Restaurants Suited to Fit the SCD

On occasion, I have a friend who calls me up for lunch. Or sometimes, I want a change in the regular monotony of the SCD. Not to fear – I've thought long and hard about how to manipulate and change almost any meal to conform to the SCD. Unless you're going to eat at Burger King, McDonalds or any other 'sinful' fast food establishment, the vast majority of restaurants can substitute vegetables for a less healthy option. It's not as fun, but remember to save your desire to purchase 17 orders of french fries until your cheat day. The thought has (sarcastically) crossed my mind. Chipotle is probably one of my favorite restaurants. Their fresh ingredients, flavorful spices, and the ability to conform a meal to fit the SCD has made this establishment a weekly hotspot. Let me lay out exactly what I order, with the calorie values as an addition.

Chicken Burrito Bowl (No Tortilla - Pictured below)

Fajita Veggies – 20 calories

Chicken – 190 calories

Two Types of Salsa – 60 calories

Black Beans – 120 calories

Lettuce – 5 calories

Total= 395 calories

Leaving out the Tortilla, White Rice, Cheese, and Sour Cream saves you a whopping 640 calories! Adding the less-healthy ingredients turns a relatively healthy meal into a 1,035-calorie gut bomb. Sticking with the high-protein, low-carb ingredients will give you the same satisfaction of 'feeling full' for the same length of time as including the other ingredients into the burrito.  

My all-time favorite sub shop is Jimmy Johns. 99.9% of the time, I would always get the #9 Italian Night Club – until I started this diet. Nutritional information, according to Jimmy John's website, places this sub at 948 calories ordered as is. Talk about a depressing fact, considering that I sometimes I eat less calories than that in an entire day. I now order the #11 Country Club. I heavily customize the order so I can leave out the Cheese, Mayo, and Bread, thus avoiding about 638 calories in the process. That doesn't mean it has to be boring – I order the sub as an Unwich (ingredients wrapped in lettuce versus bread) that includes Smoked Turkey Breast, Smoked Ham, tomato, hot cherry peppers, cucumber, and the Italian Vinaigrette. It turns out to be a nice, filling, 235-calorie meal. In other words: just be smart about what you're eating on the SCD. Follow the rules and all will be well. 

This particular Unwich has cheese on it, but this just gives a visual representation of what one actually looks like.