Fast Food

Starting with McDonald’s use of production line techniques to break down and speed up how fast they could make their burgers, fast food has become one of the defining changes in how we consume food in the last century. Now that we can get delicious food delivered to our door without having to move a muscle, the temptation can be enough to become overly reliant on takeaways and fast food. The issue is that as we order more food online or in fast food restaurants our bank accounts and health suffer. With just a little preparation and effort we can replicate our favourite fast foods from the jollibee menu at home (although acceptable for those lazy days!).

Fried chicken

Fried chicken is the definition of delicious food that will do nothing but bad things to your body after eating it. The traditional batter is added to the chicken and then deep fried to give it that delicious crispy outer coating. There is a far healthier way to do this though – simply take a combination of almost flour, spices like paprika, salt and pepper and then coat the chicken with an egg wash and cover with your flour and spice mix. The next trick is to bake your chicken rather then deep fry it. Take a spray bottle and lightly coat the chicken with a few sprays of oil and then add to the oven to get a nice crust that doesn’t rely on completely submerging the chicken in fat.

Fish and chips

If you live in or have ever visited the UK, you’ll know that fish and chips is the takeaway meal of choice. Similar to fried chicken though the fish is deep fat fried to give a nice crunchy batter, and the chips follow the same cooking process. This is clearly bad for our hearts, but there is a healthier option we can choose when cooking from home. Take a similar almond flour base to the fried chicken but add in pepper, salt and lemon to compliment the fish flavours. Then rather than deep fat frying, try frying in the pan with minimal oil. For the chips, cut up your potatoes and then dust with seasoning and spray lightly with olive oil. Cook them in the oven until brown and crispy. If you want to make this even healthier try using sweet potatoes for their high nutrient density compared to regular potatoes.

Indian curry

For some a curry from the local Indian is the ultimate takeaway of choice. These often contain lots of fat and sugar, which makes them taste great but isn’t so great for your waistline. Try to make a curry yourself but rely on spices rather than fats to bring out your flavours. You can also use vegetables as the base of your curry rather then just meat and rice. This will help contribute to the overall flavour but will also add some much-needed nutrients to the meal.