Valentine's food dilemma

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loobylawls
loobylawls Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have agreed with the hubby to have an Indian takeaway on Valentine's Day. I would normally order popadom and pickle tray to share, chicken korma, pilau rice and a peshwari naan bread, but the calories for this are off the scale. Could anyone recommend an alternative meal? I will be at squash during the day so will have an extra 600 calories to use on top of my 1760 allowance, thanks.

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  • annieo19732014
    annieo19732014 Posts: 56 Member
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    I always opt for chicken Bhuna, which is tomato based, steamed rice, I tend not have Nan bread! how about a chapatti instead? x
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Indian food can be tough. When I go to my mother in law's house, I just quick add 3000 calories and call it a day. The food AND the "auntie points" are totally worth it.

    Some options:
    -splurge. It's Valentine's Day.
    -get your usual order and just have a couple bites of everything
    -you've got papadum AND rice AND naan, how about just one of those? Share the appetizer with your honey and save the side dishes for the next day?
    -If you're dead set on rice, swap the pilau for straight-up steamed rice
    -korma is nuts with the sauce. Maybe try a tandoori dish? There's no guarantees and the sauce can also be really heavy, but at least it's cooked on a grill instead of fried. Chicken tikka is sometimes another possibility.
  • Tblackdogs
    Tblackdogs Posts: 324 Member
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    My favorite Indian dish is Bagan Bhartha (not sure about the spelling). It's an eggplant dish and when I looked up a recipe, I was pleasantly surprised to see how few calories it had. I agree with other posters. 1) don't worry too much about the calories 2) choose between bread and rice and 3) I'd do some research to find a lower calorie (but still delicious!) entree. Happy Valentine's Day!
  • cherys
    cherys Posts: 387 Member
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    Chicken tikka (not masala) pieces are among the lowest calorie. Add plain rice and a tomato based veg dish and you shouldn't be too far off.

    Or eat exactly what you want but make up for it before and after by scaling down for a few meals. When I was naturally slim I did this without thinking. One rich meal meant I didn't want to eat much for a few days.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    dont' worry about it and enjoy the day?

    I would say just log in whatever you want and enjoy the time with your husband. Calorie counting should not be a handcuff to a fun evening out….

    you did not get fat overnight and you can't ruin your progress over night either...
  • maddyk91
    maddyk91 Posts: 193 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    dont' worry about it and enjoy the day?

    I would say just log in whatever you want and enjoy the time with your husband. Calorie counting should not be a handcuff to a fun evening out….

    you did not get fat overnight and you can't ruin your progress over night either...

    i love that. i will definitely be thinking about this in my head all weekend! thanks! :)
  • StephJC81
    StephJC81 Posts: 33 Member
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    How about picking up the fresh ingredients yourselves and make a night of it and have fun in the kitchen! That way you can control how the food is prepared also. My fiance and I love cooking, we have a blast! :)
  • loobylawls
    loobylawls Posts: 6 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    dont' worry about it and enjoy the day?

    I would say just log in whatever you want and enjoy the time with your husband. Calorie counting should not be a handcuff to a fun evening out….

    you did not get fat overnight and you can't ruin your progress over night either...

    Aww that's sweet and you're right, I'm probably over thinking it. I think as we're eating it at home I'll just serve up half then freeze the other half, perhaps I'll forgo the naan and just pinch a bit of the hubby's. Though I did forget to add in the bottle of prosecco that's waiting in the fridge, but I suppose that has other advantages
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    If I were you, I'd have:
    Chicken Korma
    Chicken Tikka
    Naan
    soup
    raita
    biryani
    and that spinach and cheese dish.
    Then follow it with gulab jamun.

    Just moderate, don't eat everything because it is there. It's really fine. Surprisingly, there are people in India who eat that food and lose weight. (Well, moderation and tape worms...)
  • BodyByButter
    BodyByButter Posts: 563 Member
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    I have been saving a few calories a day all week in preparation for dinner out tomorrow night. I plan to enjoy the heck out of it and not look back.
  • loobylawls
    loobylawls Posts: 6 Member
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    StephJC81 wrote: »
    How about picking up the fresh ingredients yourselves and make a night of it and have fun in the kitchen! That way you can control how the food is prepared also. My fiance and I love cooking, we have a blast! :)

    It's a lovely idea but it's the type of thing we do already, I'm looking forward to a night away from the kitchen and enjoy some sofa cuddling
  • rbfdac
    rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
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    The language in the OP is just so confusing to me. Probably because I've never had Indian food in my life and I'm from the US, so I actually am not even sure what squash is, aside from the vegetable. No help here!

  • hortensehildegarde
    hortensehildegarde Posts: 592 Member
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    bhindi masala is okra, I think in just a tomato based sauce (no cream?). You might investigate that if you like okra.

    I'm all for just not worrying for this one meal but it might be beneficial for you in future times eating indian. The sauces seem to be the worst so the stuff done in the tandoor with no sauce and the stuff without cream/ghee based sauces are the best choices like people have said.

    Were it me I would also skip rice/naan/pappadam altogether. Or at least the rice. I stopped eating rice with chinese or indian a while ago, not worth the calorie hit for what it adds to the meal. I'd probably have at least a little pappadam as I don't think that's so calorie dense IIRC.

    I'd definitely keep the pickle tray though!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    dont' worry about it and enjoy the day?

    I would say just log in whatever you want and enjoy the time with your husband. Calorie counting should not be a handcuff to a fun evening out….

    you did not get fat overnight and you can't ruin your progress over night either...

    This

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