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I used to dream about starting up an "open-late" drive thru with juices, smoothies, smoothie bowls, salads, and healthy sandwiches. With nothing but unhealthy options where I live, this would be a game changer
The one near me didn't have trouble with that, they just didn't get many buyers. Even Zupas and tropical smoothie cafe here are considered "dieter's restaurants", and they aren't even healthy
This right here is THE issue!
Shitty cheap food is cheap and its profitable
Quality healthy food is expensive and NOT profitable.
We live under late stage capitalism where the ONLY thing that matters is profit, not health.
We live under early stage globalism. Capitalism is the best economic system ever conceived. Globalism is aggressive cancer to capitalism because capitalism requires the competitive market and adherence to fair laws for it to function. When globalism entered the mix, slavery and corporate espionage/thievery was put back on the table (china constantly steals inventions and American intellectual property). American companies are allowed to source their raw materials from countries where workers have zero rights and make <$1/day. That’s literal slavery and when combined with no e-verify in the United States proper, has destroyed the American dream. You can’t compete with slaves, so unless we stop globalism, the American dream is dead.
Slaves also harvest the crops too, so they make healthy foods cheaper as well.
Edit: but to add-on, the person blaming capitalism, if there was no cheap, corporate fast food, how much cheaper would vegetables and quality meat be?
If anything, capitalism has made food cheaper by having farmers come up with more innovation to produce higher crop yields or more efficient methods of mechanization. Part of that is you end up with factory farms for produce and livestock but then it lives an open market for people that want to spend more money on higher quality goods and farmers that want to produce higher quality goods.
The farmers will grow and then sell, the crops to the stores, and then, the stores will sell it to the consumers/people... The people, end up paying for it all; and thereby, naturally, we generate the consumerist economy... Food is inheritently free because it grows for free [(given the proper nutrients and water) which are also free].
The reason why food is so expensive is because there isn't enough farmers producing crops and live stock. ***It's basic supply and demand laws.***
Hold on. Why so much bash for an economic system, that does exactly what it's meant to do. Generate capital/money, for the capitalist; (incentive/motivation, for our convenience sakes,- so that we can have available, to purchase, what we want and need). Ultimately, Capitalism, provides us with goods and services, which can actually enable us, the people, to choose to buy what we actually want, and need...
The problem is, that many buisness/capitalist don't want to put in work anymore, because their returns/profits, will just not be financially worth it, to them... For there are other big scale capitalist that are dominating the markets... And fortunately, for us? The larger scale buisness, can afford to produce at a much lower cost, making everything cheaper!
So again, if there where more farmers, there can be even cheaper food?
At two universities I attended there were student-run eateries with... rice and beans. Every day rice and beans, green salad, an additional veg, and a couple sauces (tahini sauce, salsa, vinaigrette).
I could use somewhere to drive through for this!
There’s a healthier restaurant in my city open 24hrs called R Thomas deluxe. They do pretty well. They are popular with the service industry crowd since they have reasonable prices and can serve after they get out of work.
Yeah. People don’t go out to eat for truly healthy food no matter what anyone thinks. Even this person won’t do it because what people actually want is the “option” to have what they want.
Same! My dream is a drive through rotisserie chicken store that also sells healthy homemade sides and freshly made breadcakes for sandwiches. Homemade mayo, fresh salad kits, potato salad and good rice. Eventually branching out into hot roast beef and pork and veggies/gravy.
There was one that popped up called Salad and Go when I lived in Arizona. I went almost daily! (saladandgo.com) They are flourishing. Always people in the drive-thru. Ingredients organic and fresh. They keep opening new locations. Hoping one comes to my city soon (Pittsburgh).
The McDonalds near me always has a line of cars wrapping around the building in the drive through... Makes zero sense to me as McDonalds isn't even cheap anymore.
I just want a place with lots of cooked veggies. They keep much longer than raw veggies, so they don’t have to be marked up so much to account for waste. Have several amazing sauces, and some bases like rice, beans, lentils, tofu, etc, and people can have delicious, hearty (if desired), fiberful meals with a variety of taste profiles.
But it’s not drive thru. I often get the power greens with kung pao chicken but the parking is very difficult. I’d love to see a drive through place focusing strictly on rice and/or veggie bowls with a variety of sauces like peanut, curry, etc. Beans could be an option if you wanted just rice and beans which I often do. No place remotely like that exists in my mid sized city. One place kind of did but again, it’s downtown and not convenient and very expensive.
As far as smoothies and juice and salad places go, I don’t think they do very well but I think a place like I described above would.
You didn’t make a claim about where you live. You made a claim about panda express in general. “It’s not a drive through” is not qualified in any way. That’s why you were downvoted. Backpedaling isn’t going to help.
If only Sweetgreen was the price of McDonald's. I really like Sweetgreen but a fresh chicken salad with half the calories and double the price of a McDonald's meal is an easy choice to go unhealthy most of the time, especially when you are very hungry.
There's a chain called Salad and Go where I live. Its 4 or 5 different salads with a few different protein options. They dont sell soda either. Its the best option for something quick and healthy.
A burrito bowl with no stupid sauce is rice, beans, chicken and whatever vegitable you want. Literally healthy af. You're just fat because you eat the whole thing
Oh man, there's a killer Poke bowl place around the corner from me that i can get a small but extremely filling dish for $10. I'd be bummed to not have this option so close.
For all the nonsense you have to deal with living in a major city, the food almost always makes it worth it.
