TAKEOUT FOODS - HOW TO KEEP FROM PUTTING ON THE POUNDS

Did you know that the takeout-food rule of thumb is: the average restaurant entrée with sides will contain approximately 1300 calories? Yikes! That’s a lot of calories. So, what should you do?

There are a lot of ways you can keep from putting on the pounds when choosing your takeout meals. Here are a few general strategies to follow:

1.      Choose 1 starch – fries over a burger bun for example – not both. Don’t order rice together with noodles.

2.      Replace red meat with a leaner protein like fish, chicken, beans, or tofu.

3.      Be aware that the sodium will be ridiculously high in a takeout meal, so ask for extra veggies to pump up the potassium which is the sodium antidote.

Below, find calorie-conscious suggestions when ordering takeout at your favorite restaurant.

Mexican Food:

Opt for a la carte. Avoid starchy heavy combo meals or fajita platters

Choose cheese or sour cream – not both. The better choice is neither one. (Each ½ cup adds at least 100 calories and ¼ of a day’s saturated fat.) Guacamole, while high in calories, is better to order than sour cream because it contains healthy fat and not saturated fat.

Salsa or pico de gallo cuts calories and can double as a salad dressing.

Skip the burrito tortilla. Chipotle’s tortilla has 300 calories of mostly white flour and salt.

Order individual fajitas with lean protein and veggies, and use just one tortilla, or try tacos on corn tortillas.

Thai Food:

Order spring rolls instead of egg rolls.

Try Pad Prik King with tofu or chicken instead of Pad Thai, or drunken noodles.

Lift your protein out of the sauce and leave most of it behind! Be aware that creamy curries are swimming in saturated fat from the coconut milk. Instead, try a spicy broth baeng.

Indian Food:

 Avoid cream-based entrees like chicken tikka masala.

Try tandoori, or chan masala, which is made with chickpeas, or dal, which is a stew made with lentils.

Avoid paneer, a high fat cheese; ghee, a clarified butter; and malai, which is cream.

Stay away from samosas, because they are deep fried.

Try raita which is a creamy yogurt meant to cool your palate, and roti, which is a whole wheat alternative to naan bread.

Greek Food:

Scoop the hummus or tzatziki using veggies instead of pita bread, which is mostly white flour.

Great choices to order are chicken, shrimp, or salmon kebobs, or chicken souvlaki.

Avoid fatty beef or lamb gyros.

Chinese Food:

Skip breaded, battered, or deep-fried entrees.

Choose stir-fried options with lots of veggies and leave some of the high sodium sauce behind. You can also transfer your dinner to a plate to cut down on the amount of sauce you’ll eat. Try adding a side of steamed broccoli or snap peas to your order to stretch the sauce.

Each carton of rice contains about 2 cups, so eat ½ the carton.

I hope these tips will help you make healthy choices for your next takeout. You can also keep these tips in mind when dining in, as well.

If you have any questions, or if you don’t see your favorite cuisine on this list, email me with your cuisine request, and I’ll send you weight-saving tips, so you can enjoy your next takeout order without worrying about your waistline. lisa@maineweightlosscoach.com.

Together, we can do this! Lisa