With the festive season on our doorstep, you are faced with the risk to gain all the weight you have worked hard to loose the past year. It may be unrealistic to try to loose weight during this time, but your aim should definitely be to maintain your current weight and not gain any kilos before the new year.
Here are a few tips for eating at restaurants or when buying take away food:
Order a no calorie drink. The best choice is water. Tea or coffee without sugar or an artificially sweetened drink are also low calorie choices.
Avoid “Banting” menu items – these are usually high in unhealthy fats.
Choose a dish that consist of one hand size portion protein, one fist size (or smaller) starch and two fists size salad or vegetables. An all protein dish like ribs or chicken wings are not a balanced meal. the same goes for a combination meal with two types of meat, e.g. steak and calamari.
A Wrap or a regular burger is usually a good choice.
Order a salad instead of the chips and onions rings.
Ask for your food to be grilled, not fried.
When ordering a pizza, order a small size with a large garden salad.
Ask for a thin base pizza and less cheese.
Choose vegetable and fruit based toppings, e.g. mushrooms, peppers, pineapple, banana, etc.
Choose small, kiddies, ladies or single portions rather than large, extra large or king size portions.
A good dessert choice is a cup of coffee, small bowl of fresh fruit salad or a plain ice cream.
To assist you with your choices, we have chosen some of the best options at a few take away restaurants in South Africa.
What to order at Nando’s:
Chicken strips and rice with roast vegetables
Energy 2468 kJ
Protein 38g
Carbs 66 g
Fat 17 g
Nando’s chicken pita
Energy 2210 kJ
Protein 38 g
Carbs 50 g
Fat 20 g
¼ chicken with corn on the cob, regular roast vegetables and portuguese salad
Energy 2237 kJ
Protein 38 g
Carbs 22 g
Fat 31 g
What to order at KFC:
Colonel burger
Energy 2047 kJ
Protein 34 g
Carbs 51 g
Fat 15.6 g
Grilled Hawaiin Twister with a green salad
Energy 2429 kJ
Protein 36 g
Carbs 60 g
Fat 21 g
2 Pieces chicken with a regular mash & gravy and a green salad
Energy 2654 kJ
Protein 36 g
Carbs 32 g
Fat 34 g
What to order at Spur:
Original Spur burger with garden salad
Energie 2246 kJ
Proteïne 47 g
Koolhidrate 32 g
Vet 24 g
Chicken wrap
Energy 2358 kJ
Protein 56 g
Carbs 44 g
Fat 14 g
Rump steak with two hot vegetables
Energy 2298 kJ
Protein 51 g
Carbs 13
Fat 33 g
What to order at Wimpy:
Chicken mayo wrap with kiddies fruit juice
Energy 2226 kJ
Protein 28 g
Carbs 56 g
Fat 20 g
Wimpy burger with french salad (no dressing)
Energy 2044 kJ
Protein 28 g
Carbs 43 g
Fat 20 g
Calamari salad and kiddies fruit juice
Energy 2229 kJ
Protein 33 g
Carbs 48 g
Fat 22 g
What to order at Ocean Basket:
Grilled sole with half a portion rice and a kiddies size fruit juice
Energy 2680 kJ
Protein 37g
Carbs 58 g
Fat 26 g
Grilled calamari with a full portion rice and a french salad (no feta, olives or salad dressing)
Energy 2658 kJ
Protein 39 g
Carbs 59 g
Fat 25 g
What to order at Steers:
Chicken, avo and mayo Hero roll with a green salad
Energy 1968 kJ
Protein 30 g
Carbs 47 g
Fat 18 g
King Steer Burger Chicken with a green salad
Energy 2231 kJ
Protein 51 g
Carbs 36 g
Fat 21 g
¼ chicken with a small portion chips and a green salad
Energie 2345 kJ
Proteïne 45 g
Koolhidrate 28 g
Vet 30 g
What to order at McDonalds:
Grand Chicken Ranch Burger with a green salad
Energy 2248 kJ
Protein 27 g
Carbs 54 g
Fat 21 g
10 Chicken nuggets with a small corn and green salad
Energy 2317 kJ
Protein 31 g
Carbs 53 g
Fat 23 g
Grilled chicken foldover
Energy 2292 kJ
Protein 25 g
Carbs 46 g
Fat 29 g
What to order at Debonairs:
Regina pizza, original base, standard size
Energy 2153 kJ
Protein 31 g
Carbs 59 g
Fat 19 g
Something Meaty Sub, real deal size
Energy 2156 kJ
Protein 28 g
Carbs 49 g
Fat 24 g
Tikka chicken pizza, original base, real deal size
Energy 1834 kJ
Proteïin 26 g
Carbs 54 g
Fat 14 g
What to order at Romans Pizza
Supreme pizza, small, traditional base
Energy 2455 kJ
Protein 36 g
Carbs 61 g
Fat 22 g
BBQ Chicken Supreme pizza, small, traditional base
Energy 2335 kJ
Protein 38 g
Carbs 51 g
Fat 23 g
Beef lasagne with house salad
Energy 2249 kJ
Protein 34 g
Carbs 34 g
Fat 30 g
The full nutritional information can be viewed on the website of each take away restaurant.