Subway is back on my Radar!   

I get the 6″ Turkey or Roast Beef with no cheese or oil.  I ask for plenty of all the vegetables, salt and pepper and vinegar.  I get that with the baked Lays chips, a diet soda and call it good.  It’s less than 500 calories and fills me pretty well. 

I DO feel that the higher glycemic index of the bread and chips makes me hungrier faster - but I have to broaden my options, or It will be too easy to fall again.

Pei Wei is awesome.  The food is fresh, the service is great, the place is clean.  All around goodness.

The thing to order here is the Spicey Korean Shrimp or Spicey Korean Chicken.  The Shrimp costs more, but has fewer calories.  The way I order it cooked, it isn’t that spicey.

As you may have guessed I order it with extra vegetables, no mushrooms (personal preferance), no oil and no sauce (or sauce on the side for a little dip) and no rice.  If you HAVE to have rice, get just a little brown rice.  Know, however, that your great mentor does not take the rice.  Enough about rice?

They put in sugar snap pea pods, water chestnuts, broccoli and carrots.  It’s great - and a great source of protein and vegetables.

Don’t fall sucker to the rice!

And If you eat the fortune cookie - you are obliged to not visit this site for two weeks!

OK - This stuff is so good that it feels like a 100% cheat.  I don’t think it is even a 1% cheat.  I need to find out about scallops.  Can they really be THAT good to eat and THAT not bad for you?  I’ll have researched the topic and will get back to you before the end of this post.

The thing to order is the Cioppino.  It is a stew of Lobster, Scallops, Shrimp, Squid, Littlenecks, Mussles and Whitefish.  It normally comes in a light tomato broth with a side of jasmine rice.

I found out that they steam all the seafood before they add the tomato broth - which has oil in it.  So I ordered it without the broth - and exchanged steamed broccoli for the jasmine rice.

It was TOO good.  I did add a bit of tobasco to the mix.  But it was fun to pick through all the shells, and the calamari was nice and chewy which is a cool texture.  It made me feel like I was eating pasta.

OK - did the research.  Scallops are all protein.  The only thing to watch is that they are a bit high in sodium.  But Dang are they good.

Two Tongues up!

I fell into the Dennys trap last week. My kid was starving, we were far from home and it was the only restaraunt I could find by the highway. I almost went with the grilled tilapia. I didn’t know if the cook would be cool with all the substitutions I wanted with the tilapia dish (steamed vegetables instead of rice - and no special butter sauce on the fish), so I went with something easier.

As a side note, is tilapia some new species of fish? In 35 years I’d never heard of it until I saw it on a menu in Applebees. I just this moment did some research and found out that they are more comonly called “whitefish” (heard of) or “perch” (which I used to catch by the dozen and throw back as “garbage fish”). A couple searches on “Health and tilapia” didn’t turn up any major concerns - so I’ll keep eating it.

I got the Grilled Chicken Breast Salad. I asked for it without dressing, cheese or croutons. The Denny’s website lists the salad as 259 calories BD (before dressing).

When I got the salad and took the first bite of chicken - there was a TON of juice to it. Something told me it wasn’t right. So, like the calorie freak I am, I blotted each piece of chicken on my napkin. I probably got one or two teaspoons of oil out of it?? Maybe just one. But I felt better eating it.

My kid had chicken fingers, grapes and an oreo sundae. Mmm. Oreo.

OK - Found some good grub at Pickup Stix.  I’ve been going there ALL THE TIME!  Order steamed shrimp with steamed vegetables.  No rice.  I get the dinner portion - and ask for extra veggies in place of mushrooms (personal Preference).  It’s about $9.  I put on just a little of the light soy sauce - and I’m good to go.  Really good change of pace.

I have also really enjoyed the Chicken and Shrimp - prepared as noted above.  The chicken is steamed or woked - but there is no oil added so it’s excellent.

