Although convenient, and a blessing in a not-so-thinly veiled disguise when you're hungover, takeaways are often high in salt, saturated fat and calories (boo).
Obviously when you're feeling like shit, the last thing you want to worry about is whether the mountains of food you plan to consume are actually any good for you because of course, with most takeaways, they're absolutely not.
But, by a few simple changes to your meal you can still enjoy takeaways - honest. The below are various ways in which you can do this.
Pizza
Cheesy, delicious and normally the number one go to takeaway for people suffering the day after the night before, probably due to the fact that you don't even need cutlery to eat it. Here's how to make your pizza slightly better for you.
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’It’s all about the base’. Go for thin bases rather than deep pan and on a large pizza you can save around 100 calories a slice.
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Avoid stuffed crusts - yes even the ones that are full of little hot dogs. They are full of sugar and fat.
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Go for the veggie option. They can have 140 calories for a large slice compared to a meaty 250 calories.
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If veggie's not an option, choose chicken/ham or seafood (not pepperoni) as this will reduce the fat content.
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Avoid BBQ sauce. This delicious but evil mistress adds 6-10g of sugar per slice (1-2 teaspoons of the white stuff).
Curry
Jolly good for doubling down on the heavy food to soak up that last bit of hangover on a Sunday evening. Our favourite curry is apparently a chicken tikka masala. Although the amount of people that refuse to waver from kormas is amazing.
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Don’t double on carbs; you don’t need to have popadoms AND rice AND naan bread. Instead choose one or share half a portion of naan and rice with a friend.
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Avoid creamy dishes or ones with added nuts like korma, masala and pasandra. Instead, opt for a tikka, tandoori or bhuna dish and save around 300 calories immediately.
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Buy your own Weight Watchers naan (which can be kept in the freezer). This again saves around 100 calories.
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Go for boiled rice not fried. Alternatively, cook your own brown rice to save on cash and up the health game.
Kebab
The gourmet of choice for proud rider of the nightbus home after a heavy night of partying. Unless you're more into fried chicken or cheesy chips. Kebabs can actually be OK-ish for you though...
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Don’t have it as a snack - it's a full meal in one.
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Opt for chicken. As with the pizza above, chicken is a leaner meat and saves on fat content.
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Ask if they do a smaller version than the one advertised. A large is around 1000 calories which, when you're just going to go home and get into bed, is a lot.
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Ask for extra salad to get more vitamins and fill you up
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It might be delicious but avoid the sauce; again, it's packed full of fat and sugar!
Asian Food
Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese... all excellent and delicious. And slightly cheaper than curries.
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Avoid anything with the following words in it’s title; tempura (fat), fried (fat), sweet (sugar), crispy (fat) and satay (fried). 1 tablespoon of oil is equal to 100 calories
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If you do want a starter, look no further than a Miso soup which is ultimately better for you than spring rolls which are fried.
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Again, don’t double on carbs by avoiding side dishes like prawn crackers and prawn toast (300 calories) - both of which are fried in oil.
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Go for the fish, vegetable or chicken dishes rather than the beef and duck dishes.
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Some healthy options to choose from? Chop suey, steamed chow mien, tom yum soup or half a portion of pad-thai.
Like this? Then you might also be interested in:
How To Be Dairy Free Whether You’re Allergic Or Just Fancy A Break From The Cow
Here’s Your Next Healthy Under-A-Fiver Lunch To Make For This Week
Mukbang: South Korea Takes Instagramming Your Meal To Another Level
Follow Kirsten on Twitter @Food_Treatment or over on her website .
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.