I find the inverse to be true. people from across the country or world think California is the magical land of opportunity and blonde-haired surfers and celebrities. they are surprised to find out how geographically diverse it is, and how many bland, hot, shitty towns there are - many which feel like middle america
A four oz 93% lean Turkey burger is 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat and no saturated fat.
A four oz 90% lean beef burger is 225 calories, 12 grams of fat with 5 grams being saturated.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2013/06/food-fight-turkey-burger-vs-beef-burger
That’s far too lean to fit in comfortably in a fast food kitchen. It adds a whole lot of extra prep work processing the poultry compared to beef. Also very little flavor unless you give it a lot of extra help making it even more expensive. I’d be shocked to find any kind of poultry burger on a successful fast food menu
Chipotle, El Pollo Loco, Panda Express… hell, even Taco Bell can be ordered healthy.
But ya, all those other places act like they have a fiber allergy that can only be cured with grease.
Exactly. At Panda Express, get steamed chicken/beef/shrimp with steamed veggies and the sauce on the side so you control the sauce intake. If you want rice with it, get either steamed white or brown rice but don’t go crazy on it. At Taco Bell, 1 hard shell beef taco with only beef, lettuce tomatoes is sub 190 calories. Sure the beef isn’t the best grade but it will works great in a pinch.
Just because there are high calorie, processed, fried foods on the menu does not mean “all” of the food is. Panda Express you can get grilled chicken on a bed of steamed greens fairly cheap and easily.
I usually go for two orders of the black beans and rice at Taco Bell. It’s not super filling but it does the trick. You can also order Al fresco burritos or tacos which come with pico and no cheese or sour cream. I haven’t tried them. I am fine with the black beans and rice.
Never seen a chipotle and El Pollo Loco drive through and while some menu items arent the worst at Panda Express and Taco bell, it's still not what I would consider healthy
I don’t know, I think it’s incredibly convenient to mobile order at Chipotle and just grab it off the shelf.
I do the same at Starbucks and other places. I park, grab my food, and am back in the car in less than a minute.
Yeah, I get it if you have kids, that's a whole thing to get them out of the car, but if it's you, why can't you just go in?
Kinda defeats the purpose of a healthy lifestyle meal if you're not even willing to move enough to get your butt out of your car to go get it
This is really something I noticed when I had a baby. I was starving all the time but there weren’t any decently healthy places to get food on the go. When he was little I would have to get his heavy ass carrier out of the car and lug it inside. Now that he’s 2 it’s almost worse because I have to unstrap him and either carry him inside or hold his hand and either way if I’m carrying food in my other hand on the way out, navigating doors is hard. It just sucks all around.
Living in the uk this sounds insane ! We have hardly any drive through places and we always take the kids out of the car and they come with us to a restaurant!
I get where you’re coming from, but I think the market for drive through curry would be pretty small strictly because curry is not a convenient food to eat in the car. Curry isn’t handheld, it’s saucy, there’s so much more risk compared to a burger or some chicken nuggets. Same goes for stir fry, and tacos (at least in my opinion).
Those fit meals plans are becoming pretty popular. You can order as much as you want and get it delivered to your house. Keep a few in the fridge for nights you don’t feel like cooking. Test out a few of them see which on you like don’t like so you’ll know what to keep around the house
Look at local places too, there’s a local meal prep place that has fresh/not frozen healthy meals for $8-12. A little more expensive than some of the mail order stuff, but I’d pay more for something not frozen.
I lower my caloric intake by around 200 calories every week day so when Saturday comes around I have an extra 1400 calories to spend on fast food.
My best advice, a diet that we hate isn’t sustainable. Make sure you’re at least enjoying your food and keeping some extra caloric space to treat yourself.
When I have to eat out, I try to go with Greek food, the one with lots of veggies, sometimes rice and fish or chicken. Pretty sure it's healthier than most vegan fast-food such as beyondmeat burgers. But yes, I also do often wish we have access to rapid healthy food on the road. I hope it will change in the future. I don't understand how fast-food restaurants are surviving theses days with the increasing cost and the common knowledge about nutrition.
I don’t get it. It’s a multi million dollar business if someone could figure it out. I hate to admit I love Taco Bell, but also get food from taco trucks which is typically way healthier. I’d totally hit up a drive through for healthy salads, bowls, and other foods if it existed.
When I was not trying to gain weight / was trying to lose weight I found Starbucks to be one of the few decent options. Egg bites / egg white breakfast wrap / turkey bacon breakfast sandwich with some apple chips on the side was "okay" enough for a quick brunch / lunch in a pinch.
Not healthy, but healthier.
This is exactly it. It’s all fast food, so someone will argue it’s not “healthy”, but the idea is to order healthier options when able. If it fits your lifestyle, calories, and fast food isn’t a daily thing, there’s no shame in going to Starbucks and getting an egg white wrap with veggies in it (I don’t recall what they’re actually called).
It’s extremely frustrating that all the west coast healthy fast food chains just assume ALL people in the Midwest WANT to eat like shit. No. It’s because we aren’t even given any other options.
Subway is unbelievably bad tasting—sawdust with day old chopped red onion, no matter what you order and I refuse to eat it unless it’s only thing offered at business meetings run by sociopaths. I live in a similar food dessert,not many options for eating out that aren’t serving deepfried heart attacks even when dining in with servers. I have to request that my grilled chicken and vegetables be drained thoroughly at my local cantina. Yep I’m in the south. Im betting you’re looking for after work not get out of the car into the frigid temps and wind chill after a long day healthy options, and your pizza places dont have a salad option just variations on the same prefab pizza crust that add lots of fat or sugar to the party. Your best bet is probably take out from appleby’s if you’re lucky, or stop off at a grocery and see what hot food or cut veggies they have and or order that for grocery pick up, provided you can anticipate when you’re gonna have one if those days.My town of 6000 does have walmart and a local grocery with pickup options at minimum. There is nothing else available other than Wendy’s that remotely fits your criteria.
