Healthy eating has become truly mainstream over the past few years, so fast food lovers have a hard time: a huge number of healthy alternatives are appearing on restaurant menus, but few of them can compete with traditional burgers, fries.
nuggets and other guilty pleasures. How to act when the craving for harmful things becomes irresistible and the choice remains “from several evils”? We learned tactics that are beneficial for your figure and health and options for the most harmless fast food dishes from anti-age expert, nutritionist, general director of the aesthetic medicine clinic “Premium Aesthetics” Natalya Grigorieva.
Watch what you order and with what
Pay attention to the combination of menu items you order. French fries, a burger and soda are definitely not the best option. With them you will receive a shock dose of simple sugars, which will put a strong strain on the pancreas. Moreover, after eating such food you will want to eat within a couple of hours. So choose one thing: either a burger or fries. It is better to avoid soda.
If you choose a burger, track its composition
Of course, it’s better to choose healthier burgers. It is advisable that the base be a bun made of grain flour, and the filling contains a lot of vegetables. The fiber in them will help bind some of the saturated fats found in the meat patty and sauce. If you have the opportunity to assemble your own burger, avoid sauces that are too fatty like ketchup and mayonnaise (read also: “Five sauces for every day”).
Salad – a universal option
As a rule, any fast food establishment has salads. Choose options that do not contain meat, poultry or fish fried in batter. Due to such frying, the calorie content of such salads increases three times. The ideal option is baked or boiled meat. Now about the sauces – they are usually served separately and account for about 60-70 calories of the total value of the dish. Eat salads without dressing or add olive oil to them.
Can fast food be relatively healthy?
Quite! These include various options for vegetable sticks, which are sold in many cafes. Another thing is that you are unlikely to get enough of them.
Shawarma and any of its variants: vegetables, meat in pita bread and pita
If you prepare this dish according to all the rules, it can easily replace a full meal – breakfast or dinner. Meat that is roasted on a spit does not contain excess fat, and what it does contain is quickly rendered. A large amount of vegetables containing fiber will be an excellent complement to animal proteins. And if you don’t add fatty sauces to shawarma, you will get an excellent healthy lifestyle dish.
Wok dishes
Quick-frying dishes are a completely healthy option for fast food, because they retain all the beneficial substances. In addition, classic wok dishes are prepared without oil. By themselves, they turn out to be balanced: they contain enough protein (meat, poultry, seafood, legumes).
as well as vegetables (various root vegetables, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant). Wok with rice or buckwheat noodles is a good option for a snack. But if you want to lose weight, it is better not to overindulge in such dishes (read also: “Six “healthy” foods that are dangerous for your figure (and you eat them every day)”).
Sushi, sashimi, rolls
These dishes may contain slightly more carbohydrates than nutritionists recommend for consumption – primarily due to boiled rice. But in general, they are balanced in terms of nutritional products and are not too high in calories. The energy value of a serving is on average 150 – 300 kcal. The priority is cold rolls and sushi. But it’s better not to buy hot ones in batter and fried in oil.
It is based on chickpeas – an excellent source of protein. Falafel can be prepared with a little tahini. Also, don’t forget about nuts and seeds, as they contain a lot of healthy fats. However, remember that their excess also affects weight.
Cake
It must be said that brtuch has nothing in common with the familiar shawarma, except for the appearance of the dish. Unlike classic shawarma, brtucha does not contain any overtly harmful ingredients, and the cooking technology is significantly different. So, if for shawarma the meat is fried.
but in the case of brtucha, it is baked in the oven (this, as we know, is much healthier). Flatbread for brtuch is most often prepared by hand. You can also make them yourself at home: the dough (flour, salt, sugar, sunflower oil, slaked soda and, of course, yeast) is kneaded for about half an hour, then “rested” for 15 minutes, then rolled out and baked.
Filling
In fact, the choice of fillings for brtuch is unlimited, because you can put anything in it – it depends solely on taste preferences and wishes. The ingredients included in the dish can be easily varied, but cheese and herbs are the minimum without which it is almost impossible to imagine brtuch. By the way, it is not at all necessary to add suluguni – you can wrap feta cheese or any other cheese in pita bread.
Various meats are added to brtuch: beef, turkey, chicken. Vegetarian options are possible with hummus or feta cheese, and various combinations of green salads. Surprisingly, but true: brtuch can even be prepared with flat rice noodles based on the Vietnamese pho soup, if the classic options are boring. But this option is only suitable for those who are not afraid of spicy food.
