Sabotage!

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simini77
simini77 Posts: 67 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi!
I joined MFP on Monday, diet going great so far, but my in-laws are having a takeaway night tonight for my father in laws birthday, and I dont want it to spoil my diet, but I have no choice but to go :( I would rather not, but I think if I want to be married tomorrow, I should go!

Can anyone recommend anything that may be less bad for me and a "healthier" option? We're getting an indian, and I am veggie. Would rice/naan/flatbread be better? I just have no idea :-/

Any ideas/thoughts would be much appreciated :)

Simini77
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Replies

  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
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    Not sure about flatbread, but plain rice is likely to be better than naan. Go for a tomato-based sauce rather than a creamy one for your curry and skip the poppadums. Life will always throw up these challenges - you just have to find ways to make it work. Good luck!
  • jessicawrites
    jessicawrites Posts: 235 Member
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    Something with lentils is probably going to be better than naan. More protein typically means you'll feel fuller longer than eating a big chunk of white bread (also, I find it difficult to tear off an appropriate portion size of naan). Try some dal, and Indian places I've been to have usually had some kind of spicy spinach dish that is delicious.
  • simini77
    simini77 Posts: 67 Member
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    Thank you both lots - shall go for some plain rice and dahl. I was prepared that somewhere down the line I would be challenged to think on my feet about eating our etc, but not on day 3!!! :)

    I've done WW many many times in the past, so have never really thought of food as food groups, because everything is in points, so you doint let to learn the true value of your food, its all about the points rather than protein, so taking me a while to get to grips, but will get there!!
  • jonnyman41
    jonnyman41 Posts: 1,032 Member
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    chapati is the lowest cal supplement you can get so I tend to have that instead of rice as the rice is often fried in oil! (I usually just have a spoon of rice from someone elses order!) Also chicken tika is low fat though no good for a vegi of course and standard veg curry is ok too.
  • rubyautumn4
    rubyautumn4 Posts: 818 Member
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    I would also suggest drinking more water and saving up a few calories for it today and adding in a workout. Enjoy the dinner though!
  • jrbb03092
    jrbb03092 Posts: 198 Member
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    Chana Masala (chickpea curry) is also a great choice if you can get it. Not necessarily low in fat but very high in protein so it really fills you up. Also, another choice is to enjoy a little bit of everything. Base of rice, 1/4 naan if it's something you love, spoonful of each dish and leave it at that.

    p.s. I am veggie too and we just had Indian on the weekend and the last is what I did. A generous spoonful of Chana Masala, one of Aloo Gobi (potato & cauliflower curry), 1/4 naan when I'd normally eat a whole one and some rice. I felt full and I didn't feel cheated.
  • avasano
    avasano Posts: 487 Member
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    Eat before you go! Then just have a bit of veg, to be nice. Drink water and talk story. No one will notice. ;P
  • helengetshealthy
    helengetshealthy Posts: 171 Member
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    Well, my mum is Indian and so I LOVE Indian food. She doesn't cook with ghee, which is what makes some Indian food so unhealthy and fattening. I don't like to make myself feel bad for eating curries because I love them and have grown up enjoying them, so if I know I'm having curry I will make sure I've got a nice bunch of calories to spend on it that day and I'll do some exercise on that day too. Try to stick to a chicken, fish or vegetable curry or even a daal dish with lentils, and try not to have too much rice either. I used to pile up my plate with rice but now I have about 80-100 grams maximum. Poppadoms are good but if they're fried in oil they're really bad, find out if they have grilled poppadoms or even these things called dosas or idls - fluffy and filling, they go well with all curries.


    I LOVE INDIAN FOOD! Enjoy your takeaway! :)
  • PapaDunx
    PapaDunx Posts: 243
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    1) Eat before you go. You might not be tempted to over eat then.
    2) Anything from the tandoor will not be fried. (If you eat fish, then tandoori prawns, if not then check out to see if they do tandoori cheese) tikka or bhuna dishes as they’re made without a sauce or are quite dry
    3) Spicy Indian meals can be a great choice because even a small portion can satisfy your taste buds. Go for a really hot curry such as a vindaloo or madras if you can bear it – you’ll find it hard to eat too much!

    Bear in mind that many dishes are packed with calories and fat because large amounts of oil or ghee (clarified butter) are used. To cut the calories, choose dishes that include rice as part of the meal such as biriyani – that way you don’t need to order an extra portion of rice.

    Poppadoms
    These make a much better starter than bhajis or samosas, which are packed with fat and calories. Each poppadom contains just 65 calories. Top it with raita (cucumber dip) and tomato sambal (chopped tomato and onion) rather than higher-calorie mango chutney or lime pickle.

    Curry
    Vegetable and prawn curries tend to have a slightly lower calorie content than those made with beef or lamb and so are a better choice. It’s often the rich sauce that boosts the calorie content so spoon as much of the meat and vegetables on your plate as you want but leave the sauce behind in the dish.

