Takeaway tonight? Pick the dish, not the deal.
Delivery apps are built to sell you the side, the dip, the dessert and the free drink above the minimum order. Here's what to order from every kind of menu, what to skip, and how to halve the damage.
The short version
- Best
- Grilled, steamed or tandoori protein with vegetables: tikka, kebab plates, steamed fish, sashimi, stir-fried greens with tofu or chicken.
- OK
- A tomato-based curry with a small rice, pho, a thin-crust pizza shared and served with salad.
- Never
- Battered and deep-fried dishes, creamy curries with naan and rice, sweet-and-sour, garlic bread, soft drinks, the dessert add-on.
- When
- Once a week at most, ordered early enough to eat inside your eating window.
- Our take
- Order for one, plate half, fridge the rest. Tomorrow's lunch is sorted.
The one rule: plate half before you start
Takeaway portions are big, and we eat what's in front of us. A Cochrane review pooling 58 studies found moderate-quality evidence that people eat more when they're given bigger portions, packages or plates.1 So don't eat out of the box. Put half on a plate, put the other half in the fridge, then start. It's not willpower, it's logistics.
How big is big? Researchers checked more than 13,000 main meals from 27 UK restaurant chains. The average main was 977 kcal. Only 9% stayed at or below the 600 kcal that public health guidance suggests for a main meal, and almost half came in at 1,000 kcal or more.2 That's before the side, the dip and the drink.
What regular takeaway does to your body
It adds up
In a Cambridgeshire study of more than 5,000 working adults, the people with the most takeaway outlets around their home, workplace and commute ate more takeaway food, had a higher BMI and were about 1.8 times as likely to be obese as those with the fewest.3 It's a cross-sectional study, so it shows a link, not proof. But it matches what a review of takeaway food found: it tends to be energy-dense and high in fat and saturated fat. The same review was honest that direct evidence on health effects is still limited.4
Ultra-processed means you eat more
When 20 adults in a US research clinic could eat as much as they liked, they ate about 500 kcal a day more on ultra-processed meals than on unprocessed ones, and gained weight within two weeks.5 Small trial, very controlled. Much of what comes in a delivery bag (sauces, breaded meat, white bread, sweet drinks) sits on the ultra-processed side.
Salt and sauce
The WHO limit is under 5 g of salt a day; the world average is about 11 g, much of it from processed food and sauces like soy and fish sauce.6 In Singapore, nine in ten residents eat more sodium than recommended, and meals eaten out are one of the main reasons.7 Takeaway sauces are where the salt hides.
The fryer, again
Across 17 observational studies, people eating the most fried food had about 28% more major heart events than those eating the least.8 The studies vary a lot, so it's a warning sign, not a final word. Battered, crispy and deep-fried are the words to scroll past.
Cuisine by cuisine
| Cuisine | Order | Skip |
|---|---|---|
| Indian | Tandoori or tikka (not masala), dal, chana, saag, raita, kachumber salad | Korma, butter chicken, pakora, samosa, naan plus rice together |
| Chinese | Steamed fish, stir-fried vegetables with chicken, tofu or prawns, clear soups | Sweet-and-sour, crispy duck, spring rolls, prawn crackers, fried rice |
| Thai | Larb, som tam, tom yum, a curry with lots of vegetables and a small rice | Pad thai, fried spring rolls, coconut-heavy curries with a big rice |
| Japanese and Korean | Sashimi, edamame, miso soup, nigiri, grilled fish, bibimbap with half the rice | Tempura, katsu, crunchy rolls with mayo, Korean fried chicken |
| Vietnamese | Pho, fresh summer rolls, grilled meat salads | Fried spring rolls, banh mi with extra pâté and mayo |
| Italian | Thin-crust pizza with vegetables, shared with a salad; grilled fish; minestrone | Stuffed crust, garlic bread, creamy pasta, lasagne, tiramisu add-on |
| Turkish and Middle Eastern | Kebab plate, shish, kofte, salads, hummus, grilled halloumi | Döner box with fries, börek, baklava, extra bread |
| Burgers | Single burger, grilled chicken, side salad | Fries, loaded fries, shakes, double patties, dip pots |
Rule of thumb on every menu: grilled, steamed, baked, tandoori and "salad" are green. Battered, crispy, creamy, stuffed and "loaded" are red.
The four-week step-down
- Week 1: delete the extras. No drink, no dessert, no garlic bread to reach the minimum order. If you need to hit the minimum, add a salad or a vegetable side.
- Week 2: switch the cooking method. Same restaurant, but tandoori instead of korma, steamed instead of fried, shish instead of döner box.
- Week 3: halve it. Plate half, fridge half. Add a bag of frozen vegetables or a quick salad at home to fill the plate.
- Week 4: drop a night. One delivery a week, ideally on Rebel Day. The other night becomes a 15-minute stir-fry at home.
"MSG is what makes Chinese takeaway unhealthy." A systematic review found no consistent link between MSG eaten with food and headaches, and called for better-blinded studies.9 The real problems are the batter, the sugar in the sauces, the salt in the soy and the size of the box. Blame the fryer, not the seasoning.
"Sushi and poke are diet food." Fish, yes. But sushi rice is seasoned with sugar and vinegar, crunchy rolls come with tempura and mayo, and a poke bowl drowned in sweet sauce and crispy onions is a rice bowl with a good PR team. Sashimi, nigiri and sauce on the side.