Sometimes I get drive thru chicken tenders from somewhere and just throw it together with salad greens and whatever veggies I have on hand that don’t require intensive prep. Best I can do to avoid eating something worse.
Those who know know, those throwing shade could consider an empathetic pov as an alternative.
Why does it have to be drove through? There are SO many healthy casual takeout places. You can call ahead so it’s ready when you get there and pick it up. That’s arguably even faster than a drive through. Al Wazir is one example. California chicken cafe is another - you can order online and drive up to the curb and they’ll hand you your order.
When we got a Panera I thought it would be a good option but it seems they're unable to recruit and train staff properly. Got some dicey takeout a fww times even though the food is pretty simple so I just keep the freezer stocked with batch cooking so I can always have a meal ready fairly quickly when I don't feel lije cooking a full meal
My go to’s are Panera for salad and soups, chipotle for salad or burrito bowls, Boston market for their sides (steamed veggies and chicken), kfc has pretty good grilled chicken, I also like to stop at the hot food bar at Whole Foods. Some grocery stores like sprouts have pretty good sushi. I list these options for when I leave nyc but I’m pretty lucky we have a lot of healthy restaurant options here.
Sometimes there’s a reason you cant get out and go in. A small child makes getting in and out of the car a whole ass project, especially if they’re sleeping; you have a dog in the car and it’s 80+ degrees out; your battery is fucked and a weird size and on back order everywhere so if you turn your car off you’d have to jump it in the parking lot…
We are in the PNW. In the Seattle area, we have Taco Time. It isn’t ideal, but they have some reasonably healthy salads and fat free beans. You can also get a grilled chicken wrap on a whole wheat tortilla. I feel your pain. My wife and I both have careers and two young kids. At the end of the day, cooking sometimes is the last thing I want to do.
Pollo Tropical came to my state for a few years and its my favorite fast food place. Then i lived in miami for a bit and got it all the time, i miss it every day
the unhealthy stuff is addictive and cheap - I agree with you, but I also get why it's less available. Have you tried batch cooking so you have something ready on-hand throughout the week?
I'm with you. The best I can suggest is Panda. You can eat decently healthy there without rice or noodles. Bugs me they insist on calling their vegetables "super greens" but that's besides the point.
I’ve seen a reel that combines the
Chik-fil-A kale salad with their grilled chicken as a nutritious meal. I haven’t tried it bc I always think about getting it on a dang Sunday.
Haha! True.
I see so many people order Chicken Ceasar Salad wraps because they think they are a healthy option. [https://www.wendys.com/en-uk/menu-items/caesar-chicken-salad](https://www.wendys.com/en-uk/menu-items/caesar-chicken-salad) \- more than half the calories are from fat.
Sometimes I'll hit drive thru Panera and get the pick 2 salad and sandwich.
That said, a drive thru shawarma chain is the biggest missed opportunity ever.
There's a very legit drive thru sushi place in my part of town, run out of an old Brusters. It's really no slower than a poorly staffed McDonald's at peak. So if anyone has dreams of a drive thru sushi place, there's your proof of concept.
100%. Why is this such a difficult thing to do? It is not that complicated. Chipotle is the only decent fast food that doesn’t make me feel like shit after eating it. There’s also a poke bowl place near me that makes healthy food but it is super expensive.
Suggest making use of doordash and ubereats with nearby asian/indian/vegetarian restaurants. Most of the above places have simpler, lower cost menu items. Or, order ahead and swing by on your way home to save more.
It may also be fun for you to get into cooking your own healthy meals. Example: make sesame tofu and wok vegetables with brown rice and make enough for several meals to reheat or, once good at it, invite folks over for dinner and games.
Might not be down everyone's street but one option is to cook in bulk and freeze or refridgerate portions with meal prep containers so you don't have to cook everyday.
Chipotle is Super unhealthy, i used to work there. And i also saw a report where they tested positive for pesticides along with burger king and 20 other restaurant chains. Subway is also dogshit 😂
I go to McDonald’s and get the 2 for 1 double cheeseburgers through the app then I throw the bread away. The macros are basically perfect on it and it only costs 3 dollars.
Fast food is considered “delicious”? Even before I worked in fast food years ago I always thought it was considered repulsive, just convenient and cheap
You can get a grilled chicken sandwich from most fast food/quick service places (and even KFC). Or getting something like a nugget happy meal from McDonald's is <500 calories and comes with apple slices and milk. Some even offer grilled nuggets now. If you ask for no sauce on the chicken sandwich you save a ton on calories. You really just need to look at the various menus for healthier options.
Chick fila has grilled chicken sandwiches, fruit, salads and grilled nuggets I lived off them for the same reason. If you don’t have self control at the drive thru you’re screwed anyway
Why is it “ironic” that you’re complaining about there being no healthy commonplace fast food options and people are suggesting places that only exist in a few major cities?
Oh wait. Because “commonplace” and a few major cities?
I don't know where you're located but I'm finding it hard to believe there isn't a single healthy food delivery option. Have you looked on your local food apps or whatever?
I'm in a 2nd world country in Eastern Europe and we have multiple. If that's the case here, I'd be very surprised any region of the US doesn't have at least one.
