Eating out is more common for a lot of people than eating at home, so when choosing take-away what are the best options to choose to reduce the impact to your waistline? Here are some easy swaps to be able to enjoy eating your favourite styles of food:
Italian:
Instead of the heavily creamed sauced pastas and dishes try swapping a dish with a tomato sauce base. This is will be lower in calories and saturated fat, a type of fat which increases the ‘bad’ cholesterol in your body.
Pizza:
Try swapping the thick crust or stuffed crust pizza for the thin based. When selecting toppings choosing more vegetables will increase the nutrients you will be putting in your body. If you need to have meet on the pizza try swapping the processed meats like salami with chicken breast or prawns.
Serving size is also key. Try sharing a pizza between more people if you know the size of the pizza is going to be large, ordering a smaller serve OR remember the good old doggy bag! Pizza can taste even better the next day in my opinion.
Indian:
The naan, ghee and butter chicken curries have huge amounts of energy per serve so try swapping these for the tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala or a vegetable based curry or roti bread.
Burgers:
Try swapping the traditional white roll for a wholemeal or multigrain option, the extra fibre will help you stay fuller after the meal and prevent reaching for another burger.
When selecting the meat, if possible try for the leaner option such as a chicken breast or even a vegetarian choice like a lentil patty.
Try saying no to the extras like added bacon or extra sauces. The sauces do not take up much space but can add sneaky calories which do not fill you up much at all! Bacon is classified as a ‘sometimes food’ and not even classified as a meat in the Eat for Health Australian Guidelines. Bacon is not only adding more energy to the food but is high in salt and saturated fat which causes havoc to your cholesterol and blood pressure.
If possible, select a smaller size burger. Smaller size ultimately means less calories and you are still able to enjoy the flavours of the burger without going overboard.
Thai:
Coconut milk is a topping for many dishes in Thai cuisine but is a form of saturated fat which, as a fat means lots of energy for amount you eat as well as increasing you ‘bad’ cholesterol. Try swapping these types of dishes for Thai noodle or salad dishes and selecting dishes with more vegetable content like stir fry.
Japanese:
Tempura vegetables may have the word vegetables in it but it is ultimately fried food which is a BIG no no for extra calories and health. Try selecting dishes like sashimi, sushi, miso soup or noodle soups, edamame and steamed vegetables are great options. Be careful of the serving size and if you do feel like you need more, try ordering an extra serving of vegetables instead of extra rice.
Chinese:
Try to stay away from anything which has fried in the heading or dishes like honey chicken, sweet and sour pork, prawn crackers or toast The stir fry chicken and cashew, black bean and beef and steamed vegetables are great ‘go to dishes’.
A tip to reduce the calories in all these cuisines:
- Serving size! Try choosing the smallest serving size or sharing a dish with a few people, if you are still hungry order more of the vegetable options.
The bottom line: You can still enjoy eating out and eating your favourite styles of food. It is an important part of having a healthy relationship with food to enjoy the social experience which comes with eating out and by using these easy tips you can still look after your health and not take in too many extra calories on top of the whole experience.