    Curries cooked in creamy sauces are the worst. Masala dishes, for example, are made with cream and ground almonds, while pasanda dishes are cooked with cream.

    Rice
    Without a doubt the best accompaniment for curry is plain boiled rice, which contains around 370 calories per portion. Pilau rice has oil added to it and with 650 calories in a portion it’s best to give it a miss. And if you’re going to fill up on curry, give the Naan bread a miss – each one contains around 300 calories!
  • SLLeask
    SLLeask Posts: 489 Member
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    How about a Gobi Palak? It's cauliflower and spinach, doesn't look too appetising but it is yummy and shouldn't be too bad an option so long as they don;t fry it in too much oil. Some Indian restaurants do Gobi tikka which would be even better, just roasted cauli in tikka spices, no sauce and really tasty, but not everywhere does it, although you could ask, don't see why they couldn't make it for you!
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
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    Get some daal and saag aloo. Delish.
  • Circapaleo
    Circapaleo Posts: 114
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    You are definitely starting out right by pre-planning what you are going to eat.

    I always eat most of my healthy meal at home so that I'm not very hungry when arriving. This is especially important for me if the dinner is being served much later than I usually eat. Then just nibble on a few things when you get there. Restaurant food usually smells very good and very strong so if I am hungry, I can very easily make a dumb decision to eat something I shouldn't eat, or eat too much. If it could be a long event, I will even bring a couple of snacks in my purse so I can go to the bathroom and eat a snack to keep myself full and from being tempted.

    Also, I'm not sure if this is the kind of situation where you can contribute to the meal, but if so, bringing a food that you can eat where you know the calories/carbs or whatever you are counting is helpful, too.
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
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    Well, my mum is Indian and so I LOVE Indian food. She doesn't cook with ghee, which is what makes some Indian food so unhealthy and fattening. I don't like to make myself feel bad for eating curries because I love them and have grown up enjoying them, so if I know I'm having curry I will make sure I've got a nice bunch of calories to spend on it that day and I'll do some exercise on that day too. Try to stick to a chicken, fish or vegetable curry or even a daal dish with lentils, and try not to have too much rice either. I used to pile up my plate with rice but now I have about 80-100 grams maximum. Poppadoms are good but if they're fried in oil they're really bad, find out if they have grilled poppadoms or even these things called dosas or idls - fluffy and filling, they go well with all curries.


    I LOVE INDIAN FOOD! Enjoy your takeaway! :)

    This all sounds familiar.
  • PrincessMissDee
    PrincessMissDee Posts: 183 Member
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    I think you are best off enjoying the experience and learning how to cope with these things. Don't eat before you go, if anything save up your cals for the evening meal.

    Eat dry food rather than a creamy curry, eg a tandoori chicken or tikka without sauce. This will give you a good protein hit and tends to be cooked in a grill style so without added butter / ghee etc.
  • PrincessMissDee
    PrincessMissDee Posts: 183 Member
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    Get some daal and saag aloo. Delish.

    OMG this. Saag or Saag aloo, perfect
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
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    I wasn't going to, but I'm going out for a curry tonight now. I'm going to dosa it up and love every minute of it.
  • Tarin626
    Tarin626 Posts: 101 Member
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    My mum is Indian and I grew up with homemade curries but at restaurants they usually make everything with oil and ghee so that it lasts all day/night.

    I agree with most of the posts - here's my 2 cents:
    - veg currie is a good choice: Dahl (lentils) is wonderful and filling, I like chana (chickpeas) but it usually has a lot of oil so be careful, califlower based would probably be best if you avoid the potatoes :-)

    - stay away from paneer - that is cheese

    - if they have tandoored veg, go for it - it is baked in an oven with spices

    - eat only regular plain boiled basmati - stay away from pilaif as that is what is fried with oil before cooking. 1/2 cup cooked boiled basimati is just over 100 calories. It's not as boring as it sounds - basmati has a wonderful scent and nutty flavour :-)

    - Get rahita - it may be full fat yogurt but it cools the mouth and is healthy with cucumber and mint

    - if eating pappadums ask if they are grilled or fried - the grilled ones are obviously better!

    But most of all ENJOY! It's a wonderful type of food and just add some extra workouts to make up for it in the days ahead :-)
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    Good job on trying to preplan it all - I know how hard it is to stay on track with a wedding coming. (Mine's next Saturday.)

    Congrats and enjoy your big day! :smile:
  • Drudoo
    Drudoo Posts: 275 Member
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    On days like this, you can always focus in on portion size. You can eat off diet, but don't eat everything on the plate!
  • postrockandcats
    postrockandcats Posts: 1,145 Member
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    I think you are best off enjoying the experience and learning how to cope with these things. Don't eat before you go, if anything save up your cals for the evening meal.

    Eat dry food rather than a creamy curry, eg a tandoori chicken or tikka without sauce. This will give you a good protein hit and tends to be cooked in a grill style so without added butter / ghee etc.

    x2!

    This is the best way to learn. Small portions, eat slowly and enjoy the company :D

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