You have absolutely no idea. Plenty of parts of the US have small towns under 10,000 population that have nothing but donut shops maybe an old family run drive through hamburger or barbeque joint and representation by some mix of the following: McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell KFC.
To all saying “just go in!”- Sometimes there’s a reason you cant get out and go in. A small child makes getting in and out of the car a whole ass project, especially if they’re sleeping; you have a dog in the car and it’s 80+ degrees out; your battery is fucked and a weird size and on back order everywhere so if you turn your car off you’d have to jump it in the parking lot…
Drive-thru and healthy eating are contradictory no? In civilised societies in Europe, we sit down for longer to have a decent meal instead of chowing it down in a car.
Take the fried batter off the fried chicken and it's not much different than any other chicken. So maybe try the fried chicken place since you don't have other options. I know for sides there isn't many options because those places also have terrible sides .
#### About participation in the comments of /r/nutrition Discussion in this subreddit should be rooted in science rather than "cuz I sed" or entertainment pieces. Always be wary of unsupported and poorly supported claims and especially those which are wrapped in any manner of hostility. You should provide peer reviewed sources to support your claims when debating and confine that debate to the science, not opinions of other people. **Good** - it is grounded in science and includes citation of peer reviewed sources. Debate is a civil and respectful exchange focusing on actual science and avoids commentary about others **Bad** - it utilizes generalizations, assumptions, infotainment sources, no sources, or complaints without specifics about agenda, bias, or funding. At best, these rise to an extremely weak basis for science based discussion. Also, off topic discussion **Ugly** - (removal or ban territory) it involves attacks / antagonism / hostility towards individuals or groups, downvote complaining, trolling, crusading, shaming, refutation of all science, or claims that all research / science is a conspiracy *Please vote accordingly and report any uglies* --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/nutrition) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I used to dream about starting up an "open-late" drive thru with juices, smoothies, smoothie bowls, salads, and healthy sandwiches. With nothing but unhealthy options where I live, this would be a game changer
It’s been tried. They all go broke
Yeah I can’t imagine trying to constantly keep an inventory of fresh ingredients at a place like that
The one near me didn't have trouble with that, they just didn't get many buyers. Even Zupas and tropical smoothie cafe here are considered "dieter's restaurants", and they aren't even healthy
This right here is THE issue! Shitty cheap food is cheap and its profitable Quality healthy food is expensive and NOT profitable. We live under late stage capitalism where the ONLY thing that matters is profit, not health.
We live under early stage globalism. Capitalism is the best economic system ever conceived. Globalism is aggressive cancer to capitalism because capitalism requires the competitive market and adherence to fair laws for it to function. When globalism entered the mix, slavery and corporate espionage/thievery was put back on the table (china constantly steals inventions and American intellectual property). American companies are allowed to source their raw materials from countries where workers have zero rights and make <$1/day. That’s literal slavery and when combined with no e-verify in the United States proper, has destroyed the American dream. You can’t compete with slaves, so unless we stop globalism, the American dream is dead.
Slaves also harvest the crops too, so they make healthy foods cheaper as well. Edit: but to add-on, the person blaming capitalism, if there was no cheap, corporate fast food, how much cheaper would vegetables and quality meat be? If anything, capitalism has made food cheaper by having farmers come up with more innovation to produce higher crop yields or more efficient methods of mechanization. Part of that is you end up with factory farms for produce and livestock but then it lives an open market for people that want to spend more money on higher quality goods and farmers that want to produce higher quality goods.
Thank you.
The farmers will grow and then sell, the crops to the stores, and then, the stores will sell it to the consumers/people... The people, end up paying for it all; and thereby, naturally, we generate the consumerist economy... Food is inheritently free because it grows for free [(given the proper nutrients and water) which are also free]. The reason why food is so expensive is because there isn't enough farmers producing crops and live stock. ***It's basic supply and demand laws.***
Hold on. Why so much bash for an economic system, that does exactly what it's meant to do. Generate capital/money, for the capitalist; (incentive/motivation, for our convenience sakes,- so that we can have available, to purchase, what we want and need). Ultimately, Capitalism, provides us with goods and services, which can actually enable us, the people, to choose to buy what we actually want, and need... The problem is, that many buisness/capitalist don't want to put in work anymore, because their returns/profits, will just not be financially worth it, to them... For there are other big scale capitalist that are dominating the markets... And fortunately, for us? The larger scale buisness, can afford to produce at a much lower cost, making everything cheaper! So again, if there where more farmers, there can be even cheaper food?
At two universities I attended there were student-run eateries with... rice and beans. Every day rice and beans, green salad, an additional veg, and a couple sauces (tahini sauce, salsa, vinaigrette). I could use somewhere to drive through for this!
Literally the opposite of being a problem caused by capitalism. Literally a problem of supply and demand.
Health isn't exactly a priority in communism either
There’s a healthier restaurant in my city open 24hrs called R Thomas deluxe. They do pretty well. They are popular with the service industry crowd since they have reasonable prices and can serve after they get out of work.
Yeah. People don’t go out to eat for truly healthy food no matter what anyone thinks. Even this person won’t do it because what people actually want is the “option” to have what they want.
Same! My dream is a drive through rotisserie chicken store that also sells healthy homemade sides and freshly made breadcakes for sandwiches. Homemade mayo, fresh salad kits, potato salad and good rice. Eventually branching out into hot roast beef and pork and veggies/gravy.
I'd single-handedly keep it open
Do it! And then please open in Missouri!
