I’m bringing back the five things Friday because it was something I enjoyed but kind of got away from in the past.  This Friday I’m talking about all the places I don’t mind eating out without completely blowing my healthy caloric intake.  Sometimes I do indulge but for the most part I’m trying to stay with what makes me comfortable.  When I’m on a road trip or just out and I need to eat on the go these are some places I really enjoy.

• Subway.  This isn’t a secret.  When I’m on the road and there’s nothing I comfortable with eating there is always a Subway around for me to get something.  It’s also kind of become a pre-race meal for me.  Pre-race I’ll get a foot long sweet onion chicken teriyaki (all that sodium, yo) but on normal days I just get a double chicken breast salad.  This is an easy and cheap go to meal, especially on road trips.  Subways are everywhere.

• Panera Bread.  I do love Panera and I love bread but my biggest complaint is the food isn’t cheap…or I’m just cheap.  The food is good and I know when I want great healthy food that is filling I can come here.  The only hard part for me is not enjoying the bread.  Those rolls they give you on the side are an extra 150-200 calories and they are soo good.  Lately, instead of getting the bread I’ve opted for a cup of chicken noodle soup which has less calories and is a little more filling.

• Chipotle.  Many people complain about this place or that you’ll get E. Coli or something from the food.  I’m not informed enough to really talk about that subject.  I do love the food because you can pick and choose what you want.  No bowl has to be the same.  I do stay away from the burrito because that tortilla packs a lot of calories I’m not comfortable consuming but I still get the greatness in a bowl. Sometimes I get the tortilla on the side and just have a little bit of it.  I don’t avoid the rice or beans but some days I just don’t want the rice and I can choose not have it if I don’t want it. Plus, Chipotle is kind of cheap and is a filling meal.  Watch out for that corn salsa though.

• When I’m feeling under the weather, I always want should and for some reason I always want pho.  Granted, I know I’m not really eating PHO because I get a chicken broth instead of a beef broth.  I know it’s loaded with sodium and it’s got a lot of carbs with the noodles, but I really feel like it’s a safe bet when eating out.  Besides you can request less noodles or no noodles and double up on the meat.  I usually have chicken and it’s so good.  On a cold day, it really will warm me up!  Sometimes I just crave the pho.

• Greek/Lebanese food.  This is our favorite thing to eat. No matter where we are we know we can find a good healthy meal with this type of food.  There are a few quick joints we like to hit up like Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill (which I know isn’t everywhere), Verts Kabob and Garbanzo’s.  When going to Verts Kabob be careful about the sauces or get them on the side because that’s a quick way to add in some calories.  Garbanzo’s is a place I discovered on a visit to Colorado and it was really great.  It’s fast Greek food but it’s delicious.  We recently discovered a Garbanzo’s opened in in Houston so we do go there a lot too.  Greek food is just so good.  I love lentil soup and a chicken schwarma plate.

Pei Wei is also an honorable mention but the service at our local place is horrible so we don’t go as much as we use to go.  I guess that’s a part of the eating experience, right?  Another honorable mention goes out to Which Wich.  I liked that place but apparently people in our city didn’t because it went out business.  We will have to enjoy it when we’re on the road I guess.

What are some of your favorite places that you like to eat but won’t break your caloric intake?