Quite often I find myself hungry in the middle of the city. I know that I will be in home in e.g. 2 - 3 hours. I ate 1500 kcals for the day and I know that I can eat about 500 - 700kcal in some kind of not perfect food because after returning home I have to have some additional 300 - 500kcals to eat if what I eat in the city was not filling. In home I can manage to eat more veggies for example to fill my stomach.
In city there are mostly fast foods and some restaurants. I know that pizza is not good because they sell whole pizzas and it would probably has like 2500 kcals (Iām guessing). So Iām left with so options:
Shawarma ā I donāt know how many kcals but it is full of fat but on other hand it has meat (protein).
Hamburger ā I donāt know how many kcals but meat again
Salad ā probably low on calories (only calories from oil) but not that much meat if any.
hot dog ā Iām not that fond of hot dogs because of sausage which is mostly some bad meat.
Occasionally, four Long John Silvers chicken planks. No sides, unsweet tea.
51% fat, 26% carbs, 23% protein. Not healthy, but since you asked.
Sometimes I go to McDās and get 2 oatmeals and two milks. Total of 17 gm fat, 138 carbs, 26 gms protein.
McDonalds grilled chicken snack wraps, no cheeses or dressing. For breakfast, egg mcmuffins, no cheese. Wendys grilled chicken wraps, no cheese or dressing. Taco Bell Fresco soft tacos.
Find a Tesco or sainsburys and buy some cooked chicken breast, cherry plum tomatoes and potato salad and go crazy probably. Unless itās a Friday, then Iād head to KFC and eat all of it
Most supermarkets have Greek Yoghurt. I like to get some of that with a protein shake and/or fruit.
If you want a āmealā, steak burritos without cheese are okay (still fairly high in calories, but generally good protein and carbs). My personal favourite, however, is Hainan/Hainanese chicken rice. Basically itās just chicken thigh poached in ginger broth, served with steamed rice and some sauces (which you can always ignore). Iāve seen it at most Chinese/Asian restaurants, both āproperā eateries and dingy food-court outlets.
Obviously this question needs more details as to what you want this meal to include, how much prep and time you have, what your budget is, but the advice to find a supermarket and buy a few ready to eat things is solid. Cultured dairy products such as yogurt and cottage cheese are great ready to eat protein. Many fruits and vegetables can be eaten raw. Jerky is also a good option and probably not a lot more pricey than a prepared meal.
How big of a city? This is a very odd question to me. The options are endless in a large city. My trouble is small rural towns.
To answer the question: I donāt eat fast food, with exception of Panda and occasionally QāDoba. I only eat at local restaurants. If a restaurant isnāt an option, I go to grocery stores and order deli meat, a pre-made salad and a few hard boiled eggs.
When Iām stuck somewhere with nothing prepped, I tend to hop into a supermarket and get some low fat cold cuts and just eat that. You can get 100ish of chicken cold cut and eat that for 120cals or so and good amount of protein/low fat. Helped me out in a pinch quite a few times. Obviously the fattier cuts like salami will be less interestingā¦ Not sure how it is in the US, but here in Belgium every supermarket carries a big selection of cold cuts anyway.
Shawarmas great get the platter and fill it with salads, or get kebab ( i dont know if they do this in USA or its just in a small pita? pretty sure you dont have laffa bread there).
You can always get tuna also and ofcourse roasted chickens in supermarket. You can also go to any steakhouseā¦
I live in NYC- my solution was to pack a disposable spoon, a couple servings of peanuts or almonds, and then go to a supermarket and buy a small tub of low fat cottage cheese (Daisy brand if Iām being specific). Canāt remember the exact macros but was plenty of fat and protein, tastes great, āhealthyā for all intents, fairly filling, and cheap as hell.
I think this is an issue of poor planning. Nothing beats a full meal.
A slice or two of pizza is a cheap and quick option. When I worked at a gym, I was near grocery stores where I would run in and grab some greek yogurt - always a good idea to pack dried fruit and nuts/seeds to add texture and calories.
I live in a city that also has really taco trucks, and you can get a good meal in with 4 Asada Tacos - should run you 5-7 dollars.