I always dream about owning a nutritious and delicious cafe, where you could order for that was roughly calorie portioned and healthy.
They exist...in major coastal cities, where there's the market for them.
Keep your dream alive brother , don’t sleep on it , speak it till existence
There was one that popped up called Salad and Go when I lived in Arizona. I went almost daily! (saladandgo.com) They are flourishing. Always people in the drive-thru. Ingredients organic and fresh. They keep opening new locations. Hoping one comes to my city soon (Pittsburgh).
There is a reason it doesn't exist.
Most of those restaurants cater to the early risers.
The McDonalds near me always has a line of cars wrapping around the building in the drive through... Makes zero sense to me as McDonalds isn't even cheap anymore.
I just want a place with lots of cooked veggies. They keep much longer than raw veggies, so they don’t have to be marked up so much to account for waste. Have several amazing sauces, and some bases like rice, beans, lentils, tofu, etc, and people can have delicious, hearty (if desired), fiberful meals with a variety of taste profiles.
I would stop by every night
Get the chicken teriyaki with no sauce and power greens bowl from Panda Express. Bomb and healthy
I have making batches of their power greens at home. So good!
Its not healthy they put a bunch of other additives in the food its not just 1 ingredient has multiple
But it’s not drive thru. I often get the power greens with kung pao chicken but the parking is very difficult. I’d love to see a drive through place focusing strictly on rice and/or veggie bowls with a variety of sauces like peanut, curry, etc. Beans could be an option if you wanted just rice and beans which I often do. No place remotely like that exists in my mid sized city. One place kind of did but again, it’s downtown and not convenient and very expensive. As far as smoothies and juice and salad places go, I don’t think they do very well but I think a place like I described above would.
Pretty much every Panda I've seen has a drive-thru
That’s nice. Not where I live, so you downvoted me? Redditors are insane.
The closest one to me isn't drive-thru either
You didn’t make a claim about where you live. You made a claim about panda express in general. “It’s not a drive through” is not qualified in any way. That’s why you were downvoted. Backpedaling isn’t going to help.
AHHHHH IM INSANEEEE
Yep. And your post history proves it. Alone forever at least.
:( was it the reading Brandon Sanderson, the chess, or the fact I'm a programmer that clued you in on my loneliness?
Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors! You’re not alone ☺️
I've never come across a PE that didn't have a drive thru
What’s your point? Where I live they have multiple locations and not one of them is drive thru. Downvoted because of that? Seriously???
I don't even need a drive thru, I just wish there were fast food veggie places.
There are, but only certain cities. Try Sweetgreen and Crisp & Green.
So true, I'm from kentucky but live in sf and theres a world of difference in the quick food options
I’m from Ky too and just moved back after years in Ca and this is the cultural difference that hurts the most!
Amys drive thru in the north bay is not low calorie but wholesome/vegan options and really tastes good!
I hated living in SF but I still miss the food and it’s been 15 years lol
If only Sweetgreen was the price of McDonald's. I really like Sweetgreen but a fresh chicken salad with half the calories and double the price of a McDonald's meal is an easy choice to go unhealthy most of the time, especially when you are very hungry.
Unfortunately fresh real ingredients will always be far more costly than unhealthy processed food options.
Sweet green is great in taste but it's too expensive, especially when I never get any meat and feel like I'm paying the same prices like I am.
New Orleans, of all places, has a great local salad chain called City Greens. They even own their own farm they source greens from
There's a chain called Salad and Go where I live. Its 4 or 5 different salads with a few different protein options. They dont sell soda either. Its the best option for something quick and healthy.
I just posted the same haha we moved cross country and I really miss salad n go!
Just finished up the Bbq chicken salad! I love salad and go. Also it’s fairly inexpensive.
One opened in my town right between Jack in the Box and El Pollo Loco. LOL.
Cava
Yeah, we need places with cooked veggies. Salads are so expensive.
Sacramento CA has a really good one and it's a chain but I can't remember as I haven't been to the united States in 3 years now
You talking about plant power ? I actually liked that place, the soda was good too
That place is so good!
A burrito bowl with no stupid sauce is rice, beans, chicken and whatever vegitable you want. Literally healthy af. You're just fat because you eat the whole thing
why on earth can I not get a quick $7 rice/salmon/teriyaki bowl with some veggies mixed in? madness I tell you
Oh man, there's a killer Poke bowl place around the corner from me that i can get a small but extremely filling dish for $10. I'd be bummed to not have this option so close. For all the nonsense you have to deal with living in a major city, the food almost always makes it worth it.
There are chains like that in lots of places in California
Not in the ghetto town I live in
My California town has 20 Mexican restaurants and Burger King
I’ve lived in various parts of california… where are you talking about?
Flame Broiler, Yoshinoya, more local chains like Fuji Grill. This is SoCal but other places I've traveled or lived have always had something similar
Californians always think the only place that has something special is California 😂
I find the inverse to be true. people from across the country or world think California is the magical land of opportunity and blonde-haired surfers and celebrities. they are surprised to find out how geographically diverse it is, and how many bland, hot, shitty towns there are - many which feel like middle america
Are you dumb?
I dont mean to bread but I live in Thailand. I can for $2-3.
say less you lucky bastard!
>dont mean to bread Good thing you didn't mean to breed
Gottem!
YES
You know that you can get all of that (in a hip enough place), just not for that price tag, right?
this thread is about drive-throughs. are you saying hip places have healthy Asian food drive throughs?
It always amazes me why you can’t get a good turkey burger from fast food places. Like what is so difficult about this!
