Fish n Chip Dilemma!

RosieGB33nz
RosieGB33nz Posts: 142
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
Its me again,
I would just like to say how amazing it is to have have all you MFPers to help me out with some ridiculous questions!
Anyhu, my problem is..... me and my husband go over to a friends house every Friday for Fish N Chip night and a movie. I do not like crumbed fish, tries that last week, yuck! What are some healthy options i can get from the chippie? We have to have FnC, its tradition and my friend isnt all in with the weight loss thing, nor is her partner, nor is the hubby so im the only one that has the problem. Some help would be just so fantastic!! FYI i live in New Zealand

Replies

  • gdr1976
    gdr1976 Posts: 460 Member
    instead of battering and frying it, maybe some nice panko bread crumbs and bake yours and bake the fries. If they aren't willing to help you out then maybe just a smaller portion and save your calories for dinner. Lots of options. Or do an extra work out and eat back some of what you burned.

    No dumb questions, that's what we are here for. Good luck

    Now I'm craving some good fish n chips.
  • dia77
    dia77 Posts: 410 Member
    eat before you go there and when you are your friends house , just pretend. Have some of it ,but not a whole size portion.

    This ia what I do . i am tired to give explanations and to hear : you don't need to lose weight!. blah people , let me do my thing:)
    good luck with fish and chips:)
  • jellyfishjen
    jellyfishjen Posts: 1,787 Member
    I'm vegetarian, so don't know first hand. But my sister always orders grilled fish, (so its not dipped in all that oil and there is no coating on it). And maybe you could just limit your chips, and take a sml salad with you to compliment it. Save your calories that day, so you can still enjoy.
  • putnam80
    putnam80 Posts: 69 Member
    pull off the outside fried coating. Personally I would just eat it. Love the stuff. Irish heritage plus, with doing as much exercise as I do, one "bad" meal a week isnt going to hurt anyone. Keeps you from going insane too depending on what kind of things you used to eat vs what things you eat now. but if you dont like it to begin with, well i am no help then :(


    just my 2 cents
  • dia77
    dia77 Posts: 410 Member
    eat before you go there and when you are your friends house , just pretend. Have some of it ,but not a whole size portion.

    This ia what I do . i am tired to give explanations and to hear : you don't need to lose weight!. blah people , let me do my thing:)
    good luck with fish and chips:)
    I am craving fish and chips , too:)) lol
  • NancyAnne1960
    NancyAnne1960 Posts: 500 Member
    If you're completely stuck with the fish & chips, at least peel off the breading. If possible, put the fish on a napkin or papertowel to soak up the grease. Same with the fries, and remember, portion control. If you can have veggies of some sort with it, make sure you eat mostly those. And, drink lots of water!! Hope it goes well. Good Luck!!
  • erikanunns
    erikanunns Posts: 9 Member
    Hey you fellow kiwi girl!

    ok get the normal battered fish and then PEEL OFF the batter - seems a crying shame I know but thats where the majority of the fat is kept.
    If the fish and chip shop has the right temperature in the vat of oil the batter only acts as a covering and the fish is cooked from temperature - however if the oil is not hot enough then the fat will seep into the fish a bit...

    Chips will also be a problem but you could zap a potato in the microwave and then take that with you - finish it off in your mates oven!!! Top with Hummous.

    Failing that you could simply just have a handful of chips :)

    Now if someone could just tell me the name of a low calorie WINE I will be happy :)
  • nph1960
    nph1960 Posts: 57 Member
    Bring a big salad so that you can have smaller portions of the fish and chips, and make sure you get your workout in earlier. Then have fun and enjoy it!!! You'll be fine.
  • bella8282
    bella8282 Posts: 188 Member
    Can you get Grilled fish? and take a salad for you all to have... who cares if they dont have any but at least you can have some and it wont look rude becuase you were wiling to share.
  • BJPCraig
    BJPCraig Posts: 417 Member
    As others said, lose the breading if possible and use portion control.

    The other thing (which MFP is great for) is to figure out how many calories the meal will be and plan ahead. Last week for my wife's birthday, her dad insisted on going to the Melting Pot with us. The full meal: cheese fondue appetizer, salad, veggies in a broth fondue (we're vegetarian), and chocolate fondue for dessert. Total calories for the meal: @ 1200! So we ate SUPER light breakfast & lunch and earned as many calories as we could from exercise, and it all worked out.
  • RosieGB33nz
    RosieGB33nz Posts: 142
    I dont like fish :( other options? has to be from the chip shop
  • putnam80
    putnam80 Posts: 69 Member
    yeah, start to like fish! lots of amazing meals from fish. if cooked right, great source of protein
  • BJPCraig
    BJPCraig Posts: 417 Member
    What else does the chip shop have, rosie? If there's a fried chicken, that could work as well, assuming (again) that you take off the coating and skin (where the vast majority of the calories and fat are).