Just recently I’ve been ordering the Buddha’s Feast - which is nice because it has some different more traditionally Asian vegetables in it.  I will add either tofu or shrimp to the mix to make sure I get my protein fix.

For condiments I’ve been adding some of the hot Asian mustard and the chili paste.  Now I have a taste for it - and it adds some excitement to the meal.

I end up going here about 2 times a week for lunch because it’s a nice walk from the office.  I don’t really love the meal I get there.

I order the fresh tossed salad.  They make the whole thing in front of you.  I always choose the dark greens to begin with, then add cucumber, tomato, onion, red pepper, green pepper, pepperocinis and broccoli.  Then I have the put in 1/2 a scoop of the low cal ranch dressing.  I don’t know what the heck is in that dressing - so I’m cautious.

If I’m particularly famished I’ll have them add some of the grilled chicken substance.  It’s a not-great chicken byproduct that is somewhere between chicken strips and bacon bits.  I don’t know how it’s cooked - so, again, I’m cautious.

I would have thought it would be impossible to eat healthy AND get full at the Cheesecake Factory.  But I did it.

I asked what the fresh fish was - and in this case it was Mahi Mahi.  I ordered it cooked dry (no oil or butter) along with steamed vegetables.  It came out and the fish was great - and there were plenty of vegetables.   It was great.

As everyone was pondering the desert menu I asked the waitress if they had fresh strawberries.  She said they did - there was a menu item called “Goblet of Strawberries”  I asked for that without any sort of sugar, syrup or whip cream added.  The strawberries were awesome and there were a LOT of them.

All this in a week where I lost over 4 lbs.

There are only two of these restaurants that I’m aware of and they are both in Southern California.  They serve Peruvian food - heavy on the potatoes, beans and rice.

I always order the Saltado de Vainitas con Pollo which is chicken strips sauteed with green beans, onions and tomatoes.  It is normally served with rice - but I substitute in extra green beans.  I also order this small salad item which is red onion strips mixed with lime juice and cilantro.  I pour it on top of the whole plate.  Good stuff!

I ALWAYS get the Onion Soup Au Gratin (French Onion Soup).  There is probably enough salt in it to last for days, but it’s great.  I order it without the bread - but with the cheese.

For a main dish I order either the Cajun Lime Tilapia (fish), the Confetti Chicken or the Mesquite Chicken Salad.  With the Talapia or Chicken - I ask them to double up the steamed veggetables to replace the rice.

The Oriental Chicken Salad is the way to go. Lots of greens, Lots of chicken breast and some mandarin oranges! Skip the packet of noodles - but put on ALL the almonds!

For dressing - go with the Fat Free French. It is 80 calories to the pack and hands down my favorite dressing.

If I happen to be having this as a take out - I add pepperocinis when I get home.

I went to Wendy’s site (which is excellent by the way) and calculated the calories of the salad prepared as described above.  Ordered with no changes, the salad is 550 calories.  By eliminating the noodles and swapping in the Fat Free French dressing, the calorie count goes down to 380.  Not too shabby for all the food you get.

There are two safe ways to go here.  Chicken and fish.  The key is that you want them to be grilled - and without butter or oil if possible.

On my trip there this weekend I ordered the following:

House salad without croutons or cheese - with the Tangy Tomato dressing (fat free) on the side

Chicken on the Barbie - with steamed Broccoli as a side.

It’s apparent that they use a lot of salt and butter on both the chicken and the broccoli - so it’s a moderation thing.

Sometimes the piece of chicken they give you is huge - and it’s good to cut it in half and take half home.  Other times, like this weekend, the piece is kinda dinky - so I ate the whole thing.

I have recently gone the fish route too - and it’s great.  Going with either Mahi Mahi or salmon are good choices.  I order it dry (to avoid the oil and butter).  Again I go with the broccoli side.

DON’T EAT THE BREAD!! 

I just read on the website that both the chicken and the vegetables can be ordered without the seasoned butter.  Dang - wish I knew that Saturday!!