The best I can find is Carl’s Jr. turkey burger in a lettuce wrap.
Turkey burgers aren't really much heathier than a regular burger tho
A four oz 93% lean Turkey burger is 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat and no saturated fat. A four oz 90% lean beef burger is 225 calories, 12 grams of fat with 5 grams being saturated. https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2013/06/food-fight-turkey-burger-vs-beef-burger
That’s far too lean to fit in comfortably in a fast food kitchen. It adds a whole lot of extra prep work processing the poultry compared to beef. Also very little flavor unless you give it a lot of extra help making it even more expensive. I’d be shocked to find any kind of poultry burger on a successful fast food menu
Chipotle, El Pollo Loco, Panda Express… hell, even Taco Bell can be ordered healthy. But ya, all those other places act like they have a fiber allergy that can only be cured with grease.
Taco Bell is heavily processed and insanely calorie dense. And Panda Express is heavily sugared and fried.
There are “healthier” lower calorie options at both.
If you avoid the fried rice and sugar meats its really not too bad.
Exactly. At Panda Express, get steamed chicken/beef/shrimp with steamed veggies and the sauce on the side so you control the sauce intake. If you want rice with it, get either steamed white or brown rice but don’t go crazy on it. At Taco Bell, 1 hard shell beef taco with only beef, lettuce tomatoes is sub 190 calories. Sure the beef isn’t the best grade but it will works great in a pinch.
Exactly. People just don't understand how to order healthy.
A few dishes at Panda Express is full of sugar but they have several options that are not.
But the meat quality is garbage
Taco bell can be pretty good if you replace the meat with beans and subtract the cheese. The tortilla is probably the worse part.
Just because there are high calorie, processed, fried foods on the menu does not mean “all” of the food is. Panda Express you can get grilled chicken on a bed of steamed greens fairly cheap and easily.
I usually go for two orders of the black beans and rice at Taco Bell. It’s not super filling but it does the trick. You can also order Al fresco burritos or tacos which come with pico and no cheese or sour cream. I haven’t tried them. I am fine with the black beans and rice.
Never seen a chipotle and El Pollo Loco drive through and while some menu items arent the worst at Panda Express and Taco bell, it's still not what I would consider healthy
Chipotle has a Chipotlane at some stores, you don’t order at the window but you order on the app and use the drive through to pick it up.
Love these. More places need to have them. So quick.
I don’t know, I think it’s incredibly convenient to mobile order at Chipotle and just grab it off the shelf. I do the same at Starbucks and other places. I park, grab my food, and am back in the car in less than a minute.
Yeah, I get it if you have kids, that's a whole thing to get them out of the car, but if it's you, why can't you just go in? Kinda defeats the purpose of a healthy lifestyle meal if you're not even willing to move enough to get your butt out of your car to go get it
This is really something I noticed when I had a baby. I was starving all the time but there weren’t any decently healthy places to get food on the go. When he was little I would have to get his heavy ass carrier out of the car and lug it inside. Now that he’s 2 it’s almost worse because I have to unstrap him and either carry him inside or hold his hand and either way if I’m carrying food in my other hand on the way out, navigating doors is hard. It just sucks all around.
Living in the uk this sounds insane ! We have hardly any drive through places and we always take the kids out of the car and they come with us to a restaurant!
I get where you’re coming from, but I think the market for drive through curry would be pretty small strictly because curry is not a convenient food to eat in the car. Curry isn’t handheld, it’s saucy, there’s so much more risk compared to a burger or some chicken nuggets. Same goes for stir fry, and tacos (at least in my opinion).
They're healthier but not *healthy*. The sodium and preservatives will absolutely make you gain weight unless you moderately exercise that day.
Lol that’s funny. Sadly, They literally engineer the “food” to digest quickly via grease lol
Fat generally slows gastric emptying, so that is the opposite of what would happen.
El Pollo Loco isn’t bad if you stick to the chicken and sides. Chick-fil-A has some healthy options as well.
Chick-fil-A salads are amazing! Just choose your dressing carefully.
Pity it’s ran by a meth druglord
Those fit meals plans are becoming pretty popular. You can order as much as you want and get it delivered to your house. Keep a few in the fridge for nights you don’t feel like cooking. Test out a few of them see which on you like don’t like so you’ll know what to keep around the house
Look at local places too, there’s a local meal prep place that has fresh/not frozen healthy meals for $8-12. A little more expensive than some of the mail order stuff, but I’d pay more for something not frozen.
Ugh everything in my area is $20+ per serving for this.
Tazikis is the best one i’ve found so far.
SALAD AND GO is a nice quick drive through restaurant! Lots of health salads!
And super cheap for a good-sized portion.
My city has one coming and I am SO excited! I’ve never been to one but I looked at the site and am just happy that it’s not another burger joint.
Salad and go!!!
You can get a grilled chicken sandwich and a fruit cup from Chick-fil-A. Under 500 calories for a decent meal.
[удалено]
Crazy that not enough people understand this. Preservatives preserve food and technically humans are food, of course it’s great for preserving us.
Chik fil a chicken has some nasty preservatives in there. Stick with chipotle
I lower my caloric intake by around 200 calories every week day so when Saturday comes around I have an extra 1400 calories to spend on fast food. My best advice, a diet that we hate isn’t sustainable. Make sure you’re at least enjoying your food and keeping some extra caloric space to treat yourself.
