13 Tips on How to Buy Takeout Food That Is Good for You
Once when you cook your own meals, you can be sure that your diet is healthy and balanced. But sometimes, we have too much stuff to do, so many people to meet, that we don’t have an extra hour to spend in the kitchen. So, we have to rely on takeout food.
We at CHEERY have made a compilation of 13 tips that will help you choose healthy food even when you buy takeout.
1. Choose pizza over pasta.
When you are choosing between pasta and pizza, the latter is usually the best choice. The thing is, most restaurants cook a lot of pasta, and it’s hard to know how much you’ve eaten exactly. And when eating pizza, you eat it in slices and after each slice, you have a chance to stop and ask yourself whether you can handle another one. If pasta is your only option, ask if they can substitute whole wheat pasta for the usual pasta.
2. Choose thin-crust pizza.
Opt for whole-wheat pizza crust. If that’s not an option, choose thin-crust pizza — even though it’s made from refined flour, a thinner crust will lighten the calorie load.
3. Choose tomato sauce.
If you have to eat pasta, instead of carbonara, Alfredo or other cream sauce meals, pick pasta with tomato sauce. Marinara is a great choice since it contains a lot of garlic, onion, and spices. Other types of sauce may contain olives and capers.
Another option is pasta Aglio e Olio. It’s made from olive oil, garlic, and hot pepper. It packs a powerful flavor punch without overdoing it in terms of fat and calories.
4. Find out how the meal is cooked.
When choosing a meal, find out how it’s cooked. It’s better not to eat fried and deep-fried food. Instead, choose baked, stewed, steamed, or grilled food.
For example, you can order grilled chicken satay instead of deep-fried chicken wings. Or baked potatoes instead of French fries.
5. Read the composition on the website.
Before ordering food, carefully read the menu and check the information about nutritional value. Some cafés and restaurants describe the composition and the number of calories.
Even if there’s no such information, you can still find out how they are cooked and what ingredients were used. Dishes labeled deep-fried, pan-fried, basted, batter-dipped, breaded, creamy, crispy, scalloped, or au gratin are usually not very healthy.
6. Leave comments for the order.
Don’t be shy to leave a comment, asking to replace something in the order or cook the meal in a different way. Most restaurants will be happy to satisfy you and get a regular client. So, if a meal you want is usually fried or deep-fried, ask them to bake or grill it. The same goes for sauces, side dishes, and other ingredients.
7. Watch how much you eat.
When you buy takeout food, it’s hard to get as much food as you really need. So, if you got too much, split it into 2 parts. Eat one of the halves now, and leave the other one for later. Another option: share your food with someone. You won’t eat too much and save money.
Also, if you can, choose smaller sizes of such meals as burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas. You can find smaller sizes in kids’ menus.
8. Take salsa instead of ketchup.
Salsa can be used instead of ketchup or other sauces with lots of sodium. Salsa has natural spices in it instead of sodium.
9. Choose summer rolls over spring rolls.
Spring rolls seem like a healthy snack because they contain vegetables. But because they are deep-fried, they contain a lot of fat and calories. Summer rolls are healthier because they are steamed, and are packed with veggies and lean protein.
10. Buy brown rice instead of white.
If you are buying a meal with rice, ask the restaurant to replace white rice for brown. Brown rice offers more fiber and micronutrients than the white version, making it a better option.
The same works for noodle-heavy dishes. Choose noodles made from brown rice. Some restaurants are now even starting to offer shirataki noodles instead of white rice noodles.
11. Eat soup.
If you like soups, choosing a healthy meal for you is an easy task. Broth-based vegetable soups instead of cream-based soups are healthier options, with less fat and more healthy ingredients.
12. Be careful with rolls.
Buy tuna or California rolls. In tuna rolls, more than half of the calories come from protein. Besides, tuna is a prime source of docosahexaenoic acid, a type of omega-3 fat. And California packs just 300 calories for eight pieces and carries a dose of healthy fat from the avocado.
13. Watch the amount of protein and vegetables.
Takeout meals often look like huge sources of fat and carbs. So, it’s important to make sure the food contains enough protein and vegetables. You can use the plate method: fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables, one-quarter with lean protein, and the rest with carbohydrates.
Here are some more ways to add vegetables to your meal:
What are your usual takeout and delivery choices?