Help with Fast Food

[amazon]

I work in sales and I'm often forced to eat at a drive thru. Any advice. I hear Taco supremes from Taco Bell are okay. French fries and salad with vinegrette dressing is all I know so far.

[cruelshoes]

Welcome to the board. Taco supremes from Taco bell are NOT GF. Taco bell taco shells have oats in them, and the meat has gluten as well. See this thread for more info, and a link to their nutritional information. There is VERY little that is safe to eat at Taco bell. I personally won't chance it at all.

Most fast food restaurants like McDonalds have a GF menu on their website. French fries are a risky proposition in many fast food restaurants as the friers are not dedicated to french fries only. If they are cooking the nuggets or onion rings in the same oil, the fried are contaminated with gluten.

I see from your other posts that you are not yet diagnosed. I encourage you to have the testing done without delay. If you go GF before the testing you run the risk of healing up enough to get a false negative.

Secondly, eating out is very risky, especially when one is new the the GF diet. There are so many variables to consider. It takes a while to figure out what questions to ask, and how to interpret what the resturant is telling you. Newly diagnosed people would be wise to avoid eating out for a while after diagnosis.

Hope this helps.
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-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
10-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters (12 and 2) have neg. bloodwork

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[amazon]

Ive been tested. Everything was negative. But I know when I feel good and when I dont' I just can't be gone from home 10 hours and not eat. I'm always hungry. Now that winter is coming I can take a cooler in the car I guess.

[cruelshoes]

If you must rely on fast food, I would suggest visiting the website of each restaurant you frequent. Print a copy of each GF menu, if there is one. That way you don't have to rely on memory when ordering. Menus do change, so you will need to revisit the websites often to make sure nothing has been updated. If you do choose to order fast food, you may have better luck walking in to the restaurant, and not trying to convey any special instructions into the speaker in the clown's mouth.

Fast food really is among the bigest chances we can take when eating out. The emphasis is on speed and not getting us a safe meal. I'm not saying it is imposssible, but it can be problematic.

If you are interested in portable food to keep in the car, we can provide some suggestions.

Sorry you have been unable to get a diagnosis. I would ensure that the proper blood tests were run, and that the GI took an adequate number of samples during the endoscopy. Many times they run the wrong blood tests and only take a few samples in the endoscopy. That is a combo that often does not lead to the proper diagnosis.
_________________
-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
10-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters (12 and 2) have neg. bloodwork

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[ostrich]

[nancw]

If it's worth it to you to eat right so you feel good, then you'll have to face the fact that it takes more effort to supply yourself with the right foods on a a day-to-day basis. Come up with several travel-friendly dishes - wraps (corn or rice tortillas), salad, fruits and veggies, hummus, nut butters on rice cakes, the list goes on and on, and invest in a decent cooler. Even in summer a good cooler with the right ice packs can take you a long way.
Do yourself and your gut a favor and learn not to depend on fast food. Gluten issues or not, it's the right thing to do for your body. Let us know if you need more help...that's what we are here for.
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Nance

gluten, dairy, soy, rice, yeast and 99% grain-free

[mrsppmrxky]

This is where one of the biggest obstacles comes into play when you have gluten problems. Friends going out for lunch. You are very limited. The social game is hard to overcome.

This isn't to discourage you, it is to encourage you. (I know, I am not doing too good of a job. ) It seems as if all social interaction these days revolves around food.

While you are learning how to navigate your new gf lifestyle, it is best to eat only what comes out of your own kitchen. There are just too many pitfalls to eating out.

You can make excellent lunches to take to work. You will feel much better than your friends who will be consuming all of the 'fillers' and empty calories during their lunch time.

Hang in there! It does get better.
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[Tim]

I've had good luck at Subway getting a salad. Their website tells you what is GF (most non bread things are, but not all). I just ask them to change gloves. I've never had a problem.

Chains like Steak and Shake and A&W are good with their websites and their possible choices. I really only rely on fast food when I'm on the road in a place where I don't have choices as reliable as those.

My other fall back on the road: I'll get an omlet if there is a breakfast anytime diner.

[krisiw]

If you get omelets, be wary of IHOP. At least I think it was IHOP I went to and they put pancake batter in their omelets.

[amazon]

Tomarrow is a great example. I haft to be at the office at 645 am. So I hope to have the energy to eat breakfast that early. I wont get gome till midnight. It will be hard to carry 3 meals worth of food. Ecspecialy since I eat like a horse lately. I think my company is feading us also. Wish me luck.

[ostrich]

[mrsppmrxky]

If you are gone that much, you could always on the weekends make up meals in those take along containers made by Rubbermaid (they are just over $2 at WalMart for 3 or 4) Freeze the food and then pack it into a cooler and warm them up in the microwave. Their being frozen in the cooler will keep them safe.

You can make up soups in a large thermos.

Take bread and make a sandwich.

Bake cookies and even freeze those and take them out on a daily basis.

A cup of yogurt and fruit for breakfast.

Make some buckwheat pancakes and make them large.............use as a wrap for eggs and sausage or bacon of ham.

It isn't impossible. Maybe it will be a little more complicated with having to meal plan on the weekend, but it is not impossible.

I take a large Purdue oven roaster and put it in the oven with onion, carrots and celery in the cavity...........I put my spice ons and then bake it up while I do other things. It make enough for sandwiches, baked chicken and soup all off of 1 baked roaster.

Stir fry with veggies and rice is very easy to prepare. It is fast and it reheats in the microwave very easy.

You do not have to eat the same ole same ole every day. It is much healthier than the fast food too.

If you have CD, are you willing to risk stomach or colon cancer for fast food?
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[cruelshoes]

[krisiw]

I'm sure it tastes just wonderful to have pancake batter in your omelets but I was so mad cause there was NOTHING there I could eat! Usually I get an omelet if there's nothing else and then I happened to read that they put batter in them. After that I was a little paranoid about getting omelets but so far, they're the only ones who do it that I know of. I even asked them if their veggy chili was GF and they said, "we don't know because the recipe changes all the time." At least they were honest.

[forinajoy]

Because of my older kids activities, we sometimes have days similar to yours (not quite as bad, but long nonetheless) When we are out and about like that and fast food seems to be the only answer, we just stop by the grocery store instead. Where there is a fast food place, I have noticed that there is a grocery store near-by. When we stop by the gorcery store I can pick up Ina a meal as quickly and as inexpensively as fast food. She is allergic to milk, but if she weren't the possibilities would be even greater. I get her fruit, salads, tuna, chips, hot sauce, bean dip, guacamole, hot dogs, often deli's have baked potatoes that are plain that you can add your own stuff, the possibilities are endless...if you had no milk problems, you could add yogurt, cheese sticks, cottage cheese and fruit, salads that contain cheese, ice cream etc. Good luck to you and I hope that you get to feeling better... this can be done, you just have to learn to do things a little differently
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Connie, mom to Ina, 13 y/o with CD