In our recent Healthy Mummy survey, we found out that 71% of mums order take away at least once a week.
Not only does this habit potentially compromise your healthy eating plan, it also quickly adds up to about $50 for the meal by the time you get something to suit everybody’s tastes.
When you are trying to lose weight, handing over control of your meal to someone else can be a little risky. Compared to home cooking, take away tends to go heavy on things like oil, butter, cheese, processed meats, salt and sugar.
The good news is we have stacks of healthy options for making your own take away favourites at home instead.
Many of these are pulled from our 28 Day Challenge, where you get recipes for all of your meals and snacks for a month provided so there is no guesswork involved.
Thai
Thai is actually fairly quick and easy to prepare, as it tends to focus on fast stir fries or noodles. Most kids will happily tuck into a Pad Thai or some Chicken Noodles (pictured at the top of the page) – or you could try your hand at our tasty Thai Beef Salad. For a healthy appetiser you could give these Thai Fish Cakes or some Chicken Satay Skewers a go, or these Thai Style Sausage Rolls are kid-friendly and delicious.
Italian
Many of us head straight for the pizza menu when it comes to take away, but it is honestly such a great meal to make at home. Whether you make your own 2 Ingredient Pizza Dough or just use English Muffins or Lebanese bread as the base, you can make your pizza healthy by using fresh, high quality ingredients. If it’s pasta you prefer, give this meat-free Spinach, Mushroom & Ricotta Cannelloni a go. Or we even have a great recipe for a healthy Chicken Parmigiana.
Mexican
Mexican is great for feeding a crowd on a budget, and you can easily bulk it out with extra kidney beans or lentils if you have more mouths to feed. Serve up some simple Quesadillas using pantry staples, or go for the classic Healthy Nachos with all of the trimmings. Our Stuffed Mexican Sweet Potatoes are great for hungry bellies. Or for something really different, try out our Mexican Style Lasagne which uses tortilla wraps instead of pasta.
Indian
A curry served with rice can be very budget friendly for a family meal – our Lamb Curry is a great option, or this Chicken Tikka. Looking for a vegetarian option? This Cauliflower Curry is delicious too.
Healthy Mummy Tip: if you love brown rice but don’t have half an hour to cook it, try cooking it in bulk and freezing in single or family sized portions. Then just defrost in the microwave and reheat until steaming hot.
Fish and Chip Shop
When it comes to fast food, most things from the chip shop tend to be deep fried and not so healthy. But with just a little preparation you can make your own homemade version that is packed with flavour. Try these kid friendly Fish Fingers or these simple Chicken Nuggets which you can serve with Sweet Potato Fries. For the grown ups, a healthy burger can really hit the spot.
*Statistics taken from a survey of 1,950 mums from our Healthy Mummy Community.
Every month on the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge, we run a BRAND NEW 28 Day Menu with a different theme so you NEVER get bored!
Next months theme is the WINTER! – Perfect for the chilly weather, SUPER easy to whip up and still just as healthy.
If you are curious about the 28 Day Challenge recipes then we have a 28 Day Challenge recipe pack for you to try HERE.
Find a delicious range of healthy recipes, packed full of energy boosting ingredients and nutrients together with easy to achieve exercise.