Eat, forget
Eat
- Tandoori, tikka, shish, kofte, grilled fish
- Steamed fish, stir-fried vegetables with protein
- Dal, chana, saag, edamame
- Sashimi, nigiri, miso soup, pho, clear soups
- Salads, raita, kachumber, hummus
- A small portion of plain rice, or half the bread
- Water, sparkling water, unsweetened tea
Forget it
- Battered, crispy, breaded and deep-fried anything
- Creamy curries, creamy pasta, cheese-stuffed anything
- Sweet-and-sour, teriyaki and other sugary sauces
- Naan and rice together, garlic bread, prawn crackers
- Soft drinks, "diet" and "zero" drinks
- Dessert add-ons and "free" sides
- Ordering after your eating window has closed
Eat it where you live
Singapore and Southeast Asia
- Fish soup, yong tau foo in soup, thunder tea rice, steamed chicken with less rice
- Economic rice delivered: one meat, two vegetables, less gravy, sauce on the side
- Skip nasi lemak with fried chicken, mee goreng, char kway teow and the bubble tea add-on
- Iftar by delivery in Ramadan: break the fast with water and a date or two, then a grilled main. Keep the fried bazaar snacks small
Austria, Germany, Switzerland
- Pizzeria: a thin pizza with vegetables, shared, plus a big salad. Skip the Pizzabrot
- Asia box: a curry with vegetables or a Thai salad, not gebratene Nudeln or knusprige Ente
- Kebab: Dönerteller or shish with salad, sauce on the side, no Pommes
- Greek: souvlaki or gyros plate with salad and tzatziki, half the pita
Ordering with drinks? Food first, water in between, and our alcohol guide for what to pour. If you like the grilled-fish-and-salad side of the menu, the Mediterranean diet is basically that, every day. In the PREDIMED trial, a Mediterranean diet with olive oil or nuts went with about 30% fewer heart attacks, strokes and heart deaths in people at high risk.10
Can't give up pizza night?
- Share one pizza between two, with a big salad. Salad first
- Thin base, vegetables on top, one meat at most
- No garlic bread, no dips, no stuffed crust
- Water on the table, not a 1.5-litre bottle of cola
- Leftover slices go in the fridge before you sit down
Still a no: soft drinks, the dessert add-on, deep-fried sides, and ordering after your eating window closes.
Allergies and intolerances
In the EU, food businesses, including takeaways, must provide information on the 14 mandatory allergens for food that isn't prepacked.11 Use the allergy note in the app and ask on the phone too. Woks, fryers and grills are shared.
| Cuisine | Allergens to watch | Swap |
|---|---|---|
| Indian | Milk (ghee, cream, paneer, raita), tree nuts (korma), mustard | Tandoori dishes, dal made with oil, kachumber |
| Chinese, Thai | Soy, gluten (soy sauce), sesame, peanuts, crustaceans, fish (fish sauce) | Steamed dishes, plain stir-fry without soy sauce, ask for no peanuts |
| Japanese | Fish, crustaceans, soy, gluten, sesame, egg (mayo) | Sashimi or plain nigiri, no sauce |
| Italian | Gluten (cereals), milk, egg (fresh pasta) | Grilled fish or meat with salad |
| Turkish, Greek | Gluten, sesame (tahini, bread), milk (yoghurt sauces) | Kebab plate with salad, chilli sauce |
| Burgers | Gluten, sesame, egg, mustard, milk | Bunless burger or lettuce wrap |
Talk to your doctor first if you…
- have high blood pressure: takeaway sauces can carry a day's salt in one meal
- have kidney disease: salt, potassium and phosphorus add up fast in restaurant food
- have diabetes: rice, naan, noodles and sweet sauces in one meal hit blood sugar hard
How takeaway fits into your plan
Your plan is built around cooking, but life isn't. Tell Healthen me which cuisines you order most, and it suggests your best picks from each, with your allergies already swapped out.
Delivery night is Rebel Day. Order early enough to finish inside your eating window, plate half, and enjoy it. Tomorrow is your fasting day, and the leftovers wait for the day after.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, talk to your doctor before changing how you eat.
Sources
- Hollands GJ, Shemilt I, Marteau TM et al. Portion, package or tableware size for changing selection and consumption of food, alcohol and tobacco. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 9, CD011045. doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011045.pub2
- Robinson E, Jones A, Whitelock V et al. (Over)eating out at major UK restaurant chains: observational study of energy content of main meals. BMJ 2018;363:k4982. doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k4982
- Burgoine T, Forouhi NG, Griffin SJ et al. Associations between exposure to takeaway food outlets, takeaway food consumption, and body weight in Cambridgeshire, UK: population based, cross sectional study. BMJ 2014;348:g1464. doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g1464
- Jaworowska A, Blackham T, Davies IG, Stevenson L. Nutritional challenges and health implications of takeaway and fast food. Nutrition Reviews 2013;71(5):310–318. doi.org/10.1111/nure.12031
- Hall KD, Ayuketah A, Brychta R et al. Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: an inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake. Cell Metabolism 2019;30(1):67–77. doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.008
- World Health Organization. Sodium reduction, fact sheet. who.int
- Ministry of Health Singapore and Health Promotion Board. National health surveys highlight need to focus on healthy diets and lifestyles (National Nutrition Survey 2022), 27 September 2023. moh.gov.sg
- Qin P, Zhang M, Han M et al. Fried-food consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Heart 2021;107(19):1567–1575. doi.org/10.1136/heartjnl-2020-317883
- Obayashi Y, Nagamura Y. Does monosodium glutamate really cause headache? A systematic review of human studies. The Journal of Headache and Pain 2016;17:54. doi.org/10.1186/s10194-016-0639-4
- Estruch R et al. Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts. New England Journal of Medicine 2018;378:e34 (republished after retraction of the 2013 version). doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1800389
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers, Articles 9 and 44 and Annex II (the 14 allergens, including non-prepacked food). eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1169/oj