Healthy Lunch Alternatives at the Food Court

ALISA: My name is Alisa Henderson and I work for Star94 Radio in Atlanta, GA.

I'm called the Star94 Super Shopper. My segment is called Alisa's Deals of the Weekend.

It's a lot of fun. I go out shopping, pick things up

And then on Monday mornings at 9:10 I'll go into the studio and sort of do a report on whatever the deals were that I found over the weekend.

Sometimes I'll hit two or three malls in a shopping experience.

Initially when I get to the food court I've probably waited until the last minute so I'm really starved. So the nutrition part of it, or should I say the best choice that I should make I don't make.

At that point a cheeseburger is going to be the absolute best choice for me.

Sometimes I do have pizza. Or, I'll eat maybe the extra crispy chicken sandwich, extra done, with fries and a coke

I want to lose 30 more pounds and I think of it constantly. Especially if I don't have to sacrifice taste. That's the big thing. You're always thinking when you're eating healthy it's going to be bland, it's going to be really boring and you're going to still be craving something after.

You really just wish there was somebody who could tell you the right things to do.

CAROLYN: Hi, Alisa. I'm Carolyn. You can see at almost every stop in the food court there are healthy alternatives. Don't get the full portions.

Most restaurants in food courts--like this Asian food place--now have healthier alternatives to choose from like salads and veggie dishes.

Those are good because they provide nutrients that help. Alisa can still get stir fried chicken, but just go for half-portions of dishes like that and get a salad or veggies with it.

Alisa's a lot of fun. She's so creative so I wanted to play on her ability to be creative among her food choices. Just like she does in fashions.

There are food 'accessories,' just like there are in shopping. But accessories at the food court should be chosen wisely, like going for unsweetened vs sweetened tea.

I think it's so important to teach people alternative choices in a setting they are familiar with. It would really do no good to take her to a health food restaurant she'd never go back to but rather be in the food court environment. You literally have thousands of choices there.

I like to say the more you know about nutrition the more you can eat.
When you look at the board what do you normally get?

ALISA: I've tried the grilled chicken sandwich there but I really love the fried chicken and fries combo.

CAROLYN: The grilled chicken sandwich isn't always as good as you think because they actually butter the buns in places like that. So there are calories and fat hidden in there and asking for them to no butter the bun is a good idea. Remember that there's still mayo, etc. in there.

ALISA: I really have tried to make healthy choices. I eat the grilled chicken sandwich. It comes on a wheat bun so I always think that's healthy too. How healthy it is I'm not really sure.

Carolyn was able to show me that there are healthy choices I can make and still be satisfied once I have lunch.

The little things that she told me today are definitely going to help me in my success to losing weight.

CAROLYN: Now it's not just about those numbers on the scale, Alisa. This will not only help with the scale and looking good, but also help with blood pressure control and preventing future ailments. Calories and fat are only one part of the equation.

Alisa is so in line with so many women these days. They want to lose weight because they want to look their best and also for her health. Just adding healthy foods to her diet just so she feels better and has that energy that we all crave today.

This entry last modified on: January 10, 2012 11:03 PM