Eating Out, Eating Healthy

[The Transient]

I don't know how to cook and even if I did I wouldn't have the time. This means I'm eating out at least three times a day (the rest are snacks / leftovers). The majority of these meals are not at expensive, high class places. I simply can't afford that.

While Subway and Organique seem like healthy choices for me, looking at calorie counter, it appears like i'm taking in way too many carbs. Admittedly, I know very little about nutrition, but from what I've read, this is a killer.

Any suggestions on where to eat out?

[doppelganger]

Whole Foods sells some great prepared food and their salad bar is full of variety and all organic. Just be careful, it's almost all sold by weight and it adds up fast.

[zer0]

eggs in the a.m., sandwich for lunch, and the microwave-restaurants like tgi's and applebees all have "healthy" menus. mix in some meal replacement bars or shakes and you'll be in range, but it won't be anything close to optimal.

you have 0 time throughout the whole week to cook up some chicken to refrigerate?

[thirddan]

have you considered cooking all your meals on a weekend day and just putting them in tupperware?

a lot of people, myself included, do this...

[nation]

dont' eat fried or crappy food likes that. go to places where you can look up nutritional info beforehand and count your calories.

[The Transient]

I would really prefer not to cook. I have the means to avoid it and the kitchen I have is really terrible and without any of the neccessary preparation tools. Plus I would have to learn from scratch without any assistance.

Another thing to keep in mind is my goal is to gain weight (not fat obviously) so counting calories is not as big of a concern.

[Thremp]

If you have the "means", but a [censored] kitchen.

And if you are serious, counting calories is a "big deal".

[kerowo]

To make amazing chicken all you need are:
Skinless chicken breasts
Salt
Sugar
Water
Something to keep them in
A meat thermometer
Something to cook them in

Put a 1/4 cup of salt and 1/8 cup of sugar (about a 2 inch diameter circle of salt, half as much of sugar) into 4 cups of water. Soak for at least an hour.

Cook the chicken until it has an internal temp of 160 degrees. Easy Peasy. You can get the chicken breasts for about a buck each in 6 packs, the above brine is enough for 2, the cooked breasts will last in the fridge longer than you can keep from eating them.

[The Transient]

Thremp: It's not worth investing much in my kitchen because i'm only renting this apartment for 1 month longer.

I shouldn't have said counting calories is not a big deal. It is and I know I need to put more of an emphasis on it. How do you know how much your body needs to maintain?

Kerowo: Thanks for the tip. I may seriously have to look into cooking some things on my own.

All: Any more advice on where to eat out / purchase easy to make dinners. I liked the Whole Foods idea.

[Thremp]

[ QUOTE ]
Thremp: It's not worth investing much in my kitchen because i'm only renting this apartment for 1 month longer.

I shouldn't have said counting calories is not a big deal. It is and I know I need to put more of an emphasis on it. How do you know how much your body needs to maintain?

Kerowo: Thanks for the tip. I may seriously have to look into cooking some things on my own.

All: Any more advice on where to eat out / purchase easy to make dinners. I liked the Whole Foods idea.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah. Then get a place with a nice kitchen in the future. Whole foods and other specialty food stores will be a good bet. Best thing for breakfast is just cheap ass oatmeal. You can get some nutritional information on the internet for fast food/fast casual places and perhaps some chain restaurants. Otherwise I'd just stick with low sauce, low fat meals when out and make sure to get a sizable amount of snacking in during the day.

GL.

BTW: When you do start cooking Dids has a great blog.