Without referencing the MSC's name, can anyone tell me what food options (or non-options) are required for the Sonic shops. I won't do McDonald's or Five Guys because of the food requirements. I am doing the "healthy thing" these days and yes, I am a recovering Coke-a-holic so "no soda for me!" {in my best Soup Nazi voice}

I am guessing that the Sonic shops do not provide any "healthy" options but I could be wrong.

I don't recall any "healthy" options but I don't really look at them often. You can't get anything special ordered and since they put onions on practically everything but their drinks (and sometimes those) I only order chili cheese dogs (which I'm totally surprised don't come with onions).

Unless the requirements have changed, then no, there are no healthy options. I used to do these a lot last year.

On all the Sonic shops I do (which is about a million), the food requirements are burgers or hot dogs.

Yep...I still do a lot of them (I taste the food and don't always eat it all) Burgers, hotdogs and... fries or tater tots or mozzarella sticks.

I wish Sonic still had salads. They weren't part of a shop, but I liked them. I wish they would let us take something off. I hate mustard and I usually order the New York dog.

No healthy options.

But other than a sample bite, you don't have to eat it.

And I find the reimbursement doesn't cover the food UNLESS you order a 6" hot dog.

And it doesn't cover the tip to the carhop.

At least here, the carhops are paid "waitress" wages, which is well below minimum wage.

Also, for the MSC I do these for, you now have to take a photo (without getting caught!) AND
check the restroom.

And the pay is so low that unless you are willing to eat the food, the shop isn't worth the effort it takes.

I do like that the time frame is several hours, so you can do breakfast OR dinner, and you can work
a Sonic around other shops that day. Makes managing a route much simpler.

And the hamburgers (that is, a cheeseburger without cheese) is above average.

I personally LOVE onions on my chilidogs, and am sorry they don't come with them!

JM2CW.

When the fast food and healthy become one in the same?

The hot dogs are not healthy, but they are under 500 calories. I order unsweet tea.

You can have plain iced tea or a coffee instead of pop. (Or a milk shake) I like that many of them have open timeframes, and bonuses in rural areas. I'll sit there, trying to will the operator to upsize my coffee to large, pa-leeeeze upsize my coffee….

Thanks for all the responses. I will pass on these. I don't want to take a taste of the food and if the reimbursement does not even cover the cost, it is not worth my time.

As far as healthy options at FF locations, they do exist. I have been eating the lettuce wraps at Jimmy John's. I substitute the mayo for Dijon mustard. And the veggie salad at Subway's is huge. I try to bring my own 3 oz. of turkey or chicken or a hard-boiled egg to add some protein. And of course, I pack my own low-fat salad dressing...only 2 TB.

I could list more options but I don't want to bore you guys.

P.S. No milkshakes for me; I switched to almond milk.

Nope, no healthy choices at Sonic. I used to use these shops as meal stops around other shops if it was convenient, but now that I am eating healthy that isn't an option.
Now I only do them if they are bonused and drive thru.

You're asking about Sonic for HEALTHY options? Well they do have vegetables (French fries, tater tots, ketchup..okay and the salads with all that stuff on it). You do get your serving of dairy (cheeseburger, milk shake).

Ketchup is a vegetable, according to school cafeteria guidelines, right? And wouldn't the high fructose corn syrup count as a vegetable as well?

There are so many around here it is ridiculous. I NEVER take one off the board, yet I did 6 this week. I just can't turn down the big bonuses! Today I did two, and took both the meals to my starving nephew (who just moved out on his own and REALLY appreciated it), then went out to a real lunch with my sister. I just can't stomach eating it anymore! I do love the cherry limeades, though.

Geez! There are NO Sonics on the board in my area, bonus or no! I wish there were some bonus ones here!

S2L, watch out for low fat anything. Lots of those products are loaded with sugar to make up for the missing flavor. It is better to eat a small amount of healthy fat than a bunch of processed sugar. As long as you are carrying dressing with you, it is easy enough to make your own vinaigrette and control the ingredients.

Probably one of the LEAST healthy places out there. But the tater tots are addictive!

I don't think I have eaten at a Sonic in over 10 years. They are just starting to pop up here so I have no idea what their menu is like these days. But no biggie.