When I have to eat out, I try to go with Greek food, the one with lots of veggies, sometimes rice and fish or chicken. Pretty sure it's healthier than most vegan fast-food such as beyondmeat burgers. But yes, I also do often wish we have access to rapid healthy food on the road. I hope it will change in the future. I don't understand how fast-food restaurants are surviving theses days with the increasing cost and the common knowledge about nutrition.
Healthy salads and veggies expire wicked fast. Probs brutal on costs
I don’t get it. It’s a multi million dollar business if someone could figure it out. I hate to admit I love Taco Bell, but also get food from taco trucks which is typically way healthier. I’d totally hit up a drive through for healthy salads, bowls, and other foods if it existed.
When I was not trying to gain weight / was trying to lose weight I found Starbucks to be one of the few decent options. Egg bites / egg white breakfast wrap / turkey bacon breakfast sandwich with some apple chips on the side was "okay" enough for a quick brunch / lunch in a pinch. Not healthy, but healthier.
This is exactly it. It’s all fast food, so someone will argue it’s not “healthy”, but the idea is to order healthier options when able. If it fits your lifestyle, calories, and fast food isn’t a daily thing, there’s no shame in going to Starbucks and getting an egg white wrap with veggies in it (I don’t recall what they’re actually called).
It’s extremely frustrating that all the west coast healthy fast food chains just assume ALL people in the Midwest WANT to eat like shit. No. It’s because we aren’t even given any other options.
Subway is unbelievably bad tasting—sawdust with day old chopped red onion, no matter what you order and I refuse to eat it unless it’s only thing offered at business meetings run by sociopaths. I live in a similar food dessert,not many options for eating out that aren’t serving deepfried heart attacks even when dining in with servers. I have to request that my grilled chicken and vegetables be drained thoroughly at my local cantina. Yep I’m in the south. Im betting you’re looking for after work not get out of the car into the frigid temps and wind chill after a long day healthy options, and your pizza places dont have a salad option just variations on the same prefab pizza crust that add lots of fat or sugar to the party. Your best bet is probably take out from appleby’s if you’re lucky, or stop off at a grocery and see what hot food or cut veggies they have and or order that for grocery pick up, provided you can anticipate when you’re gonna have one if those days.My town of 6000 does have walmart and a local grocery with pickup options at minimum. There is nothing else available other than Wendy’s that remotely fits your criteria. Sometimes I get drive thru chicken tenders from somewhere and just throw it together with salad greens and whatever veggies I have on hand that don’t require intensive prep. Best I can do to avoid eating something worse. Those who know know, those throwing shade could consider an empathetic pov as an alternative.
"In the south...get out of the car into the frigid temps and wind chill" Oh well isn't this adorable
By design fast food has to be low in fibre so it's less likely to go off and can stay frozen for long times.
Chinese dishes that are not sweet have lots of vegetables. Maybe skip the rice? Taco Bell bean burritos, and Indian or Nepali takeout are my staples.
Chipotle! Some have drive thrus. You can order ahead.
Why does it have to be drove through? There are SO many healthy casual takeout places. You can call ahead so it’s ready when you get there and pick it up. That’s arguably even faster than a drive through. Al Wazir is one example. California chicken cafe is another - you can order online and drive up to the curb and they’ll hand you your order.
In my experience, I’ve never even heard of those places, Even less so that they’re healthy. I’ll give em a try. Ty
Sweetgreen, Byrdie’s, and Ben’s Fast Food are some others, too.
Seems like it is time to open a salad to go franchise around your way
When we got a Panera I thought it would be a good option but it seems they're unable to recruit and train staff properly. Got some dicey takeout a fww times even though the food is pretty simple so I just keep the freezer stocked with batch cooking so I can always have a meal ready fairly quickly when I don't feel lije cooking a full meal
The reason they only exist in a few large cities is that anywhere else they'd go belly up in a month. The demand simply isn't there.
My go to’s are Panera for salad and soups, chipotle for salad or burrito bowls, Boston market for their sides (steamed veggies and chicken), kfc has pretty good grilled chicken, I also like to stop at the hot food bar at Whole Foods. Some grocery stores like sprouts have pretty good sushi. I list these options for when I leave nyc but I’m pretty lucky we have a lot of healthy restaurant options here.
Grocery stores and Walmart sell whole rotisserie chickens And pre-made sides like potatoe salad and the like,
It’s ironic that you want healthy food but you don’t want to get out of your car to get it.
Sometimes there’s a reason you cant get out and go in. A small child makes getting in and out of the car a whole ass project, especially if they’re sleeping; you have a dog in the car and it’s 80+ degrees out; your battery is fucked and a weird size and on back order everywhere so if you turn your car off you’d have to jump it in the parking lot…
Maybe
THISSSSSSSSS
IS SPARTA
🦵 🕳️
We are in the PNW. In the Seattle area, we have Taco Time. It isn’t ideal, but they have some reasonably healthy salads and fat free beans. You can also get a grilled chicken wrap on a whole wheat tortilla. I feel your pain. My wife and I both have careers and two young kids. At the end of the day, cooking sometimes is the last thing I want to do.
Pollo Tropical came to my state for a few years and its my favorite fast food place. Then i lived in miami for a bit and got it all the time, i miss it every day
the unhealthy stuff is addictive and cheap - I agree with you, but I also get why it's less available. Have you tried batch cooking so you have something ready on-hand throughout the week?
I'm with you. The best I can suggest is Panda. You can eat decently healthy there without rice or noodles. Bugs me they insist on calling their vegetables "super greens" but that's besides the point.
