The Best And Worst Takeaway Meals

Going out and don't want to blow your new healthier you? Well, you can still eat your favourite takeaway foods and not ruin your progress. You just need to know which dishes to order, and which ones to steer clear of.

Here are the best and worst options of your favourite restaurants.

The best

Steamed whole fish — it's low in sodium and high in protein and omega 3's.

Stir fry — with prawns, chicken or beef with veggies, tastes delicious. 

Tip: Need an entrée? Go for steamed dumplings. Just make sure you only have one or two, don't go crazy!

The worst

Chicken chow mein — you might think it's healthy but on closer inspection the noodles are deep fried.

Honey chicken — it's deep fried and full of fat.

Prawn crackers — they're a killer, full of unwanted calories and who can stop at one prawn cracker?

Tip: If you're dining in, do yourself and your belly a favour and ask the waiter to take the prawn crackers away from the table — out of sight, out of mind.

The best

Thai beef salad — a great healthy option!

Chicken satay sticks — Entrée anyone? These are a great choice, just make sure they are grilled not fried and try not to pack on the satay sauce.

Tip: try to avoid the rice if possible or only have a small serve as this adds a lot of calories to your meal.

The worst

Pad Thai and fish cakes — both full of fat, calories and sodium.

Spring rolls and curry puffs — these entrees should also be avoided as they're high in calories and low in nutrition.

The best

Japanese is a great takeaway choice as it has plenty of healthy options. There's also lots of fun to be had if you go to a teppanyaki bar!

Sashimi — great low-fat option as well as it is high in omega 3.

Teppanyaki — with plenty of grilled meats and vegetables to choose from, it tastes delicious and is very filling.

The worst

Anything with tempura is not great. Once it's deep fried most of the nutrients are gone and replaced with unwanted fat and calories.

The best

Italian is a tricky one as it's really easy to think you're having a low-calorie meal only to discover you are not.

Penne napolitana with chicken and mushrooms — a great choice, just make sure you don't have too large a serve and try to avoid the cheese on top.

Chicken breast or veal with salad or veggies — another great option.

Thin pizza topped with chicken breast and lots of veggies — feel like a pizza? Try to avoid the processed meats like pepperoni and salami as they can quite easily go from healthy to bad if you eat too many slices. So limit yourself to one or two slices and have a salad on the side!

The worst

Creamy pastas (such as carbonara with bacon) — these have over two-thirds of your daily food intake in one meal.

Schnitzels — they're deep fried and full of unwanted calories.

Sauces — be careful of sauces that come with most dishes as they can be full of fat and salt and add unwanted calories very easily to your meal.

The best

So you've been good all evening and now comes out the dessert list!

Fresh fruit with a scoop of ice-cream — great choice.

Gelato — can be great, just check it's not high in sugar!

Cup of tea with some dark chocolate — maybe a more boring choice and not always available, but it's a great healthy option.

A scoop of ice-cream — one scoop is not going to kill you. Just make sure you don't have three scoops with topping and nuts!

The worst

Deep fried ice-cream — deep fried anything is not great for your health.

Cakes (such as cheesecake and chocolate mud cake) — contain as many calories as your whole daily allowance in one dessert. It would take about eight hours to run this off!

Cheese plate — full of fat and empty calories, a few crackers and cheese at the end of the meal can very quickly blow out your healthy evening.

Tip: When asked would you like to see the dessert menu, just say no.

It really is possible to enjoy the goods things in life and you don't have to sacrifice everything. You can have as much fun and enjoy all your favourite restaurants, it's just about making better food choices.