I’m old enough to remember when fast food restaurant chains were a novelty instead of a staple in many daily food plans. The first time Mom took us to the first McD’s restaurant to open in our area, we stared through the window at the metal conveyor belt moving out its line of burger patties. The French fries tasted out of this world to our uncultured taste buds.
Little did I know that this experience was the equivalent of drug dealers hanging around schools to seed new users.
Gagillions of calories, fat grams and sodium mgs later, I look at the chains with the same kind of aversion I used to quit smoking. Twenty six and a half years ago when I enrolled in a smoking cessation program they taught us to not just foster a desire to quit, but to also develop a disgust and loathing for cigarettes.
It helps a lot to approach those well-branded, familiar buildings and think, “Ewww gross.” It’s easier for me to support my aversion since the last time I ran into one when I was starving, the plain burger didn’t slide well into my stomach. I had to throw it up. Gross for sure but it strengthened my resolve.
That’s a long way from the days of driving up, placing an order and asking for two sodas so the people would think I was getting a meal for more than just me.
I’m better off not going in at all but finding other choices if I get caught in a situation where I couldn’t travel with my food. As a last resort, there are a few places where I can find food items that will meet my needs, won’t trash my plan, will give me at least something close to quality, and won’t make me feel like hurling after I eat.
Because I don’t usually go into quick serve chains, I only recently discovered that Subway now offers chopped salads. Any meat or meat and cheese combo available in a sandwich can be mixed into a salad made with exactly my choice of veggies. There are also lower fat dressing options.
Tonight was one of those nights. I leave on a business trip tomorrow so there aren’t many fresh food supplies in the house. It was convenient to run into Subway and have them assemble a salad for me. I made good protein and dressing choices over lettuce, raw spinach, onions and peppers. I feel like the end result was a good balance of nutrition and taste.
Granted, I can eat less than half of the total meal, but that’s okay. I can pack the rest into my travel cooler and have it for lunch tomorrow.
Weighty Matters 
I love Subway! I can make a vegie sandwich with exactly my choice of vegies and feel healthy doing it. Okay, and sometimes I add bacon. 🙂 But I can get extra spinach instead of lettuce and it’s good. Glad you like their salads; I’ll have to try them. It’s nice having a fast food chain that does have some healthy choices, because sometimes you just can’t cook for yourself.
I can’t hack McD’s or most fast food any longer. When I was still in Houston I made myself sick more than once eating a deep-fried fast food dish in the past couple of years, so I guess I just cannot handle that stuff anymore. I’m glad — it keeps me from having to make the decision to NOT have it if I can’t digest it well.