You all know Arby’s. To start with, it’s fast food, and if you’ve had gastric bypass surgery, you probably want to avoid fast food when you can. And then on top of that, there is usually so little you can eat at fast food restaurants, it’s not worth the trip to go.
We’ve been steering clear of fast food restaurants since my surgery unless we are on the road to Florida or somewhere, and unless we treat ourselves to the rare cup of Wendy’s chili. It’s better for the kids to not get used to having Happy Meals whenever they want them, and it really works out well to use them as a treat or a reward for once in a while. If you get a good grade or have an especially great day at school, we might take a ride to Wendy’s or Bok Bok Fresh. We’ve never ridden down to Arby’s until a couple of week’s ago. I can’t remember the occasion – someone got a good grade or went pee pee on the potty – but we went to Arby’s just to see what they had and if there was a good alternative to the Wendy’s chili for me.
Let’s start with the kids’ meals. Yes, I know this is a gastric bypass review, but if you are like me trying to help your kids avoid the need for surgery, what type of kids meal you choose can be important. Eilis ordered the meal that came with a mini-turkey sandwich. It was a nice sized sandwich of sliced turkey and Swiss cheese on honey wheat bread. The crust was cut off, so your kid will eat the whole thing. Granuaile got popcorn chicken, which was a step above typical fast food chicken in that it looked and smelled better, and she ate it all, so it must have been good. The kids meals come with either french fries (curly fries – YUMMMY) or a fruit cup. My kids chose the fruit cup, which consisted of chunks of diced apple and grapes. They loved it. The best part is the kids’ meals came with story books, and my girls LOVED that!
I browsed the menu for something soup or chili like, and didn’t find anything, so I ordered the one salad I didn’t think I’d be familiar with – the Martha’s Vineyard salad. The salad is chunks of diced chicken on top a healthy serving or lettuce. The salad has diced apples, cranberries, shredded cheese, and grape tomatoes, and they give you slivered almonds on the side. Topped with their raspberry viniagrette dressing, this was one really nice salad. Sugar wise, it may be a little high for most people. Much of the sugar is in the cranberries, and they are easy to spot, so you can start by removing half of them. Also, the raspberry viniagrette contains quite a bit of sugar, but I use only half of the package, so I didn’t worry too much about the sugar in the dressing. The salad packs a good protein punch, and satisfies a lot of cravings I know I get – for something sweet or something fruity.
Arby’s still has their famous roast beef, which you can order and eat without the bun, but for something satisfying and delicious, I highly recommend the Martha’s Vineyard salad.