Here are some guidelines to help you make the healthier choices when you are planning a takeaway, eating out or even if you are cooking a meal at home.
General tips for eating out:
- Order salad dressings and sauces on the side to control how much or how little you add.
- When ordering pasta dishes, look for tomato-based sauces rather than cream-based sauces. Tomato-based sauces are much lower in fat and calories
- Share a starter or dessert with a friend.
- Soup is a great starter. Most soups are low in calories and will fill you up, so you eat less. Remember cream based soups are higher in calories so choose vegetable, bean or lentil-based soups
- Order steamed vegetables, salad or a baked potato (without butter) as a side dish instead of chips.
- Stop eating when you are full!
- Take half of your meal home - you can eat the rest tomorrow!
- If you want to eat less, order two starters, or a starter and a salad, as your meal.
- If you are craving dessert, opt for something low-fat, like sorbet, fresh berries or fruit.
- Remember all foods can fit into a well balanced diet if eaten in moderation.
What to choose
Indian
- avoid high fat cream or coconut based sauces such as korma and masala
- go for tandoori or tikka sauces as they are less creamy so lower in fat
- have rice or a small naan bread but not both!
- choose steamed basmati rice instead of pilau fried rice.
Burgers
- avoid cheese, mayonnaise and chips as they are high in saturated fat
- go for grilled burgers made from lean meat or fish or veggie burgers.
- ask for extra salad to fill up and boost your vegetable intake.
Chinese
- avoid dishes with the words crispy, fried, battered or satay in their names as these will tend to be higher in calories and saturated fat
- choose boiled rice instead of egg-fried rice
- go for chicken chop suey, szechuan prawns, steamed fish which are all low fat options.
- avoid dishes with the words crispy, fried, battered or satay in their names as these will tend to be higher in calories and saturated fat
Pizza
- don’t ask for extra cheese!
- go for healthy toppings like vegetables, ham, fish and prawns and avoid the unhealthier options like pepperoni or bacon
- choose thin crusts and avoid stuffed crusts and these tend to be very high in calories
