You Can Totally Eat At Chili's On The Whole30—With A Few Modifications
You Can Totally Eat At Chili's On The Whole30—With A Few Modifications
Doing the Whole30 is tough enough even when you cook every single meal for yourself for the 30 days. Get stuck at a fast food joint for a meal, though, and it can feel downright impossible.
I mean, with added sugars, grains, dairy, legumes, soy, and junk food all off the table, what the heck can you order?
Eating out while on Whole30 can be intimidating—but it is doable, if you're really, really careful. "You have to be strategic when ordering and have faith that the kitchen will follow your directions,” says dietitian Scott Keatley, RD, of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy.
First, accept the fact that you're probably (okay, definitely) going to have to make substitutions and special requests to make a Whole30 fast food meal work.
In general, Keatley recommends starting with a protein—and making sure you get it dry, without sauces or seasonings. “Anything with a sauce or a seasoning is most likely using added sugar and/or MSG,” he says.
From there, add whatever veggies you can. Just ask for them dry, too, to ensure they're not cooked or seasoned with any non-compliant ingredients. “Veggies at restaurants tend to have some kind of fat—usually butter—with them," says Keatley. If you can, ask for your veggies steamed—and watch out for soy, grains, or corn, which are often used as fillers in restaurant dishes.
If you opt for a salad, skip the dressing, Keatley adds. (Most salad dressings contain non-compliant ingredients, like sugar.) Ask for olive oil and vinegar, if that's an option.
Yeah, there's a lot to remember when navigating the minefield of eating out on Whole30. Keep your brain from exploding by going for one of the following orders.
At Panera: Modified Green Goddess Chicken Salad
Luckily, you can go bonkers with substitutions at Panera.
Start with the Green Goddess Club Salad and nix the chicken, pickled onions, and bacon (all of which contain sugar) and the dressing (which contains sugar and dairy).
Ask to top your remaining salad (which still contains the tomatoes, egg, and avocado) with oil and vinegar, Keatley says.
At Wendy's: Modified Hamburger + Sides
Unsurprisingly, you’re going to need to get a little creative at Wendy's—but you can get a decent meal.
Start with a David's Single or Double Hamburger, sans the cheese, pickles, or any sauces. Then, ditch the bun, so you've got plain patty, lettuce, tomato, and onion.
Order a plain baked potato (you can top it with cut-up burger and veggies for kicks) and an order of apple bites to round things out.
At McDonald's: Modified Quarter Pounder + Salad
Your strategy at McD's is pretty similar to your Wendy's game plan.
Ask for a completely plain Quarter Pounder. Then, ditch the bun. You can slice it up and enjoy it over a side salad—just skip the dressing, Keatley says. (Suddenly, traveling with oil and vinegar seems like a necessary thing.)
You can also tack on an order of apple slices to add to the salad.
At Chipotle: Whole30 Salad Bowl
Praise the Whole30 gods for this miracle meal. In January of 2019, Chipotle announced its Whole30 Salad bowl.
Made with romaine lettuce, carnitas, fajita vegetables (which are now cooked in compliant oil), tomato salsa, and guacamole, it's perhaps the most satisfying (and confusion-free) Whole30-approved fast food order on the planet.
At Red Robin: Modified Avo-Cobb-O Salad
The Avo-Cobb-O salad is an easily-modifiable option at Red Robin. Just get it without the cheese, bacon, dressing (ask for oil and vinegar, instead), and croutons.
At Outback Steakhouse: Modified Perfectly Grilled Salmon
At Outback, you've actually got a few options. Like at Chili's, you can go with a dry steak and steamed veggies. Or, if you feel like having seafood, order the Perfectly Grilled Salmon without seasoning. Just ask that it’s prepared without sauce or butter, and get plain, steamed veggies on the side.
At Red Lobster: Modified Live Maine Lobster
You have a few different things you can choose from here. As long as they're plain, you can start with lobster, fish, or crab legs.
Since this is Red Lobster, go for the Live Maine Lobster and ask for it steamed, without butter or sauce, JIC. You’ll also want to skip the optional crab-and-seafood stuffing and get steamed veggies on the side. (Again, make sure they’re made without butter.)
At Five Guys: Burger with Lettuce Bun
At Five Guys, stick with a plain burger patty and ask your server to replace your bun with two iceberg lettuce leaves, suggests Keatley. You can add toppings like tomatoes and raw onions to make it slightly more exciting.
At In-N-Out Burger: Hamburger, Protein-Style
In-N-Out Burger's "Not So Secret Menu" has long included the Protein-Style burger, which swaps a bun for a lettuce wrap.
Ask for a plain, Protein-Style burger with tomato and onion, but no sauce or cheese.
These nine other fast food joints are doable, too.