5 Oct
Contest Results: Foraging in a Fast Food Nation
Mark’s Daily Apple readers show that with a little ingenuity and, perhaps, a dose of compromise (remember the 80/20) it’s entirely possible to successfully navigate restaurants and even (gasp!) the odd fast food stop. Ideal? In some cases, maybe not. Realistic? Absolutely. Because business lunches, birthday parties and travel does happen, it pays to know how to forage in the modern world.
Many thanks to everyone that submitted a picture as part of the “Foraging in a Fast Food Nation” contest. And the winner is…
Mark’s Daily Apple reader Adam. His is the fifth picture in the slideshow, the Chopped Chicken Cobb Salad with an apple instead of bread from Panera.
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
Those all look really good! I didn’t get my picture up because we were out of town and not near a computer, but I had a farm omelet at Bob Evans and had them cook it in butter instead of oil and served with a salad instead of hash browns.
Terrific ideas! Going to grill some meat before I get too hungry…
Funny, once I saw the original post, I ran to my husband in the kitchen and said it was a great time to go try the grilled double down from KFC! Glad to see someone submitted it. Needless to say we didn’t go
and I don’t think I will.
I will definitely remember some of these ideas for our frequent drives from Chicago to the East Coast.
Yeah, I wouldn’t make that “double down” bet either…
My husband and I had a similar conversation about a grilled double down and finally decided that we’d put it on the list of last resort foods if we’re, say, trapped in an airport or a mall with absolutely no other options.
All I can say is I wish we had a Chipotle nearby. So many yummy, primal options!
Unfortunately, everything at Chipotle is cooked in soy oil. :/
That’s disappointing. Not exactly surprising, but still. Chipotle has been a favorite quick-lunch option for us for awhile now due to the ability to cobble a tasty, fairly primal plate. Probably going to keep it on the menu due to convenience, but maybe I’ll stick to the braised pork instead of chicken?
EVERYTHING that is cooked, is cooked in soybean oil–it doesn’t matter which meat it is. (I’ve written to them about the ingredients in their foods do to my son’s allergy issues.)
Even so, I do go there for part of my 20%. I LOVE their guac, and getting a salad w/ chicken, salsa, and guac is about as primal as I’ve found eating out, even w/ the chicken being cooked in veg. oil.
Obviously I’m disappointed I didn’t win this contest but getting lots of new suggestions and ideas of how to order a good meal at some chain restaurants kind of makes up for it. Now I don’t have to feel like I always have to turn down an offer to go out to eat.
I don’t know theses places so I assume they are in America. Good ideas with the substitutions, though!
Working in an office with no cafeteria and frequent business lunches, these pictures and descriptions will help inspire me to make cleaner lunch choices from now on; well done everyone!
I think at least one purpose of this post was to show us that handing over control of a meal to a stranger is basically rolling the dice with our health; not that we should NEVER indulge, just acknowledge that the easiest way to make sure your food is healthy is to grow, raise, buy and cook it yourself.
This was a really useful post for me, and one that I’m going to bookmark and refer back to often. Many of us will use eating out as an excuse to go “off plan”, rationalizing that it’s too difficult to eat primal in a “regular” restaurant or fast food joint. But here’s some pretty compelling proof that with a little bit of work and creativity, you can find something primal to eat just about anywhere.
This was an interesting contest. I sometimes find it hard when I go out to eat with friends and family to find something that will fit into the Primal way of eating. I’d say 90% of the time i’m able to keep true to the way but sometimes they may have some secret sauce or something that your not aware of until it’s too late!
Some people look at me wacky when I tell the waiter/waitress to hold something like “The Bread”
They look at you even wackier if, when it arrives, you immediately peel off the offending slab of gluten and throw it on the floor! Well… maybe I’m being a bit too dramatic. But they do give you a heckofa look when you immediately remove it and place it politely on your napkin…
LOL–or when you take a napkin, remove the offending bread, then wipe off your plate and any food that may have been touching bread.
I loved this contest because I do it all the time! I think the key to foraging in the fast food world is to be “that guy,” like Mark said. You kind of feel like a jerk with all the requests and the length of time it takes to make a simple order. Just remember that it’s worth it! With a little effort (and self control!) you can make most meals at restaurants at least mostly primal!
Your post reminds me of a meal last week. Staying at a bed and breakfast, the owner announced the breakfast as a “stuffed french toast”, which was apparently french toast literally stuffed w cream cheese and jelly. I asked if it was possible to just have eggs, which they happily obliged. Other guests ate these gigantic stuffed carbs happily, but then complained about how full they were.
As I was leaving, the owners were eating their breakfast: eggs and sausage like me! They said they didn’t know how people could eat those stuffed things, but people seem to want to indulge when travelling! I had to laugh! Indulging for me is eating well and feeling good:)
I eat alot less often than I used to, but these contest entries give me good ideas of what to order when I do.
Make that “eat out” hahaha.
