Suggestions for healthy eating out for a 3-year old?

[Queasy]

With my wife in the hospital for at least the next eight weeks, I'm inevitably going to have get take-out every now and then as it is going to be difficult to cook a good meal for him every night when I also have to juggle work, taking care of him, taking care of the house, and making sure we both spend time with my wife in her hospital suite. However, I don't want to be feeding him chicken nuggets and fries from McDonald's or Wendy's every night. I'm thinking I'll probably be best served to fix a meal large enough for us to have leftovers for a couple of nights. But, I already know there are going to be instances when that isn't going to happen.

I'm not the healthiest of eaters but I've made sure my son eats well. Anyone have healthy suggestions for those times when we'll have to eat out?

 

[CRXican]

don't

 

[StageLeft]

Wendy's chilli and potato will combine something he'll enjoy eating with something not too awful.

 

[spidey07]

keep veggies in the fridge?

 

[PunDogg]

truthfully, eating McDonald's once a while isn't bad, its not going to make your kid really fat. But you can try getting a lean portion at most places(one order for you and one for him), and just cut small chunks of chicken or fish so he can eat them, and then take the rest home, so you will have a good, lean meal for him next time.

by lean i mean, low fat, or what ever the differant restuarants call them.

Dogg

 

[KK]

Cracker barrel, they got one off jimmy carter I think.

 

[exilera]

Buy in bulk at Costco and make large meals when you cook that'll last a few days. You can get very healthy stuff there.

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Wendy's chilli and potato will combine something he'll enjoy eating with something not too awful.

Yah, not to mention the chilli being finger licking good!

 

[Crucial]

boston market is generaly better than nuggets.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: spidey07
keep veggies in the fridge?

Already do that. I make sure he eats bannanas, grapes, and apples and the like.

 

[SearchMaster]

We take our kids to Ryan's/Fire On The Mountain (similar restaurants). The all-you-can-eat bar has a fairly wide variety of foods, and they have a ton of desserts so you can pull the old "you don't get dessert unless you eat your veggies." It usually works.

 

[dxkj]

Eating out will take as much time as eating in, when you count walking to a table, sitting down, ordering food, getting food and eating, and then driving back home.


Fast/food take out...


Pizza... there are some fairly healthy pizza's out there... Cheese, sauce, bread, vegetables... thats not bad.



Subway... lots of good options there, turkey, cheese, wheat bread


Taco Bell.... chicken burrito? that doesnt seem too bad.


Keep looking and you will find decent options on a lot of menus.


Chicken/rice dish from a chinese restaurant?


Fazolis? or fast italian. Spaghettie and meatballs, not half bad.




Not to mention you can whip up your own spaghetti dang fast at home. Boil water, noodles, check back on while you are heating up the sauce on the stove.. done!

 

[woowoo]

Originally posted by: PunDogg
truthfully, eating McDonald's once a while isn't bad, its not going to make your kid really fat.

Dogg

Dude,
Talk about bad information.....

 

[Homerboy]

Dude,
Talk about bad information.....

Uhh it doesn't
Honestly OP, dont sweat the occasional trip to McDs or similar. Heck we use it as a "treat" for our kids once in a while and they completely enjoy it. (Hell they eat more food there than at home sometimes).

We certainly push the fruits/vegetables and "normal" food at home 29/30 days a month. But the occasional trip to McD isnt goign to kill anyone. Get them a Milk instead of soda though

In fact we just did Culvers last night and had some delicous custard after too.

Note: kids are 3.5 and 1.5

 

[wfbberzerker]

i'm not even going to say what i originally thought the title of this thread was.

 

[Jeraden]

My 3 yr old absolutely loved Boston Market. Was one of the few places we could actually get him to eat everything. He gets the kids Meatloaf, sweet potatoes, and Mac & Cheese (though occasionally he'll get cornbread instead of Mac & Cheese).

He's 4.5 now and still loves the place. Actually, my wife is going out of town this coming weekend and he's already said he wants to go eat while she's gone.

Also, not exactly the healthiest perhaps, but he also really likes Chicken Quesadillas, so he likes going to places that serve them. Not really all that bad - milkfat is actually good for young kids which includes cheese.

 

[spaceman]

Originally posted by: wfbberzerker
i'm not even going to say what i originally thought the title of this thread was.

ewwww

 

[dadeef]

How about not get TAKEOUT and cook him a damn meal! Its your obligation to teach your child how to eat right. Spend the little extra effort to cook your own son something.

 

[sandman018]

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Dude,
Talk about bad information.....

Uhh it doesn't
Honestly OP, dont sweat the occasional trip to McDs or similar. Heck we use it as a "treat" for our kids once in a while and they completely enjoy it. (Hell they eat more food there than at home sometimes).

We certainly push the fruits/vegetables and "normal" food at home 29/30 days a month. But the occasional trip to McD isnt goign to kill anyone. Get them a Milk instead of soda though

In fact we just did Culvers last night and had some delicous custard after too.

Note: kids are 3.5 and 1.5

totally OT, but I love culvers. Once I move from Wisconsin, I'm gonna miss that place

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: dadeef
How about not get TAKEOUT and cook him a damn meal! Its your obligation to teach your child how to eat right. Spend the little extra effort to cook your own son something.

Most people in this country feed their kids abominably, but it doesn't mean that you can't occasionally take them out to eat.

 

[AntiEverything]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: dadeef
How about not get TAKEOUT and cook him a damn meal! Its your obligation to teach your child how to eat right. Spend the little extra effort to cook your own son something.

Most people in this country feed their kids abominably, but it doesn't mean that you can't occasionally take them out to eat.

It does if you're one of the many self-righteous assholes who hang out in ATOT.

I've never seen a bigger collection of people who can't stop preaching their own personal gospels.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: AntiEverything

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: dadeef
How about not get TAKEOUT and cook him a damn meal! Its your obligation to teach your child how to eat right. Spend the little extra effort to cook your own son something.

Most people in this country feed their kids abominably, but it doesn't mean that you can't occasionally take them out to eat.

It does if you're one of the many self-righteous assholes who hang out in ATOT.

I've never seen a bigger collection of people who can't stop preaching their own personal gospels.

I'd like to agree--and I do--but I'm one of those people, so i can't really come down on him

 

[xcript]

Originally posted by: ncircle

Originally posted by: wfbberzerker
i'm not even going to say what i originally thought the title of this thread was.

ewwww

:Q

 

[2cpuminimum]

Taco bell bean burritos are the healthiest fast food, and the cheapest fast food.
If you're in less of a hurry, authentic mexican food is healthier than most typical american food.
Order pizza with vegetarian toppings (mushrooms, spinach, etc.), in most american foods it's the meat that is high in saturated fat, so just going vegetarian makes most things healthier right of the bat.
vegetable fried rice takeout/delivery
Use olive oil or canola oil to cook with.
The above list is healthier than most people's home cooked meals.

Fast and easy to cook:
Scrambled eggs with onions/chives
hash browns
frozen pizza, add a little frozen spinach on top to make it healthier
Any of the vegetarian soyburger products from morningstar farms or boca can be microwaved for a quick meal, as well as being much healthier than eating cow or pig.
grilled cheese sandwich

Cheap to make a lot with lots of leftovers:
vegetarian chilli

 

[maziwanka]

i think subway or blimpies would probably be your best fast food option