As for the low-fat salad dressing, I like variety and I don't have time to be making my own dressings. I barely have time to make my oatmeal in the morning. And fat-free items have more sugar in them than low-fat. I look at it this way...I was drinking a can of Coke a day but I have given that up so 2 TB of low-fat salad dressing is not going to kill me. :-)

Good point. At least you got rid of that high fructose corn syrup. Still, making salad dressing only takes about two minutes

p[lain yogurt (that keeps for weeks if you make it yourself) + powdered garlic, powdered onion, and cracked pepper = ranch, without the MSG. (Most ranch dressings have MSG)

olive oil+ raspberry juice+ vinegar+ a touch of maple syrup= raspberry vinaigrette without the HFCS

No Sonic for you - unless you think that hotdogs are healthy.

Better make sure the syrup you used is either home-made of the type without HFCS!

Your mileage will really vary on this one. Mine already varies all over the place at the same Sonic!

You can't change anything on entrees except to remove cheese from the combo cheeseburger. A side and a drink are required. The fries have been terrible, ok, and good. The drinks are all the usual, no problems. The shakes are good, but the price puts you over the max reimbursement amount.
In fact, I find it hard to eat there and not go over the reimburement amount. The picture requirement is simple and easy to do.
Over all, I suggest you don't these shops unless you really like the food and are will to "get it at a discount." Unless they raise the reimbursement to cover a basic order I will probably stop doing them. Other FF shops are tastier and you can actually make a little bit of money with a meal. (Not much, I admit, but this is not a way to make a living anyway.)
Good luck!

StormCloud Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Better make sure the syrup you used is either
> home-made of the type without HFCS!

Since when would maple syrup have HFCS? It comes from tree sap. I feel sorry for people who think that maple syrup comes from some gal named Aunt Jemima who lives in a Log Cabin. Monsanto might genetically manipulate melons to have a maple-like sap some day, but that is far off. (I hope.)

Good point, but most people just buy syrup in a store now days. Most brands have HFCS... only a couple don't. I usually boil sugar in water, then add maple flavor. A couple times I've bought syrup in the store, though.

Sadly, I've never tasted *real* maple syrup. I'd bet there's a lot of us who haven't!

So, since I honestly don't know, if you don't harvest the sap and make your own *real* maple syrup, can you buy *real* maple syrup?

I have never made it, but any time I visit my folks in Ontario or my inlaws in Wisconsin I make sure to return with a gallon. If you have an Amish store in your area, you might find maple syrup at a decent price. The little bottles at the grocery store or the duty free store might be cute and all, but too pricey for me! While an open container has to be kept in the fridge- and will last that way for a year if it lasts, it freezes well. If you ever did find a gallon or half-gallon you could pour it into pints and freeze most of them.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2014 01:13PM by heartlandcanuck.

Thanks! Good to know about how long it keeps and how to store it, too. I don't think we have Amish stores out here (Oregon)... I wonder if it's even made out here in the first place? Is it available online? (Although I shudder at the shipping!)


And, to keep on-topic, Sonics food... they do have a really, really low reimbursement. Finally a FF shop that allows lots of options (even shakes!) but barely reimburses anything. If you got one with a big bonus (rarely to never happens where I am) at least you could afford to go over a little on the food!

Shop2Live, re: McDs, I still do them and I'm on a diet (I gained a pound last week, but last week was Pesach AND I didn't do any shops, so that's hardly McDonalds' fault). There's actually a super-easy way to do it:


WALK IN FIRST:

--Order Southern Style Chicken
--Get unsweet tea (0 calories)
--Take one bite with the bun on to test total flavor
--Eat two fries, one from the edge of the container and one from the bottom (I can't possibly be the only person who's discovered a heatlamp on the fritz by the difference in fry temp)
--Take off the bun and enjoy your chicken breast with your unsweet tea. Total calories for the entire sandwich is 420--with bun, pickles, and all--and the weight is circa 5.6oz. Cut it in half to make a regular meat portion and you have a meal around 200 calories. Add a vegetable out in your car and you have a regular meal (and frankly, the Southern Style Chicken is delicious and it's whole meat, unlike the Big Mac crap).

DRIVE THRU NEXT:

--Order whatever
--With whatever won't tempt you
--Take single bites to test flavor and temp
--Offer the rest to someone who needs the food. If you can't find a taker, bin it.

It's a terrible shop to do on a regular basis, but if you can get that big fee, that's how to do it without killing your waistline or your new eating commitments.

StormCloud Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks! Good to know about how long it keeps and
> how to store it, too. I don't think we have Amish
> stores out here (Oregon)... I wonder if it's even
> made out here in the first place? Is it available
> online? (Although I shudder at the shipping!)

Try Trader Joe's. Still pricey, but an addictive flavor, in my estimation. A few luxuries in life don't hurt.