Someone asked about where to eat out ...
I have good luck at anyplace that serves sandwhiches on "normal" bread
rather than, say foccacia. Although the bread is refined carbs and
probably has a little fat, I just order a veggie sandwhich with
mustard, no mayo, no cheese, no meat. Most places will pile on the
veggies, if you specificially ask for a lot. Be very careful if they
serve a hot veggie sandwhich, though, 'cause most I've run across have
cooked the veggies in oil, often heavily drenching them. And if they
toast the bread/bun, ask for it not to be buttered first and that it
be done on a dry grill. Subway and Thundercloud subs have great
veggie choices.
At Quiznos, watch what they put on (no sauce, cheese, etc), but great
"whole wheat" bread.
Pizza depends a lot on the place. One place in Houston had an
oil-free tomato sauce, so you could order with fresh (not sauteed)
spinich, mushrooms and onions, no cheese. They put it under a broiler
and it's great.
Even burger places are easy ... a burger without the meat, cheese or
mayo. A learned from this list ages ago that a bun with lettuce,
pickles, tomatoes, onions, mustard and a little ketchup is awfully
good. Just ask for as many veggies as they'll pile on. At
Whataburger, don't let them toast the bun (or ask them not to butter
it or whatever it is they put on it), but they'll really load on the
veggies. At Wendy's, they skimp on the veggies, but never ever raise
an eyebrow or ask you to repeat it or laugh when you order! Burger
King gives you some extra veggies and you get a sesame seed bun, which
is higher fat with the seeds, but if you are willing and like 'em,
you're set. Forget about MacD's or Jack-in-the-Box.
Sit-down restaurants often have baked potatoes, steamed veggies and
salads. Just get some salsa or steak sauce or even ketchup (makes it
taste like you're eating squishy french fries) to stir into the
potato, and you're good to go. Some folks order fat-free salad
dressing, but they taste funny to me and most still have some oil in
them.
At Chinese places, I get steamed rice with steamed veggies (at one
place, I have to specify steamed with water, because they think
steaming with chicken broth makes them taste better--yuk!). Adding a
little soy sauce helps, but actually, I've found that almost all
hoisin or plum sauces are oil-free and yummy.
None of these ideas are as good, healthy, or whole as you can do at
home, but eating out is worth it sometimes. Hope that helps.
-di