Happy to oblige, Gator, hope you enjoy!

I had to laugh at myself when I read Fumih's post: I too have had many "Mustard Noses" when struggling with fast food hamburgers

I drive around in a Telephone Co. truck all day, so I'm always on the lookout for snacks I can grab 'on the run', as I 've eaten so many bunless burgers that I'm ready to !

Lately, I've found a grocery store with a Deli section that sells spicy chicken drumettes (you know, the meatiest third of the chicken wing that looks like a little drumstick). They're great! Skin on, no breading, and the sauce isn't sweet , so you're not picking up a lot of unwanted sauce carbs. Eight of these make a great lunch for only a buck or so more than I used to pay for a 'value meal' at Mickey D's!

I have to laugh at the detailing of trying to eat a fast food hamburger and remember being down that path myself. I often even though I have an hour for lunch still have to find something fairly simple to eat. My latest favorite is from Wendy's (Yes they have them here in the Bahamas too) I go through the drive thru and order the double cheesburger with bacon added, tell them to hold the ketchup and mustard(I hate Mustard!) and then I order a side salad. When I get my burger I use the cover of the salad tray and dump the burger there and throw away the bun, then I cut it all up and throw it on top of my salad. I have a ranch dressing with 1 carb per 2 TBsp that I keep in the fridge here at work. I use a little of that and then I eat everything up...YUM! My co-workers look at me a little strange, but I enjoy losing the weight and enjoying what I am eating at the same time!

A lot of the Chinese resturants here - especially in the Boulder area - now offer a dish that is steamed and had no sauce. So you can order steamed chicken and veggies (rememver to tell them firmly, No rice).

Then you can eat with everybody else when they go out for Chinese!


Misty

Snoopy:

Thank you!!!!!!!!
I had Mongolian BBQ last night and it was absolutely fantastic! Of course, I sent back the tortillas and rice.

If you can help, I have a couple of questions.

1. Do you know anything about the Szechuan Sauce oil? It was the best! Do you think it has lots of sugar? I tried some of the others, but this one was the best.

2. Do they put salt in everything ? My eyes were so puffy this a.m. that I could barely open them. Do you think the salt is in the oil, veggies, meat or all?

Thank you again! I can't wait to go back.

Julie

Hi Gatorgal!

Since we're on opposite coasts, I'm hesitant to guess about your local Mong. BBQs presentation, so I'll answer based on what I can infer from mine. (The fact that your place serves up tortillas is novel to me; being a Californian, I'm no stranger to tortillas, but I don't get the thematic link to Mong. BBQ). Our place gives you fried rice, an over-thickened soup, wontons, & little chinese pastries,which all get sent back.

The meat at our place is shaved bits of frozen, raw, pork, beef, turkey or lamb; the vegetables also are in raw state so salt wouldn't be coming from there. The 'sauces' I use most are the cooking wine, ginger, hot oil, & sesame oil. Now I know that if they buy what's commonly sold as 'cooking wine' (usually a Sauterne), that salt is added to that, & it's generally a sweet wine, so there'd be some extra carbs, too. Don't know what's in their Szechwan sauce, but what I would do is either ask to see the ingredients, or go down to your local ethnic food section in the supermarket & compare ingredients on a couple of different types of 'szechuan sauces. Certainly if you're using teriyaki sauce, you'd be getting both sugar and salt, & of course our place keeps soy sauce on the table, and that's quite salty.

Good luck, & happy dining!

Thanks a bunch! I am going to check the label on some Szechuan sauces as you suggested. I love spicy things, so I don't know if I could pass up the Mongolian Szechuan sauce oil if I do find out it is bad in carb-land. This may be incorrect thinking, but I think much of the oil is evaporated on that super hot grill anyways.

The wine, mojo, plum etc. sauces looked a little unappealing to me. I think other sauces had been accidentally dribbled in them. The Szechuan oil was a deep red with what looked like crushed red peppers in it. Yum!

Before I visited the BBQ, my boss told me to load up on the veggies, as they lose their water in the cooking and shrink. But, I had little room for the veggies with all of the yummy meat I had to choose from. Would you like to compare FL to CA?

There was beef, chicken, lamb, pork, Andouille sausage, calamari, scallops, shrimp, mahi, and mixed grill (fish).

Thanks again,
Julie

Julie, FL has CA beat nine ways to Sunday!

Meatwise, at least--Our place only has the first four on your list. Mahi?! I'm so jealous! Be careful though; mullosks (scallops & calimari, for example) always show up as containing carbs in my carb-counter books. Your boss is right; the veggies (the meat, too) lose a lot of water during cooking. Unfortunately, the carbs stay, so like you I stock up on lots of meat, and stick to cabbage, onions, mushrooms, & cilantro on the produce side ( I also 'mash down' after I'm done putting meat in the bowl--tacky, I know, but oh well-I'm not touching anyone elses food.

