The best way to eat out, and still minimize your sugar intake, is to PLAN AHEAD. So I created this handy guide for some of my favorites, to help you realize your long-term goal of remaining sugar free. And still living life to the fullest!

Chipotle

Before our health journey started, Chipotle was a tradition in our family. Toward the end of every summer, I would take the kids, one at a time, to the nearest shopping area, where we would shop for a pair of new shoes and some clothes before the school year started. Typically, we shop second-hand. But this was one treat-filled trip where we bought NEW things. And a treat day includes FOOD. (I just realized I’m talking about this tradition in the past tense. Because, COVID-19.)

At this particular shopping area, there was a Chipotle with a great patio, where we’d stop to eat mid-way through our trip, to rest and refresh, and keep us motivated to continue. One of the reasons we loved Chipotle so much was the company’s commitment to health and to ethical sourcing practices.

Also, if you haven’t’ figured this out yet, we are a family who loves tacos.

Chipotle has a great Nutrition Calculator on their website, where you can plug in all your favorites, and find out exactly how many grams of sugar (and calories, and carbs, if that’s your jam) you’ll be getting. 

My favorite bowl (brown rice, chicken, fresh tomato salsa, lil sour cream, lil cheese) has 3 grams of sugar: 1 gram from the fresh tomato salsa and 2 grams from the sour cream. I’m going to assume those are naturally-occuring sugars. But either way, I can live with 3 grams, given that we don’t eat out often.

P. Terry’s

A local Austin chain, P. Terry’s has been our favorite burger joint for a while. They make the BEST milkshakes. But you know how many grams of sugar are in those shakes? 77 FREAKING GRAMS!! In one shake. No wonder they are so good. 

A cheeseburger here has 5 grams of sugar. So that one is more safe. Even a double cheeseburger is 5 grams. You want to go lighter? If you choose a lettuce wrap instead of a bun, that’s only 3 grams of sugar. And the fries are sugar-free. 

Here’s a link to the rest of the chain’s nutritional information, in case your standard order looks different.

Tarka Indian Kitchen

Another Austin chain, Tarka is my favorite quick stop-in for fresh Indian food. I usually get the chicken kebab, which is gluten free (sometimes – not always – a good indication that it’s also sugar free). This comes with a mint chutney that I WANT TO BE BURIED WITH. I always ask for extra and I always have to resist licking the container when it’s empty. Because, social constructs. According to My Fitness Pal (which doesn’t mean it’s accurate) the rice has 1 gram of sugar, and the naan (garlic or regular) has 2 grams. Veggies on the kebabs have 3 grams of sugar. Can’t find the kebab itself, but doing a search for just Indian Chicken Kebab, I get a range of 0 to 3 grams of sugar. Same for the heavenly mint chutney. I’m gonna say it’s zero. Just so I can TAKE A BATH IN THAT SAUCE. (GG reference. Anyone?)

Tino’s Greek Cafe

I didn’t realize almost everything I favored was a local establishment. But Tino’s Greek Cafe is as well. No nutritional info on their website. But I normally get the chicken (typically no sugar, per My Fitness Pal), tzatziki sauce (0 to 1 gram), tabouli (0 to 1 gram), falafel (0 to 1 gram), hummus (0 grams) and a pita bread (1 to 2 grams). So my standard order is pretty low-sugar there.

MOD Pizza

When we cut out sugar, we looked into our two favorite local pizza places, and neither had great low-sugar options.

But you know who does? MOD. They are a little further away and don’t deliver. But we’ve always loved their pizza and their service. And I’m happy to see they have these options.

According to the nutritional information on their website, their gluten-free crust has 17 GRAMS OF SUGAR! And the cauliflower crust has 6 grams of sugar. Their regular dough, however, is sugar free! 

All their sauces are sugar free except for the BBQ (8 g) and the spicy red (1 g). The only cheese with sugar is the ricotta (1 g). And the only meat with sugar is the scrambled eggs (1 g) (I’m ASSUMING that doesn’t go on the PIZZA?) Some of the veg has sugar, but I’m going to assume that’s all natural and not added. 

So basically, any way you toss it (see what I did there?), this seems like a great sugar free option. Unless you love their No Name Cake (which is a Ding Dong), and I do. That sucker has 29 grams of sugar in it. But what is worse is their chocolate shake, which has a whopping 123 grams of sugar in it. WOW.

Chili’s

My 11 YO would eat at Chili’s everyday if we let him. He loves their Big Mouth Bites (20 g of sugar) and their corn on the cobb (11 g of sugar). I assume that’s natural? Or are they actually putting sugar on the corn on the cobb?? My 14 YO gets the cheese pizza (2 g of sugar) and the mandarin oranges (17 g of sugar). 

Chili’s nutritional info is posted online. 

Some of the best options here are the buffalo wings (2 grams of sugar), chips and salsa (5 grams of sugar), and on the “Guiltless Grill” menu: 6 oz Sirloin with Grilled Avocado (4 grams of sugar) and Ancho Salmon (5 grams of sugar). Most of their steaks and fajita meats look relatively safe, except their fajita veggies have 9 grams of sugar??

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