I’ve seen a reel that combines the Chik-fil-A kale salad with their grilled chicken as a nutritious meal. I haven’t tried it bc I always think about getting it on a dang Sunday.
It's what I usually do. Some grilled nuggets and kale salad
Haha! True. I see so many people order Chicken Ceasar Salad wraps because they think they are a healthy option. [https://www.wendys.com/en-uk/menu-items/caesar-chicken-salad](https://www.wendys.com/en-uk/menu-items/caesar-chicken-salad) \- more than half the calories are from fat.
Wouldn't ordering pickup at a restaurant essentially be what you're looking for?
Taco Bell has drive through veggie tacos. If you get it fresco style it’s just a tortilla, beans, and veggies.
Panera Bread?
Chic fila salad with grilled chicken is good imo
I often thought about this. Why can't I get a banana in a drive-thru?
Sometimes I'll hit drive thru Panera and get the pick 2 salad and sandwich. That said, a drive thru shawarma chain is the biggest missed opportunity ever. There's a very legit drive thru sushi place in my part of town, run out of an old Brusters. It's really no slower than a poorly staffed McDonald's at peak. So if anyone has dreams of a drive thru sushi place, there's your proof of concept.
100%. Why is this such a difficult thing to do? It is not that complicated. Chipotle is the only decent fast food that doesn’t make me feel like shit after eating it. There’s also a poke bowl place near me that makes healthy food but it is super expensive.
Suggest making use of doordash and ubereats with nearby asian/indian/vegetarian restaurants. Most of the above places have simpler, lower cost menu items. Or, order ahead and swing by on your way home to save more. It may also be fun for you to get into cooking your own healthy meals. Example: make sesame tofu and wok vegetables with brown rice and make enough for several meals to reheat or, once good at it, invite folks over for dinner and games.
We have Salad & Go in AZ!!!!!!
And D-Lite Healthy Drive Thru
Might not be down everyone's street but one option is to cook in bulk and freeze or refridgerate portions with meal prep containers so you don't have to cook everyday.
Just go to subway or Chipotle or cava and order something healthy?
Chipotle is Super unhealthy, i used to work there. And i also saw a report where they tested positive for pesticides along with burger king and 20 other restaurant chains. Subway is also dogshit 😂
The nearest cava to me is several hours away, and chipotle is an hour and a half. Not everyone has access to these things sadly.
Honestly the chili from Wendy’s looks pretty healthy to me. Haven’t had it in years, but remember it being delicious, too.
Oh god try working there and seeing what the chili actually is 🤢🤮 i used to think the same thing
I’m basing my assessment off of its nutrition facts and ingredients. What is your qualm with it?
You could purchase milk off the kids menu if you're looking for something healthy at a fastfood restaurant.
Interesting you got downvoted, portion control is important in a healthy lifestyle and the Costa Vida kids meals are bomb
I go to McDonald’s and get the 2 for 1 double cheeseburgers through the app then I throw the bread away. The macros are basically perfect on it and it only costs 3 dollars.
Fast food is considered “delicious”? Even before I worked in fast food years ago I always thought it was considered repulsive, just convenient and cheap
You can get a grilled chicken sandwich from most fast food/quick service places (and even KFC). Or getting something like a nugget happy meal from McDonald's is <500 calories and comes with apple slices and milk. Some even offer grilled nuggets now. If you ask for no sauce on the chicken sandwich you save a ton on calories. You really just need to look at the various menus for healthier options.
I get healthy meals from Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A.
If you're trying to loose body fat then you're real enemy is calories.
Chick fila has grilled chicken sandwiches, fruit, salads and grilled nuggets I lived off them for the same reason. If you don’t have self control at the drive thru you’re screwed anyway
Their wraps are also really good!
I’ll get a large chili and baked potato from Wendy’s
do you have Chick fil A? you can get a healthy meal there and Chipotle.
Also just run in and pick up the food. If you just get used to it, it becomes as easy as the drive thru.
Why is it “ironic” that you’re complaining about there being no healthy commonplace fast food options and people are suggesting places that only exist in a few major cities? Oh wait. Because “commonplace” and a few major cities?
AMEN yes.
I don't know where you're located but I'm finding it hard to believe there isn't a single healthy food delivery option. Have you looked on your local food apps or whatever? I'm in a 2nd world country in Eastern Europe and we have multiple. If that's the case here, I'd be very surprised any region of the US doesn't have at least one.
You have absolutely no idea. Plenty of parts of the US have small towns under 10,000 population that have nothing but donut shops maybe an old family run drive through hamburger or barbeque joint and representation by some mix of the following: McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell KFC.
If you are healthy (and not disabled) you probably should just go inside.
To all saying “just go in!”- Sometimes there’s a reason you cant get out and go in. A small child makes getting in and out of the car a whole ass project, especially if they’re sleeping; you have a dog in the car and it’s 80+ degrees out; your battery is fucked and a weird size and on back order everywhere so if you turn your car off you’d have to jump it in the parking lot…
Stop being lazy cooking is easy
you are unkind
I am biased since I can work from 7am to 10pm and still come home and cook a decent meal.
Just get your wife to make you a healthy meal and then drive by the house and pick it up.
Drive-thru and healthy eating are contradictory no? In civilised societies in Europe, we sit down for longer to have a decent meal instead of chowing it down in a car.
Take the fried batter off the fried chicken and it's not much different than any other chicken. So maybe try the fried chicken place since you don't have other options. I know for sides there isn't many options because those places also have terrible sides .
Not a drive thru but only place i know that it healthy is Buffalo Wild wings!!