Eating out does not have to be detrimental to your waistline. You can eat according to THM principles using this Trim Healthy Mama fast food guide for S meals!
You have the plan down while you are at home but you know that eventually you will have to venture out into the real world. At some point you will probably find yourself sitting in the drive thru line needing to grab something quick.
Will you just have to start again in 3 hours after eating something fatty and loaded with carbs? Nope! Use this Trim Healthy Mama fast food guide to give you easy “S” meals that you can eat on the run.
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Trim Healthy Mama Planning For Success On the Go
Ok, ok. I know that the reason you are sitting in that fast food drive thru lane is because you didn’t have time to plan. The kids have practice or your meeting ran late at work and you need quick and easy.
What I mean is to plan for this emergency to happen. The biggest complaint that I have with eating fast food out on plan is that sometimes the meal seems kind of dinky.
You know what I mean? A cheeseburger without a bun, while ok sometimes, doesn’t always seem as satisfying as it would with that big huge bun.
To combat those dinky meals, you can literally stock your car, purse or top drawer at your office for success. Here are the things that I like to have to help make my meal out more substantial.
Stock Your Car
If the conditions are extreme outside, you may be better keeping these things in your purse so that it moves in and out of the element with you.
But you can be the judge of that! Here are the things that I think make this Trim Healthy Mama fast food guide more substantial.
Joseph’s Lavash or Pita Bread – These make great vehicles to wrap up your low carb burger or grilled chicken to make it more filling. You could even dump part or all of a side salad in with your meat to bulk it up.
Mission Low Carb Tortilla – If you want something amazing, stuff a Taco Bell protein bowl into one of these tortillas for a delicious S taco on the run.
Lily’s Chocolate Bar – I like Lily’s but I also eat other brands of on plan chocolate. By keeping a piece of chocolate with you, you can finish off your fast food meal without being tempted by a milkshake or cookie.
True Lemon – I broke my addiction to diet soda but I am still sometimes tempted by a big Coke when I am in line. A packet or two of the true lemon takes up no room in your purse and will give your water a little flavor.
Pork Rinds or Whisps – Ok, we might be getting outside of what can comfortably fit in your purse unless you are Mary Poppins. But unlike the chocolate, I think both of these would be safe to just keep in your car. These will help you have a good “side” to go with your bunless burger.
Protein Bars – While these might not really go with a fast food meal, they are a great last minute option to keep in your bag. Here are 11 on plan or personal choice protein bars for THM.
Want a guide to a variety of sit down restaurants and take out options? Pin it Here.
Trim Healthy Mama Fast Food Guide for S Meals
Arby’s
Roast Turkey Farmhouse Salad
Any meat with no bun (they will put it in a bowl for you) and a side salad (dump the meat on top of salad or put it in a wrap you brought from home home), French dip meat on a side salad, Beef N Cheddar in a wrap (that you bring from home) would be amazing but the cheese will be your choice – it has additives that won’t be on plan. But still way better than eating that big onion bun, in my opinion!
Burger King
Whopper (burger only with toppings – no ketchup) and side salad
Captain D’s
Wild Caught Salmon or other grilled fish with either broccoli or green beans.
Chick-fil-a
Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap with the Avocado or Ranch Dressing
Cobb Salad with Grilled nuggets
Five Guys
You can ask for any burger without a bun. They will put it in a bowl or a lettuce wrap – your choice.
In-N-Out
Burger “Protein Style” – They will wrap your burger in lettuce if ordered like this.
Jimmy Johns
Unwhich – Sub ingredients wrapped in lettuce.
McDonald’s
Bacon Cheeseburger (no Bun) & Side Salad
Grilled Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
Grilled Ranch Snack Wrap (The ranch sauce has some less than desirable ingredients. You could use a little of their ranch dressing which is also not perfect but ok for Drive Thru Sue’s; Also throw out the tortilla it comes in and replace with a low carb tortillas). This is less than $2.
Popeye’s
Blackened Chicken Tenders with Green Beans
Starbucks
Egg Bites
Subway
Chopped Salad with lots of veggies, cold cuts or grilled chicken, cheese.
Sandwich Filling into your own low carb tortilla (feed the sub roll to the birds)
New Protein Bowls – Avoid the Sweet onion and the meatball bowls because those have too many carbs/off plan ingredients. All the rest would be fine.
Taco Bell
Grilled Chicken Protein bowl (no rice or beans). Bring 2 low carb tortillas and you can make 2 huge tacos.
*Note* The official THM recommendation is one tortilla in a serving. However, I often eat 2 when I have Taco Bell because I love TB and it works for me.
Taco Salad (No Beans, Rice or Shell)
Wendy’s
Baconator and side salad
Parmesan Caesar Chicken Salad (They even have Parm Crisps instead of Croutons that come with the salad – it is like it is made for THM)
Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad
Whataburger
Grilled Chicken Melt (no Bun) & Side Salad
I hope this Trim Healthy Mama fast food guide helps you make easy and good choices at your favorite drive thru. Don’t forget to stock your car or purse up so that you can round out your meal in the most cost efficient method possible.
My Favorite THM Drive Thru Option
Here is an example of how I used the Trim Healthy Mama fast food guide and a stocked car to have an amazing Drive Thru Sue lunch the other day.
I ordered the Taco Bell chicken protein bowl with no beans or rice. I was kind of worried that the remaining food was going to be small (you know these restaurants love to bulk up meals with the cheap fillers). But I was pleasantly surprised. Excuse the lap picture but here is what it looked like in the bowl.
Updated to Note: According to Pearl and Admin’s on FB site, you can eat the beans that come with the power bowl. It is likely <1/4 cup of beans and stays an S. At the worst, it might move to an S helper. So have your beans if you want to get a little more for your money.
I took the lovely spork that they gave me & divided it out into 2 Low Carb Tortillas. It was so good!
Pin this Trim Healthy Mama Fast Food Guide to your THM board so that you have some good S Meal ideas to choose when you are out. It is so nice to know that you can stay on plan while still living your busy life.
Additional Resources:
Eating Out on THM – A guide by cuisine to help you eat at ANY restaurant
Free 7 Day Drive Thru Sue No Cook Menu Plan
Follow my THM Instagram daily Food Diary – Connect, ask questions and get inspiration!
If you would like to read more about my journey on THM postpartum, how I make the plan work for me and a free 2 week meal plan, read this post.
