a day at the mall

[ekchow]

I am starting my 30 on Monday but I have reached a slight hitch. We are going to our nearby city for a day of shopping which usually includes eating at the mall food court, the easiest place for a family with different tastes to eat. My usual choices are Thai express or subway.  

 

The mall has A&W, Arby's, Edo Japan, Freshii, Jugo Juice, Koryo Korean BBQ, Manchu Wok, New York Fries, OPA! of Greece, Orange Julius/ Dairy Queen, SUBWAY®,Taco Time, Thai Express. 

 

Has anyone had exprience with any of these places and what would be whole 30 approved?

[jmcbn]

Is the shopping trip also on Monday?

I'd be inclined to bring a packed lunch to be honest.

You could check out the menu for each franchise on-line, but you'd also then have to ask the questions when you get there? Remembering that there are many ways for sugar to sneak into foods & many servers won't know this, and also if any of the meats are marinated or seasoned before cooking the server may not know the exact ingredients. Seasonings could have anything from sugar to soy to gluten. The cooking oils in every establishment could be questionable. And the stress alone of eating out on your first day might just make you cave.

If you DO plan on eating out it's best to opt for dry grilled meat or fish (bearing in mind the grill may be greased with oil prior to cooking to avoid the meat sticking!), a plain baked potato (bring your own ghee or home-made mayo but bear in mind also that some establishments rub the skin with butter prior to cooking), a dry salad (no croutons & bring your own dressing), and/or steamed veg (add your own ghee).

It is much easier to eat out as time goes on and you become more confident in what you can & cannot eat, and learn the questions you need to ask to ensure compliance, so don't think this is the end of your social life as you know it - I'm just trying to highlight all possible pit-falls.

Hope this helps.

 

[ekchow]

Thanks the shopping trip is on tuesday and i know it will be hard. I am thinking of just packing a few things and maybe getting a salad with no dressing

 

[SugarcubeOD]

Thanks the shopping trip is on tuesday and i know it will be hard. I am thinking of just packing a few things and maybe getting a salad with no dressing

I would treat it like a picnic and bring your own food... personally I wouldn't even rely on a salad from a place like that for a couple of reasons... first, the salad you could make at home and put in a cooler bag is going to be FAR less expensive and FAR superior to any fast food salad you can find and second, because the types of restaurants in malls aren't going to be set up to do customization... a salad from any of those places is probably already pre-mixed with cheese, craisins etc... so you may be in a position of having to pick stuff off. Saying from experience, when you're only on your first couple of days and met with eating out, it can be a really slippery slope because it's definitely easier to 'just eat it' than fussing with it.

Since your whole family is going and for shopping, how about if you all eat from the picnic lunch that you pack and then there's more money for shopping? I can't imagine that would be a particularly hard sell and then there's no temptation to eat off plan.

When my family (sister and mom) go anywhere out of town that is going to be over meal periods, even when we're not on Whole30, we always all pack our own meals... I'd much rather tailgate in the mall parking lot eating my own food than potentially spend some rather unpleasant times finding all the washrooms in the vicinity...