Tips for Eating on The Road

• • Use technology. You can do a quick Google search of nutrition facts for meals at most restaurants and major fast-food chains. Having a general idea of nutrient content can help you identify the better food options.
  • Skip sauces and dressings. Many sauces and dressings are high in fat, sodium, oil, and sugar. Ideally, you should pass on sauces and dressings entirely, but if you are going to eat them, ask for them to come on the side that a smaller amount can be added to your meal.
  • Avoid making your meal a combo. When we’re eating fast food, acknowledge that we’re already compromising optimal nutrition. Can we agree to do some damage control by avoiding up-sizing to a jumbo fry for an extra $0.50 or choosing the combo special? Although upgrading might be a “good deal” for you wallet, it is not a “good deal” for your body.
  • Be cautious of portion size. When eating out at restaurants, almost all meals are significantly larger than the suggested portion size, especially pasta and rice dishes. Eat half your meal and take the rest home. The only exception would be if you are trying to carb load before a game or replenish carbohydrate stores after a game. If this is the case, make sure the foods you are eating are carbohydrates. Meaning you cannot eat a whole steak and claim you are “carb loading”, because steak has minimal carbohydrates.
  • If you are going to eat meat, always eat lean pieces. Pick meat options like grilled skinless chicken, seafood, or turkey. Do not eat red meat such as steak, hamburgers, or pork.
  • If it is fried, do not eat it. There is typically always a grilled option at all restaurants, even if it is not on the menu. Always ask for your food to be grilled, i.e. instead of french fries choose a baked potato with no toppings, instead of a fried chicken sandwich, choose a grilled chicken sandwich.
  • Eat slowly. When you eat fast, you usually overeat. Try to pace yourself so your body has enough time to recognize it is full, which takes about 20 minutes.
  • Only drink water. As a rule of thumb, water should be your only beverage of choice at every meal. Do not drink soda, sweet tea, alcohol, or lemonade, etc.
  • Pay attention to marketing. Labeling menu items “light,” “healthy,” and “natural” can be deceptive. A fruit parfait or ice cream topped with strawberries may be considered “light,” but they are still high in calories and sugar with little to no nutritional value.
  • Stay away from appetizers. Most appetizers are loaded with cheese (unhealthy fat), are fried, contain some type of dip, or are a refined starch. Unless the appetizer is something like grilled vegetables, avoid ordering one.
  • Salad is not always healthy. While salads can be great, fast-food salads are not always the healthiest item on the menu. Dressings and toppings end up providing more calories and fat that other menu items. Skip the unhealthy toppings and be sure to order the dressing on the side in order to use much less than the amount provided.

Olive Garden

All pasta options at Olive Garden can be substituted for a whole wheat version, always choose whole wheat pasta.

• • • Chicken Giardino (530 cals). Grilled chicken and a medley of fresh vegetables tossed with ruffled pappardelle pasta in a light, lemon chicken herb sauce. As for the pasta to be substituted for the whole wheat version.
    • Salmon Piccata (570 cals) OR Chicken Piccata (510 cals). Grilled salmon or chicken topped with lemon garlic butter sauce, sun-dried tomatoes and capers. Served with parmesan-crusted zucchini. Ask for the lemon garlic butter sauce on the side.
    • Herbed Grilled Salmon (460 cals). Filet grilled to perfection and topped with garlic herb butter. Served with parmesan garlic broccoli. Ask for garlic herb butter on the side.
    • Chicken Margherita (550 cals). Grilled chicken breasts topped with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, basil pesto, and a lemon garlic sauce. Served with parmesan-crusted zucchini. Ask for the lemon garlic sauce on the side.
    • Shrimp Scampi (510 cals). Shrimp sauteed in a garlic sauce, tossed with asparagus, tomatoes, and angel hair pasta. Ask for the pasta to be substituted for the whole wheat version.

Applebee’s

• • • • Shrimp Fajitas (1310 cals). Sizzlin’ chipotle lime shrimp, fajita vegetables, and spanish rice. Served with warm flour tortillas, a blend of cheddar cheeses, guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, house-made pico de gallo, and a fresh lime wedge. Ask for the dish without sour cream or on the side and use minimal amounts.
      • Chicken Fajitas (1430 cals). Sizzlin’ chipotle lime chicken, fajita vegetables, and spanish rice. Served with warm flour tortillas, a blend of cheddar cheeses, guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, house-made pico de gallo, and a fresh lime wedge. Ask for the dish without sour cream or on the side and use minimal amounts.
      • Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken (600 cals). Cedar-seasoned grilled chicken on cranberry-pecan rice and quinoa with Granny Smith apple relish and lemon vinaigrette. Ask for the lemon vinaigrette on the side.
      • Chicken Wonton Stir Fry (790 cals). Grilled chicken breast and stir-fried veggies tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce, served on a bed of rice and topped with crispy wonton strips and sliced green onions. Ask to substitute white rice with brown rice.
      • Grilled Chicken Breast (190 cals). Juicy chicken breast seasoned and grilled over an open flame. Served with your choice of two sides. Pick vegetables as your sides.

Outback

• • • • Parmesan-Herb Crusted Chicken (670 cals). Wood-fire grilled chicken topped with a parmesan-herb crust and a fresh tomato basil garnish. Served with fresh seasonal mixed veggies.
      • Grilled Chicken on the Barbie 8oz (520 cals). Seasoned and wood-fire grilled chicken breast with our signature BBQ sauce. Served with fresh seasonal mixed veggies. Ask for the BBQ sauce on the side.
      • Perfectly Grilled Salmon (540 cals). Seasoned and wood-fire grilled salmon. Served with fresh, seasonal mixed veggies.