Eating out and being Primal is very easy. I found it was much harder being on a “diet” and going out to eat. We went to Perkins this weekend and I got the farmers omelet made with butter with an extra side of bacon and fruit rather than the hasbrowns and toast or pancakes…Kept me full all day.
I really like the cheeseburger salad…looks sooo yummy might have to make one for dinner!!
I also wish we had a Chipotle by me too
There is some good food there and I heard they are going to start looking into expanding into breakfast too!!
I agree it is a million times easier than when I was vegetarian or on a traditional diet.
I found this contest to be hard. I am really challenged when I go out to eat. I need to get better at it and these pictures sure helped.
Judging from these submissions, it seems Chipotle is pretty popular for the primal eating crowd. I love the restaurant, but there isn’t a location that’s convenient for us to stop at very often.
My husband and son just smile when I start in with “no croutons, no cheese, no bread…”
Really great ideas here. Love that this came up because it gives me some great ideas for living on the road. Thanks for this!
I enjoyed this contest, very functional as 20% happens a lot on the road
. Other peoples ideas have greatly expanded my road foraging possibilities.
As someone who travels fairly often for work and is on the road a lot, this was by far one of the best ideas/contests I could have hoped for. So many fantastic ideas to help keep me on track while I’m on the road!!!!
i like seeing all the substitutions, knowing i’m not the only one making life harder for waiters and waitresses.
I work as a cook & server. Ain’t no thang! If you feel like a pain, just play the gluten “intolerant” card. They would much rather avoid a “reaction”. Personally, I am more bothered by people asking for ketchup for their mid-well filet
I travel pretty much every week for business. It’s now a no-brainer for me to eat paleo on the road. My guideline: always make the healthy choice. Basically, I’d rather not eat than eat poorly. Often I’m in seriously rural places. Walmart is my new secret! Before y’all hate on Walmart, know that you can eat fast and well there. Bananas, tins of sardines, beef jerky, and oranges can be found, yes, at Walmart. Stop the rental car there and you’re set.
Also, in a starvation moment, McDonalds does have fresh fruit. And coffee.
I’ve never really found it too difficult “foraging”. I live in a small town & I never eat at the 4 “chain” places anyway. I work in a restaurant that is Very primal friendly & I have the advantage of being one of the cooks
On my rare trips to the “big city” when I have eaten there, I’ve just ordered stuff “hold the bread & potatoes, add lettuce” or whatever.
when all else fails: IF
Narrowly Avoiding Poison: an MDA Guide to eating out.
I’ll send some friends this to hopefully help them make slightly better choices… Me I’ll just IF
This is awesome! After the initial learning curve when I first went Primal, I have had no problem eating just about anywhere! I actually get my jollies when the server gives me “the look.” C’mon, if you’ve ever special ordered a sandwich or pizza without the bready bits, you know “the look.” It’s especially fun when they are completely dumbfounded by the weird recipes I request
Yeah, as others have mentioned, there are LOTS of Chipotle submissions. I used to think it was the bee’s knee’s until I just found out (this last weekend) that everything is cooked in the PUFA train-wreck known as soybean oil.
*sigh*…
Very nice submissions, everyone! I especially like the Brazilian Barbecue. YUM!!!
This was a great challenge to show people that you really can go primal at just about any restaurant. Even if it’s as simple as removing the bun/wrapper, to custom ordering your entree – it IS possible! Next challenge: go primal at a vegetarian restaurant!
Great submissions. I was hoping to win with my steak salad from Chipotle, but it’s hard to compete with some of those meals. It’s good to see a variety like that, knowing that it’s getting safer and safer to eat out.
With all the submissions from chipotle it reminded me. I tend to gravitate toward more traditionally ethnic restaurants. The less Americanized they are the easier it is for me to eat primally. Mexican, Eastern or western African, chinese etc. Seems the traditional dishes are all veggie and meat heavy without sugar and easily removed grains until they get changed for an american palate.
I have a pretty easy time creating the special order at a restaurant. My favorite primal fast food? Carls Jr’s $6 burger. They already have a low carb option. I remove the cheese (has trans fats) and sauce, then add bacon. Mmmmm, Tasty! After that would be a protein style hamburger with both kinds of onions and pickle at In N out.
I like to see that there’s hope at even a bread shop for primal eaters. I tend to turn my nose at most places’ obvious options. I’m glad to see what most people order. Oh, and when I go out for Mexican, I like to get fajitas sans tortillas. Those are awesome!
Love it, love it, love it! Thanks.
(Please remove the apostrophe from “Egg McMuffin’s”. Thanks.)
Yes! Thank you! Another primal editor on the prowl! (And too many exclamation marks in one post!)
Glad I ate lunch before going through this slide show! My fav is Red Robins lettuce wrap bacon cheese burgers without sauce. Yummmmm…
Thank you all for these submissions and the organization. Great for helping to place meals on the go.