What can I have from Indian takeaway that's low calorie?

alexelmer

hi all!

I know this is a ridiculous question and there will be some smart *kitten* that says "you're on a diet don't have a takeaway" but I'm having an Indian takeaway this evening with friends, but only have 550 calories left, what can I have? (Sorry not a fan of spicy food either!)

Thank you in advance x

lemurcat12

Tandoori chicken, probably. Don't eat much rice and avoid the naan if calories is the main concern.

I go out for Indian (which I love) about once a month and don't worry about it, though. It's just an occasional splurge (or a thing for a big workout day back when I used to eat back exercise calories/pre TDEE method).

many_splendored

I looked it up - an average samosa is maybe 350 calories or so, so maybe that and a small helping of rice? Either that or load up on veggies in place of the rice.

KingoftheLilies

Tandoori. Chicken or prawns. Saag aloo (spinach & potatoes), daal (lentils), bhindi bhaji (okra & onions), etc.

It'll be over 550 cals, but just make good choices & enjoy it.

j_bark

Stay away from naan and rice. I like chicken or channa masala myself. Tandoori chicken is coated in a yoghurt sauce most of the time. Just google indian food menus and read through what each meal is made up of. Go with meats and veggies. Stay away from sauces and creams. And don't be afraid of curry, it comes in all spice levels. Just let the place know you don't want it spicy.

nuttynanners

I say skip the rice and naan, or just get what you normally would and portion out half of it for later. I had leftover Indian food this morning

rsclause

The fortune cookie....cuz they ain't got one.

Tubbs216

nuttynanners wrote: »

I say skip the rice and naan, or just get what you normally would and portion out half of it for later. I had leftover Indian food this morning

Leftover curry is fantastic for breakfast!

Queenmunchy

Calorie estimations for Indian takeout

tcatcarson

Biryani; no sauce, or at least it comes in a separate dish so you can take it easy.

kickassbarbie

I think Indian take away at low cal is almost impossible, if you do find any please let us know!!!

(Personally I go for what ever curry I fancy without rice and naan just a chippatti and still usually end up blowing my cal allowance for the day unless I plan in advance. Do love Indian food though! Kinda worth the calorific surplus)

AliceDark

Like everyone else said, tandoori and go easy on the rice. Eat half and save the other half for tomorrow. It should be fairly easy to stay under 550 calories, especially if you can add a salad to bulk up your meal with some volume.

DaveAkeman

This is a tough one; I struggle with a similar situation regularly. My department often has lunch meetings at a restaurant or caters food for an in-house lunch meeting. The restaurants tend to be Indian or Asian cuisine . . . there's a nice German restaurant that's popular . . . once it was a Japanese buffet . . . basically, anything with a meeting room. This happens almost weekly.

Before the lunch, I always plan what I am going to order ahead of time. I'll do some research on the restaurant's website or MFP or elsewhere to see what the best options might be. The Indian restaurant was particularly troublesome because I'm not too familiar with Indian food, so I wasn't really sure what I was looking for. (I'm also low sodium, which basically means nothing with any kind of sauce . . . that makes Indian and Asian food difficult)

Typically I can find something that isn't too bad; often I have to skip dinner afterward (usually I've eaten enough at lunch that skipping dinner isn't hard).

Very often, too, I find that I'm a bit over. That hasn't been the end of the world . . . I do a bit more exercise that evening, and get back on track the next day. I've found that this hasn't significantly derailed me.

doktorglass

Rice is low-cal, so 100g boiled basmati rice at 119kcal and tandoori chicken, 1 serving at 300kcal will be a 420kcal meal. Seems very acceptable to me.

DaveAkeman

By the way . . . regarding the "you're on a diet, don't have takeaway" comment . . .

I do not believe I am on a diet. I have simply stopped overeating. I believe this is a much healthier way to look at it; it addresses the original issue, and is more likely to help you achieve long-term results.

Along with this way of thinking, I do not believe that you need to give up ANYTHING, including social eating. Just learn to do it in moderation. As an example of moderation in everything, I had ice cream last night at 10PM. But I only had 1/4 cup (it was the best 1/4 cup of ice cream I have EVER had), and I stayed within my calorie limit for the day . . . and the scale was down 1.9 pounds this morning.

lemurcat12

Tubbs216 wrote: »

nuttynanners wrote: »

I say skip the rice and naan, or just get what you normally would and portion out half of it for later. I had leftover Indian food this morning

Leftover curry is fantastic for breakfast!

Yep.

I almost never do that anymore, but when I used to order Indian a lot I'd get an extra meal so I could have two things and just eat the rest for breakfast and dinner the next day. So good.

dondotwinks

We went out for indian meal few weeks ago, mega went over calories but still lost a pound the next week, go for it don't stress......a little of what you fancy does you good......

alexelmer

Thank you all!!!! I went for tandoori chicken which comes with a salad- still finished 150cals over target but is probably 1000 calories less than if I wasn't using MFP!!! Thanks again x

star1407

Great! The whole idea is that we aren't on a diet, just learning portion control and moderation. I love butter chicken but it's so full of calories it really isn't worth it, I enjoy tandoori and chicken tikka no sauce. But occasionally I might say screw it, have everything I want, naan, butter chicken, mushroom rice, popodoms and raita and then just eat a couple of hundred cals less each day to compensate.

rachylouise87

portion control is the key. have a little bit of everything. i do tend to stay away from sauces made with cream or coconut milk and fried things but a rogan josh basmati rice and a small onion bhaji is one of the things i tend to eat

ncfitbit

Queenmunchy wrote: »

Calorie estimations for Indian takeout

This is awesome! I learned the hard way that my favorite Chicken Tikka Masala was so high in calories (after I ate lots of it!)

Lots of good suggestions above. All I would add is that I often have leftovers when I do Indian takeout so I "stretch" it the next day with my own veggies (for example sauteeing some frozen spinach and onions and adding it to my saag paneer). I have also found some Indian recipes that have the flavors I crave, but that I can eat more often without any guilt. For example: http://www.endurancemag.com/2014/09/nutrition-vegetable-korma/