Meals on the go

Subway just surpassed McDonald's as the worlds largest food chain. What that means for me and you is that we are never far from a nutritious, low fat, low calorie meal. Leaving work and headed straight to the kids' water polo practice? Pass by the Taco Bell and run in to Subway for dinner. You can easily find a meal that will fit into any calorie budget. Here is my favorite. I get a 6 inch turkey on whole wheat bread. All the vegetables except jalapeños, tomatoes, and salad peppers. Swiss or pepper jack cheese (it breaks my rule about low-fat/no-fat dairy, leave it off if you wish), salt, pepper, spicy mustard, vinegar, no oil. Add a bag of apple slices and a diet coke and the whole meal is about 365 calories.

That's 4 of the 5 food groups in that meal.

Pick something up for the kids as well - you're not the only one who should be eating healthy. My kids never ask me for McDonalds or the other fast food places. They know it's not gonna happen. All our stops out are at Subways.

Have a favorite sandwich? Check Subway's website for nutritional info. They have information on every sandwich, and every condiment. You can add yours up to see if it fits in your calorie budget. If not, make some adjustments or change your sandwich.

Subway nutrition information

A good choice for a sit down meal is Genghis Grill.  It's a Mongolian wok where you get to hand pick your own protein, veggies, seasonings, and whole grain(only the brown rice fits that category as far as I know) and have it cooked as you watch.  A couple of things make this a great choice to get a meal.  First, you know exactly what is going into your meal.  Second, you are in complete control of what your meal contains.  But maybe the most exciting thing is that you can go to their website and "pre-build" a meal on their website.  Their website will give you a running total of how many calories and other info your meal has as you build it.  Then, when you have built one that looks good to you, you can print it and take it to the restaurant with you so that you will know exactly what to get.  Here is the website to build your bowl.

 Build your own bowl at Genghis Grill

My bowl with chicken, brown rice, and vegetables, and peanut sauce comes in under 500 calories.  That's a pretty good lunch or dinner!

Finally, I recommend always carrying a snack with you so that if you are caught out between meals and it's snack time, you won't be forced to eat a Snickers.  I always have a Clif  Bar or Power Bar with me, both coming in under 250 calories.  A white chocolate, macadamia nut Clif Bar and a glass of water satisfies my appetite and my sweet tooth at the same time.

If you're are not fortunate enough to live in an area with an abundance of health food restaurants, being away from home and eating healthy isn't impossible, but it does take planning.  But after just a few weeks it becomes second nature as new habits form.

Got suggestions for the rest of us on where to get a healthy meal on the go? Post it in the comments. Rules are that you know how many calories the meal has, it's low in saturated fat, and it meets our requirement of at least three of our food groups.