Chipotle

• • • • When building a Chipotle meal, salad is the healthiest option, then a burrito bowl, then a burrito/tacos.
      • Choose either chicken, sofritas, or no meat for your protein. Stay away from carnitas, barbacoa, and steak.
      • Choose brown rice, black beans, or pinto beans. Stay away from white rice.
      • For toppings choose fajita veggies, any salsa, roasted corn, lettuce, or guacamole. Avoid cheese, queso, and sour cream.
      • Avoid chipsThey are high in fat (25 grams) and high in calories (540 cals).

McDonalds

• • • • Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad (350 cals). Grilled chicken on romaine, baby spinach, baby kale, red leaf lettuce, and ribbon cut carrots. Topped with black beans, roasted corn, tomatoes, poblano peppers, cheese, chili-lime tortilla strips, and cilantro. Plus, a fresh lime wedge and Newman’s Own Southwest dressing. Do not use dressing or use only a small amount.
      • Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich (380 cals). Grilled chicken breast sandwich made with all white meat chicken filet. Layered with crisp leaf lettuce and tasty tomato, and topped with a vinaigrette dressing, all on our delectable artisan roll.
      • Ask for a side salad or fruit Instead of french fries.
      • Do not choose any of the burger options.

Subway

• • • • • Always build your own sandwich: you can control what goes into your meal.
        • Breads

– Choose: 9-grain wheat, artisan flatbread, honey oat bread, spinach wrap, or tomato basil wrap. (Note: Wraps usually have no nutritional benefit over bread, so pick whichever you prefer for taste.)
– Avoid: All other breads as they are simple carbohydrates and have added cheese.

• • • • • Meat, Poultry, Seafood, & Eggs

– Choose: Chicken patty, chicken strips, egg white omelet patty, rotisserie style chicken, turkey breast, veggie patty. – Avoid: All other meats as they are red meat.

• • • • • Cheese.

– If possible, skip the cheese. With all other toppings you probably will not miss it. If you do add cheese, avoid American cheese as it is processed.

• • • • • Vegetables.

– All options are good. Vegetables include banana peppers, cucumbers, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, pickles, lettuce, olives, onions, spinach, and tomatoes.

• • • • • Condiments & Seasonings.

– Choose: Guacamole, yellow or brown mustard, mustard seed spread, red wine vinegar, sub spices. – Avoid: All other condiments as they are high in salt, fat, sugar, oil, and calories.

Hotel Breakfast

• • • • Choose oatmeal rather than refined sugary cereal. Add minimal brown sugar to your oatmeal.
      • Choose whole pieces of fruit.
      • Drink water, tea, or black coffee for breakfast. Avoid fruitless juices as they are high in sugar with minimal nutritional value. Eliminate or limit the amount of creamer you add to your coffee.
      • Avoid pastries, pancakes, bagels, and waffles.
      • Avoid bacon, sausage, and other breakfast meats.
      • If available, eat boiled eggs rather than scrambled eggs as you can separate the yolks and only eat the egg whites.
      • If making toast, choose a whole grain option and top it with peanut butter, honey, and banana, rather than butter or jelly.

Snacks on the Road

• • • • Stay Away from Potato Chips or Veggie Straws. Even though veggie straws seem healthy, they have roughly the same nutritional content as most other chips.
      • Pop Chips. Available at Sam’s Club and Walmart. They are not fried so they are a good substitute for actual chips.
      • Regular Graham Crackers. Although these have added sugar, they do not contain any saturated fat, trans fat, or cholesterol, and are relatively low in sodium. Pair with peanut butter or eat individually.
      • Fruit snacks. Fruit snacks are high in sugar and typically contain artificial dye and sweeteners. Therefore, if you are going to get fruit snacks, make sure it is Annie’s brand, as it contains nothing artificial.
      • Pretzels. Try to get low sodium pretzels. Pretzels are typically just whole wheat flour, so they are a healthy carbohydrate snack.
      • Trail mix. Choose one that contains nuts, dried fruit, and pretzels etc. Do not get trail mix with M&M’s or chocolate chips, as the dried fruit is most likely already sweetened and you do no want to go overboard with sugar. You can also make your own trail mix and select specific ingredients that you like, i.e. peanuts, raisins, and pretzels.
      • Skinny Pop Popcorn. (Original and flavored varieties). Ensure you do NOT get any other type of pre-popped popcorn without checking the label as they usually contain chemicals, and an abundance of sodium and fat.
      • Dried Fruit. Try to buy dried fruit that does not have added sugar. You can check this by looking at the food label, if sugar is in the ingredients list, try to find another option without sugar.
      • Nuts. Try to buy nuts that do not have any extra sodium. You can check this by looking at the food label, if sodium or salt is in the ingredients list, try to find another option without salt.
      • Granola Bars. Many granola bars seem healthy, but are actually high in sugar and contain artificial substances. Check the ingredients list before buying. If you cannot pronounce something on the list, try to find another option. Some recommended brands are Lara Bars (they contain roughly only 5 ingredients), Kind Bars, and Nature Valley bars.
      • Fresh fruit. Fruit that will last on the road for games includes any fruit with skin, besides bananas. The easiest option would be oranges or clementines.
      • Fresh Vegetables and Hummus. Hummus and vegetables need to be refrigerated, so they would not be a good option for the road, but are an excellent choice to pack for a regular day.
      • Veggie Chips (i.e. carrots, zucchini, yellow squash) and salsa. Cut up the veggies into chips and eat with salsa. You can also eat salsa with organic blue corn tortilla chips, but make sure to eat only 1 serving of chips as they can become unhealthy if consumed in excess.
      • Apples and Peanut Butter. Think 2 regular spoonfuls of peanut butter, you do not want to overdo it with peanut butter as it is high in natural fat.