chopped egg essential - but as to the bacon bits, some chives / parsley / fresh herbs make for a just-as-tasty salad.

smothering it all in a pre-prepped high fat, high sugar, high salt "salad dressing" - well, if healthy is the aim, that kinda' defeats the purpose. but a vinaigrette works and frankly I find it more "refreshing" than the commercial stuff.

whether buying it cooked or steaming a couple chicken breasts is easier/harder - that's in the realm of personal preference.

can pizza be made "healthy?" potentially somewhat "less bad" but cheese is the downfall.
the dough - flour, water, yeast, salt - most call for about 1 tblsp of oil per 10" crust . . . really isn't so bad.
going sans ultra-fat pepperoni - try a low fat pepperoni/turkey pepperoni (heh - it's turkey, but it's not bad!) is one option.
the sausage options would be not a good one.
onion, peppers, mushrooms . . . what's not to be good about that?
presuming the tomato sauce isn't 30% oil/fat, a vegetarian pizza should be reasonable except for the cheese.

cheese is, by definition, a high fat food. if you've ever tried to make a pizza with low fat cheese . . . okay, it's a pizza, tastes like sawdust on toast.

I should add, I rarely eat pizza except for my homemade variety - my dough, my homemade sauce - not drowned in "oil(s)" of highly questionable origin....
the old "assemble and drizzle with oil" routine is, for me, absolutely not an option. I put the "toppings" on first, then the cheese. when the cheese melts down over the toppings/stuffings/fillings, that's more than enough "grease" for me.
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
I haven't been handling the heat very well. Not feeling well. I am having a dehydration problem. I am drinking LOTS of fluids and still having a problem. At the moment I feel nausea and don't feel like eating but need to take my pills. :(
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
keep in mind- just use your discretion. fast foot has even gotten healthier.
no food is all good or all negetive. listen to ur stomach. 'am i really hungry for pizza....... 2 grilled cheeses.... 4 eggs or would 2 be better.'
in the end, it's tuning into hunger signals. not boredom, stress, or conveinent foods all the time.

& peepz, that's not good. maybe get pedialyte freeze-pops. learn to gulp your meds in one sip. i take 9+ in one shotglass, get a gulp of juice, & that suffices here.
 
Last edited:
Top