Posts Tagged ‘Eating Out’

Say it isn’t so

Posted: July 27, 2013 in Food, Ramadan
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Yesterday I got lazy and creative at the same time. I didn’t have enough time to cook a full dinner so I stopped by Chipotle to pick up a salad bowl. Wait a minute, Chipotle?? The place everyone thought was healthy until calorie and fat calculators broke down the truth of what goes into a burrito? Or how they have slowly started to admit that their stuff may not be as natural as it may seem. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, Chipotle came out last month and labeled their ingredients that contain GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms.) Turns out , there’s a lot of them…

For Sahoor

I’m done with eggs. That is all.

For Iftar

I got my self a bowl from Chipotle but here is how I navigated all of the pit falls. Start with a salad bowl which contains a base layer of lettuce. Skip the tortilla every time. It has tons of carbs and sugar that you don’t need, not to mention heavy on GMOs. Skip the rice (even the brown rice) and beans. The chicken believe it or not is heavy on GMOs as well as the other meats. The only meat that is GMO free is the pork, if that’s your cup of tea. Add in the fajita peppers, mild salsa, and the other salsa that you want. Corn is one of those debatable paleo items but with that quantity you aren’t going to hurt your self. Next add the guacamole, heck double the guacamole. Turns out the guac does not contain any GMOs and is heavy in nutrients your body loves. Skip everything else including the cheese and sour cream (which turns out does not contain GMOs).

Oh you want meat? No problem, use your own! I added some of my GMO free chicken to a pan after marinating it with a little bit of salt, pepper, and chaat masala. I added it to the bowl as well as some Tessamae’s dressing (skip Chipotle’s) and it was as good as ever!

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So there, disaster avoided. I do love Chipotle and learning about their ingredients was disappointing, but like I said, eating healthy is not cheap. It’s a sad thought if you think about it. Obesity is the underlying cause of many illnesses in this country. It’s a driving factor in our health care costs yet to truly counter it, you have to be able to afford it. What’s one to do when they can only afford the unhealthy option today but then suffer the health care costs later? Lifestyle and budgeting is a whole other topic that this blog is not intended for but something to think about.

Maybe I’ll do a few recipes that are healthy and filling yet low cost. Oh and they won’t involve eggs because I think today I hit my threshold on the amount of eggs I can eat in a month.

Pay to Play

Posted: July 27, 2013 in Challenge, Food, Ramadan
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So I know I’ve missed a couple of days worth of posts here so I’m going to combine those two into one. Nothing too exciting happened except I started getting sick of eggs and I ate out successfully.

For Sahoor

On both Wednesday and Thursday I had an omelette. It tastes just as repetitive as it sounds. I did switch it up a little bit on Thursday by only putting in one whole egg and 5 egg whites. It’s really not helping. After Friday I am off till Eid so I will have some time for better Sahoor meals. It’s about time. I’m starting to get a list of stuff I plan on making so be on the lookout for that!

For Iftar

Wednesday was a cheat meal. I wasn’t in the mood to cook and I had dinner with the family. The cheat meal came sooner than I wanted after my previous cheat meal but that just means I won’t have another one for a while. This one was with my favorite bad food so I may have gone pretty close to the border of overboard. It didn’t derail me though so I think I’m ok.

On Thursday I had a friend’s birthday dinner to go to so Iftar was done at a restaurant. I touched on eating out last year as I had to do it while I was traveling and not much of my advice has changed. If you can, look at the menu ahead of time. Find what looks to be healthy and compliant with your diet. Now this doesn’t mean go to the salad section and hate your life. You can still enjoy something that tastes good but you have to do your homework. Prepare questions for the waiter regarding the meal. Ask them what’s in it, how they cook it, and what kind of quality the meat is. Don’t shy out!! You have every right to know what’s going into your stomach so exercise it. Generally speaking, go for the grilled section but be careful with everything it might be cooked in or comes with. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for substitutes. If the meal looks good but comes with fries, ask them to sub it for fruit or a vegetable. I found that most places are willing to accommodate these requests and a lot of times without charging extra. Be in control!
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I had looked at the menu ahead of time so I knew what to get. A little Google help and you can see what goes into the grilled salmon that I went with. It was lightly marinated with salt and pepper and some lemon. It was grilled and served with shredded squash. I had a side of salad with guacamole as well.

Workout of (that) day

5 rounds
30 Second Max Effort Air Squats
Rest 30 Seconds
30 Second Max Effort  Kettlebell swings 53#
Rest 30 Seconds
30 Second Max Effort Hand Release Push Ups
Rest 30 Seconds

Sadly, eating healthy isn’t cheap, especially when eating out. However in the long run, I’d rather pay the price at the meal table than at the doctors table.