    Here in NJ we have a few places that actually deep fry hot dogs. Can you believe it? Like a hot dog isn't unhealthy enough, let's soak it in oil...
  • littlemili
    littlemili Posts: 625 Member
    It's once a week, if you enjoy it then it's your treat day. If you don't enjoy it enough to justify having a treat, then cut it out. It's a pity to use a huge number of calories on a half-arsed chip shop meal when you'd be happier just eating what you want from there but in smaller quantities. If your friends and hubby are supportive then just tell them that for now you will be eating, say, sweet potato chips and veggie sausages, or whatever works for you, that you will make at home instead. Chip shop is very unhealthy and it's probably the most difficult kind of eat-out place to get any kind of semi-acceptable healthy option. I guess if you are really desperate to buy food from there then get mushy peas, baked beans etc if they sell them but really by that stage you may as well make your own low-cal food because it's no longer chip shop dinner.
  • bella8282
    bella8282 Posts: 188 Member
    If you dont eat fish then i'd just take something yummy ,low cal, and healthy to eat with some chips?
    becuase really nothing is that healthy walking out of a fish and chip shop. even if they had salads i bet they would be high fat high sodium sugar coated dressings.
    So you may as well enjoy either some chips with something you take your self. or just say stuff it and enjoy whatever it is you want..
  • SecretlyBatwoman
    SecretlyBatwoman Posts: 79 Member
    I'd just eat it. At least a smaller portion of it.

    Every week my roommate and I make a meal together and it's always something horrendously unhealthy (make your own pizza, taco bar, burrito mayhem, etc). I don't completely gorge myself, I log the calories, and I try to get in some extra cardio that night, but I'm still usually pretty far over my calorie guide. Hasn't stopped me from losing weight, but has stopped me from losing my mind.
  • RosieGB33nz
    RosieGB33nz Posts: 142
    Its Friday..... I thought maybe crabstick, or chicken kebab and take off the batter/crumb?
    I also thought maybe a burger? I usually have a chicken burger with lettuce, onion, mayo and sometimes beetroot..... do you think that would be a better option? I really want to weight out a portion of chips for myself but everyone would like at me and be like "WTF, stop being a **** and enjoy it, its only once a week" so maybe i should count them?
  • atinius
    atinius Posts: 2
    I love fish and chips, but staying away from fried foods is going to help your body so much. Baking or even grilling fish is a great, healthy way to eat it! You can coat it in panko, or even just seasoned flour and bake it. I like lemon juice on mine as well. Seasoning your food well is a way to really set it apart from stereotypical, bland, 'health' food.

    Good luck!
  • iStace2000
    iStace2000 Posts: 42
    I remember reading in a recent Healthy Food magazine that fish burgers were a fairly OK choice to make at a fish 'n chip store. I imagine (in my completely unqualified opinion) that generally burgers would be better than the fried stuff. Also a burger would fill you up, meaning you might want less chips.


    As a fellow dieting Kiwi I sympathize. I miss fish 'n chips!
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    just eat it and do an extra workout tommorow
  • Sarah_uk
    Sarah_uk Posts: 209
    Grilled chicken? Grilled burger??
  • keiraev
    keiraev Posts: 695 Member
    We have the most amazing fish and chip shop at the top of the road, it has won awards and everything, and far too tempting not to visit once in a while!

    When I go though I can pretty much write off my cals for the day as a portion of fish shop cod & chips easily amount to 1000 calories! That or do some serious exercise beforehand!

    You have just made me very hungry thinking about it:(!
  • skypie23
    skypie23 Posts: 38
    I only know what English chippys sell so it might be different. Some chippys do general takeaway food and so do kebabs here, so a chicken kebab with salad and pitta is totally fine. Do they do them? We can also get 'mini fish/sausage dinner' which is a half portion but plenty filling.

    I think you should plan to eat only salads or veggie soups on Fridays, do a big work out and then you should have enough calories spare to eat whatever you want.
  • BJPCraig
    BJPCraig Posts: 417 Member
    Okay, Rosie, it's Saturday, so we're all dying to know: How'd you make out last night?
This discussion has been closed.

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