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Healthy street food? Is there such a thing?
So many of us New Yorkers are on the go, so I wonder is there *anything* from the street vendors even remotely healthy? I know some of the food is scary and potentially dirty but I am talking low-cal or healthy? Any ideas?
Wow, I will have to stop by some of those places! You always have the best links Howard, keep em coming!
In addition to street vendors, there are constantly little street fairs that tend to have the same types of vendors each time. I get so excited when there is one set up near my office or apartment so that I can get a chicken kabob (usually from a gyro stand) (I ask for no sauce since I am not a BBQ fan and for them to "hold the bread" and just enjoy it on the stick). Plus, you don't even need a fork and knife to eat it so enjoying it as you walk around is a plus. Just ask for extra napkins of course :)
It's not very often in NYC that you can get juicy chicken straight from a grill by living in apartments.
I also look for street vendors, but I specifically look for the guys who are selling halal food and who use a grill to prepare their food.
I like to order a sandwich made with pita bread, grilled chicken (or sometimes grilled lamb) and lots of veggies. I have to be careful to tell the vendor to hold the sauce but this fits in my meal plan.
You can also order meals with rice and grilled meat from the same vendors but it is harder to portion control with the rice dishes I find.
I think that in general if you make the right food choices given what is available to you that you will do well. I think one of the best ways to meal plan is to use the "plate method" (which I have read somewhere else but I do not remember the source):
Imagine that your plate is divided into sections and for each meal you should aim for:
(1) 50 % of your plate should be assorted nonstarch vegetables
(2) 25 % of your plate should be protein
(3) 25% of your plate should be whole grains (ie. brown rice)
(5) Eat one fruit with each of your three meals if possible
Always if you are finally hungry eat as many nonstarch vegetables as possible. Stuff your face with veggies until you can not eat anything more.
Hope this is helpful to you.
Healthy street food in New York...That's a toughie...
What I end up doing is stop at the fruit vendors on the street and get bananas and carrots to hold me over....But right next to the fruit stand there is that deliccccccccciiious Halal Food (yes dorachild they are soo good ;)). What I do to make my platters healthier is ask for brown rice instead of regular, and tell them to put more salad than rice. I go for the grilled chicken, but tend to stay away from the fatty lamb. A lot of times, I just end up sharing the tray with a friend :)
I'm a huge fan of the fruit vendors too, I love being able to pick up a fresh pack of strawberries for about $3 and sometimes you can luck out with the breakfast carts, though mostly they're loaded up with carb monsters a lot of them keep a stash of some fruit like apples and bananas. I also happen to be near to where the Green Pirate juice truck camps out in NoHo sometimes, I haven't had but one of my friends says they're awesome, and that they're all about fresh fruits and veggies.
i agree, the best street vendor food is the fruit man. I seriously walk around til i find one of these guys just to grab an apple or bananna.
As for the Halal food, im not even sure of the calorie/fat content of it that i just skip it if i have to. It sure is tasty though.
