Eat Your Heart Out...Or Your Head?

Good afternoon and welcome back to this afternoon's blog. I am sure we can all take comfort in the fact that vaccinations are hitting record numbers and deaths and hospitalisations are dropping at a steady rate. Although there is talk about a third spike happening in Europe, we are still on track to follow the roadmap set out by the Government. While all the chaos of coronavirus has been going on, the one thing that has seen a massive increase has been comfort eating, often through the means of a takeaway. While they might be convenient, cheap and tasty, are we really ordering the most healthy menu options or do we go for what we like or the biggest items? It got me thinking when I ordered a pizza last week and I noticed the new vegan range on the menu - can we still enjoy our favourite take outs while maintaining a diet at the same time. In this article, I look at my four favourite takeaway options: Chinese, Domino's, Indian and Kebab, and assess the different options that we can indulge ourselves in.

Let's first head down to China Town (if you have never visited this place it is a must). All the delicious rice and noodles, chicken and beef and duck cooked in all sauces from black bean to plum and orange. And how could I possibly not mention those crispy duck pancakes for starters (maybe this wasn't the best blog to do as I am now extremely hungry for food). But what is the healthiest Chinese option? Well, first of all, stick to noodles instead or rice or chow mein. Stick to dishes that are not cooked in loads of sauce and keep down the seafood option if you can. A dish like stir fry king prawns with Singapore rice noodles is an excellent option if you require a healthy but tasty meal. My two personal favourites - Sweet and Sour Chicken and duck in plum sauce are among the more unhealthy options, especially as I tend to lean towards rice as well.

Domino's. Everyone's favourite pizza chain (anyone who argues with this...just get out...I can't handle this right now). I mentioned the new vegan range which comes in at a cheaper price for one, and they claim a massive decrease in calories compared to a normal pizza. In fact, the margarita and veggie supreme options contain less than 170 calories. But if you do not like the vegan options, what can you do to reduce the calories and the unhealthiness (I take full credit for adding this word to the English dictionary). Well, for starters, drop down a size to a small or a medium. Why, well, it's obvious isn't it? The low fat cheese option is also a path you could go down, or swapping an ingredient such as pepperoni for green peppers. And avoid the sides and desserts. As nice as the garlic bread is and the chocolate orange cookies, these simply add on to an already high calorie meal.

Now who doesn't live for a good curry from time to time. Essentially, most Indian food is the same; either chicken, lamb or prawns in a sauce cooked with spices. However, as creamy and delicious as these sauces might be, they are what makes Indian statistically the highest calorie takeaway option. Although it is not just the sauces that make it unhealthy. The options to accompany a curry are rice, naan bread, bhajis - none of these are healthy as they are fried. I suppose if you are still really craving a curry (and to be honest I am at this point), then your best option is a sizzling tandoori dish as these are grilled. Switch out your naan bread for a chapati and if you have to have rice, at least choose one with peas in it (I realise this doesn't really change it but it makes me feel better).

Let's now move on to what I ate over the weekend - kebab (don't judge me but I feel kebab to be the best option when I'm hungry).Doner meat (both lamb and chicken), chips and anything fried is loaded with excess calories and grease, however, this is what provides the flavour that everyone loves to eat. Chicken shish, lamb shish and kofte kebabs are cooked on the grill - kofte is the best option here because it comes with onions and peppers as well. Burgers from kebab houses are also a good option because they too are cooked on the grill. If you have cheese, add salad as well to counter the cheese calorie count. A lot is made over whether or not you should add sauce with your order; I have chilli sauce with pretty much everything from a kebab shop so I might not be the best person to tell you not to. The bottom line is a small shish kebab with lots of salad and no sauce - you should not feel too guilty about this.

So when it comes to ordering takeaways, you always have a choice. Not just where you order from, but also what you order from there. You can order healthy options or unhealthy options - whatever tickles your fancy. Just remember that the choice is yours - you can only blame yourself for bad eating.

Connor

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