Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
placeholder article
placeholder article

How To Make Your Takeaway Healthy

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
Charlotte Warner Student Contributor, University of Exeter
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
Exeter Contributor Student Contributor, University of Exeter
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Exeter chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

There’s nothing students love more than takeaways; who doesn’t love a meal that gets delivered to your door? However, if you’re trying to keep fit and healthy this New Year, you may be thinking you have to eliminate the takeaways this year…But this doesn’t have to be the case. Yes, takeaways are never going to be 100% healthy, but there are ways that you can alter your takeaway in order to make it a little less naughty. 

Avoid:

  • Fatty meats such as duck and lamb
  • Ordering extra noodles and rice – when was the last time you finished ALL the rice/noodles you ordered? 
  • Deep fried/battered dishes
  • Stuffed crusts and ordering extra cheese on your pizza
  • Extra sauces
  • Anything marked as ‘crispy’

Choose:

  • Share extra dishes such as rice, noodles or chips, rather than getting a whole portion for yourself
  • Steamed or boiled noodles rather than fried
  • Chicken and fish dishes
  • Pick the meat out of the dish rather than pouring the whole thing out of your plate – this will stop you eating so much of the fatty sauce
  • Order vegetable dishes 

Substitutes:

  • Fish and chips:
    • Substitute thin cut chips with thicker cut chips without salt
    • Substitute extras for mushy peas
  • Italian
    • Choose lower fat toppings such as vegetables, pineapple, ham, fish and chicken, rather than pepperoni, extra cheese and duck.
    • Substitute garlic bread for bruschetta which has no butter and is topped with tasty tomatoes and herbs
    • Swap large deep pan pizzas for smaller, thin based pizzas
  • Chinese
    • Swap fatty battered and fried dishes such as spring rolls and prawn crackers for steamed dishes and stir fries
    • Swap rice or noodles for leafy vegetables
    • Stick to clear soups, salads and stir fries
  • Indian
    • Swap creamy sauces with tomato-based sauces such as tandoori and madras

 Picture credits: www.pinterest.com

Charlotte is a Psychology student just finishing her fresher year and is also the deputy editor of health and fitness for Her Campus Exeter. She loves lunching and going out with her friends, and if it's a Monday or a Thursday you'll always find her in mosaic! In her spare time she loves keeping fit in the gym or running by the quay on a sunny day.