How to Eat Healthy Even if You Don’t Cook
Photo credit:Pizza at the sprints by Richard Jones/flickr
Everyone understands the importance of eating healthy these days, but it’s hard to do if you’re short on time or if you simply don’t like to cook. Restaurant meals are notoriously unhealthy. However, a recent study by Technomic, a food industry consulting and research firm, found that 57 percent of all Americans eat take-out food at least once a week. If you aren’t going to be doing your own cooking, you need to know how to make healthy choices in take-out or delivery meals.
Check the Nutritional Information
Sometimes healthy-sounding dishes aren’t really so healthy. Salads are notoriously tricky in this way. While raw veggies are low in fat and calories, salads from restaurants are often topped with cheese, nuts, croutons, and dressings high in fat to make them extra tasty. When trying to make healthy choices, don’t rely on the name of a dish, description of a dish, or a photograph of the dish. Look up the nutritional information online or ask a restaurant employee before you order.
Make Healthy Requests
Most restaurants will accommodate simple requests that can make meals healthier. For instance, you can request a low fat salad dressing, request light cheese or even no cheese on pizza, ask for brown rice instead of fried rice with a Chinese meal, and request any sauces high in fat or calories to be served on the side. If a sandwich typically comes with fries, ask if you can substitute a vegetable, baked potato, or other healthy side. If your family’s favorite delivery joint doesn’t offer many healthy options, stop by one day and have a chat with the manager. If customers ask for more healthy options, they just might add something to the menu!
Pay Attention to Portion Size
Many restaurants serve huge portions these days. Even the healthiest meal will give you too many calories if you eat two or three portions of everything. If you order a large meal, divide the food in half, put half of it away to eat tomorrow, and enjoy a reasonably-sized dinner.
Healthy Delivery Options
Pizza might be the most popular delivery option, but most people don’t consider it health food. However, a thin crust pizza with light cheese, no fatty meats, and extra veggies is actually pretty good for you. Many pizzerias also offer salads. Chinese is another delivery option that can be healthy. Ask for no MSG, skip the eggrolls, and order chicken or shrimp with plenty of veggies.
Add Finishing Touches at Home
You can add finishing touches to your take-out or delivery meals at home. Keep your own fat free salad dressing in the fridge to add to take-out salads. Keep some ready-to-eat salad in the fridge to serve alongside a slice of delivered pizza or some frozen fruit to enjoy for dessert instead of the cinnamon sticks with icing sold by many pizzerias. Order your favorite sandwich without the fries and serve some cottage cheese or unsweetened applesauce on the side instead; if you don’t enjoy grocery shopping frequently, applesauce keeps for a long time so it’s a good addition to keep on hand.
Many people don’t have the time or inclination to whip up large and extremely healthy meals for their families, but that doesn’t mean that you should just ignore nutrition altogether. Making smart decisions about the meals you purchase can help you be healthier even if you don’t make the meal yourself.
author bio
Renee Varney is a freelance blogger and occasionally writes for delivery.com a site she often uses to find new places to order for delivery from. They have tons of listings from Washington DC Food Delivery to Food Delivery NYC Order.