How Scratch Cooking Can Slash Your Calorie Intake – International Edition (English)

by admin | Jul 6, 2024 | food and drink, food culture, healthy cooking, healthy eating, nutrition

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It’s not surprising that takeaway foods such as fish and chips, pizzas, and burgers can lead to weight gain.

However, preparing the same dish at home might help you cut hundreds of calories.

Preparing your own fish and chips might save you over 500 calories, while crafting your own kebabs could reduce calorie intake by more than 700. Additionally, cooking burgers at home can decrease your caloric consumption by around 380 calories.

To provide some perspective, women are generally advised to consume around 2,000 calories daily to sustain a healthy weight, whereas men should typically aim for about 2,500 calories, with roughly one-third of that being saved through certain choices. These savings can truly make an impact.

At MailOnline, we compare the calorie content of ‘fakeaway’ recipes found online with those from actual restaurants and takeaway joints.

Almost all the 20 recipes this website compared showed making your own version of takeaway food at home is far less calorific, with some takeaways double the calories of a ‘fakeaway’.

A recipe on the
Tesco
website for an
Battered fish with ale and thick-cut fries
each serving contains a total of 778 calories.

The white fish coated in cornflour and amber ale is deep-fried in sunflower oil and comes with baked fries along with a house-made tartar sauce.

Compared to that, consuming the genuine article itself
Wetherspoons
That amounts to 1,303 calories, which exceeds over half of an adult’s daily suggested caloric allowance.

Another recipe for an
easy chicken korma
, which still uses double cream and mango chutney, contains only 454 calories per serving.

However, at Wetherspoons, a comparable meal like Chicken Tikka Masala has nearly twice the calorie count at 830 calories.

A recipe for
smash burgers
On the Tesco’s website, a serving consisting of two patties, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and homemade burger sauce contains 749 calories.

However, at Five Guys, a cheeseburger topped with mayonnaise, lettuce, pickles, and mustard clocks in at an impressive 1,130 calories.

To provide some context, that’s equivalent to over two McDonald’s Big Mac hamburgers, each containing 493 calories.

Choosing to prepare your own pepperoni pizza might help you cut down nearly 500 calories.

A
Waitrose
recipe for a
spicy skillet pizza
, prepared with a jar of tomato and basil sauce, contains 710 calories per serving; however, at Domino’s, a small pepperoni passion pizza has 1,205 calories.

Making your own
chicken enchiladas
This will also help you cut down on several hundred calories, based on a recipe from Tesco’s website that contains 577 calories per serving.

This dish is packed with fiber as it includes fresh bell peppers along with a can of black beans.

Getting chicken enchiladas from Las Iguanas might lead to weight gain since a single serving contains approximately 1,036 calories.

However, one of the most striking differences lies in comparing a homemade kebab filled with freshly fibrous vegetables to indulging in an oily takeaway kebab.

A
BBC
Good Food recipe for
Turkish kebabs
With tomato chili sauce paired alongside a flatbread, vegetables, and salad, each serving comes in at only 276 calories. This dish features ripe tomatoes, peppers, Greek yogurt, and freshly chopped cilantro.

However, at German Donner Kebab, their original chicken kebab, which comes with three different sauces, clocks in at 1,026 calories — a staggering 750 calories more than usual.

Yet, reducing calories isn’t the only benefit of preparing your evening meal at home.

When cooking from scratch, you have the option to choose ingredients with reduced fat, sugar, and salt levels, along with higher fiber content, similar to what is often showcased in numerous ‘fakeaway’ recipe ideas.

Government recommendations suggest that adults should consume 30 grams of fiber daily as part of a nutritious and well-balanced diet.

This is due to the fact that consuming ample fiber is linked to a reduced chance of developing heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
diabetes
and bowel
cancer
, the
NHS
says.

Incorporating additional veggies into your dishes, snacking on fruits, and opting for wholemeal bread can significantly increase your fiber intake.

Rob Hobson, a registered dietitian and author of “Unprocessed Your Life,” emphasizes that outcomes depend on individual choices. However, he points out that preparing meals at home provides greater control over ingredients and preparation methods.

He stated to MailOnline: “Either option can be equally healthy or unhealthy depending on your choice of meals.”

‘Cooking at home gives you control over the ingredients and portion sizes, which is crucial since takeaways often come in large portions, encouraging overeating.’

He mentioned, “Frequently, takeaway meals are rich in saturated fats, sugars, and salts, all of which may have adverse effects on your well-being.”

When you cook at home, you can also steer clear of consuming excessive amounts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which have long been criticized due to their associations with various health problems such as cancer and diabetes.

A simple indication that a food might be a UPF is if it includes components you typically wouldn’t have in your pantry, like unfamiliar colorants, sweeteners, and preservatives.

Another hint lies in the levels of fat, salt, and sugar hidden within each package, as UPFs generally have elevated quantities of these components.

Mr. Hobson stated, “Preparing meals at home lets you concentrate on using fresh, unaltered components that are rich in nutrients and brimming with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and various phytochemicals known for their protective effects against illnesses.”

WHAT DOES A WELL-BALANCED DIET ENTAIL?

• Consume a minimum of 5 servings of various fruits and vegetables daily. This includes all types of fresh, frozen, dried, and canned produce.

• Build meals around potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, or other starchy carbs, preferably whole grain.

• Aim for 30 grams of fiber daily: Equivalent to consuming the following: five servings of fruits and veggies, two whole-grain breakfast biscuits, two hefty pieces of whole wheat bread, and one big baked potato including its skin.

• Include some dairy products or dairy-free alternatives (like soy milk) opting for versions with reduced fat and less sugar

• Consume beans, lentils, fish, eggs, meat, and other protein sources (aim for two servings of fish weekly, with at least one being an oily variety).

• Opt for unsaturated oils and spreads and use them sparingly

• Consume 6-8 glasses/cups of water daily

• Individuals over 18 years old should consume fewer than 6 grams of salt per day and no more than 20 grams of saturated fat for women or up to 30 grams for men daily.

Source:
NHS Eatwell Guide

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