Your 'szechuan' sauce sounds like our 'hot oil' sauce: ours is just oil with the ground pepper 'steeping' inside, and as such, should be fairly safe. I use a little of the 'wine' sauce, but less than 3 or 4 oz., & then we drink tea (plain hot green tea, not that yummy sweet stuff that seems to be everywhere down South. Extra note: once you've ID-d your 'safe' sauces, don't be stingy with them, I usually use4 or five scoops of oils, & 3 or 4 scoops of the watry-type sauces.

Anyway, enjoy!

-Scott

the last time I had buffalo wings, I spontaneously squeezed some limes over them, and it was excellent! Just a thought!

We started making our own, with salt andcrushed red pepper sprinkled on the raw wings before they pop into the oven (no crumbs, flour or batter). I bet a squeeze of lime after they come out would make them just heaven-like. Thanks for the idea!

OK now when it comes to wings and just about any food, here in Buffalo there is no lack of it!!

Hubby prepares wings on the grill and then tosses them in Frank's hot sauce and melted butter

We have the Mongolian BBQ type thing here too and that is such an easy way to go. As to the "salt", most of that frozen meet is salted believe it or not!!!

I order hotdogs, no roll, and of course they always say real loud so the whole place can hear "NO ROLL????"

A favorite of mine is a steak/chicken/tuna ceasar salad NO CROUTONS. And believe me when it comes out with them on it I now send it back. I used to just pick them out, but if I order it a specific way, then it's their fault for not doing it right in that I'm paying for it. Same thing when I order a salad, I just tell them I want lettuce and dressing, nothing else... then you can bet 1 out of 3 times they will "add" something, thinking they are making it "cute" and I send it back.

Another easy order is souvlaki. Either the open which is beef or chicken with a greek salad (leave off the pita) or the breakfast, no potatoes.

When I would tell a restaurant to skip the potatoes, bread, rice, what ever and they would bring it, I would just push it aside, now I've gotten B...s and tell them take it away I said I didn't want it. It really is amazing when you look at their face when yo say I just want plain meat on a plate

Someone always says "Oh your on Atkins" I always reply now with "No, I just don't eat carbs" end of discussion. Hubby now chimes in with me too, "She just doesn't eat carbs, got a problem with that???" of course that can embarras me, but he means well.

By telling yourself, you just don't eat them confirms that it is a WOL not a diet!!!

Eating out is not as challenging as many would think. Just order the protein, and a salad, tell them to leave the starch off. If its a veggie of the day I can't eat I just say, meat on the plate please. It gets easier each time you say it.

I've thrown away a lot of hamburger buns, and oh the pizza crusts! My friends just laugh now when they see me with a slice of pizza I just ate the top off of. I always try to give it away, but Ive yet to have any takers... just goes int he can with the paper plate..

You are paying for it, so you should have what you want...

I even went to a Chinese restarant once and completely had a custom meal. Ginger Garlic Chicken, no batter on the chicken, and no sugar in the sauce. They did it and it was great!!!!!!

Mary,
I love your attitude when dining out, I just order meat and salad too, but I do it so I don't have to think about what I am eating and try to concentrate on the people I am with...I also TRY not to lecture them on putting the poisonous crap THEY order into their bodies!! I don't send stuff back though, cause I know what they do to your food when you do that!! believe me its better to just toss it to the side. if you have trouble with keeping it at the table, dump pepper or scrape something onto it, I use the bun of the hot dog or burger to hold what I am eating, I just peel it off, take a bite, peel back some more etc, its handy and less noticable except for the mountain of dead bun leavens on the plate when I am done I do ask for the noodle soup without noodles (just broth) and no bread or onions in my french onion soup and that always throws them a bit. keep fighting the good fight
Jane

Oh Jane I don't send the whole meal back!!!

I just give them what I didn't want and tell them to take it back, I figure why should I look at it it I didn't order it, it doesn't even have anything to do with temptation any more, cause I just con't eat that way... it is more a matter of principle, they need to learn to follow the orders given and to read what they have written down. I know, it does sound harsh, but it kinda makes it fun to be able to take a stand!!!!!

I agree with you, I never say anything to anyone about what they eat, and if someone (that I don't like, or who doesn't even know me) comments to me, I say "do I comment on what you are eating?", my friends tease me lovingly so I laugh with them. They get the biggest kick when I'm eating the tops off slices of pizza or holding 2 plain hotdogs in a napkin!!! That one gets a lot of laughs