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It’s not unexpected that takeaway foods such as fish and chips, pizzas, and burgers 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, homemade burgers can decrease your caloric consumption by approximately 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 aim for approximately one-third less than the suggested 2,500 calories for an average male. Therefore, these savings in calorie intake could indeed have a significant impact.
In this article, MailOnline compares the calorie content of 'fakeaway' recipes found online with those from actual restaurants and takeout options.
Nearly all of the 20 recipes compared on this site indicated that preparing your own versions of restaurant meals at home contain significantly fewer calories. In fact, certain takeout dishes were found to have twice as many calories as their homemade counterparts known as 'fakeaway' dishes.
A recipe on the Tesco website for an Beer-battered fish with thick-cut fries each serving contains a total of 778 calories.
The white fish coated in cornflour and amber ale is deep-fried using sunflower oil and comes paired with baked fries along with a house-made tartar sauce.
Compared to that, consuming the genuine article does 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 is still crafted with 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 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 mayo, lettuce, pickles, and mustard clocks in at an impressive 1,130 calories.
That puts it into perspective, as it amounts to over two McDonald’s Big Mac burgers, 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 using a jar of tomato and basil sauce, contains 710 calories per serving, whereas a small pepperoni passion pizza from Domino's 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 the Tesco website that contains 577 calories per serving.
This dish is packed with fiber; it includes fresh bell peppers along with a can of black beans.
Choosing chicken enchiladas from Las Iguanas might lead to weight gain since a single portion contains approximately 1,036 calories.
However, one of the most striking differences lies in comparing a homemade kebab filled with freshly fiber-rich vegetables to indulging in an oily takeaway kebab.
A BBC Good Food recipe for Turkish kebabs With tomato chili sauce served alongside a flatbread, vegetables, and salad, each serving comes in at only 276 calories. This dish includes fresh tomatoes, peppers, Greek yogurt, and cilantro.
However, at German Donner Kebab, their original chicken kebab, which comes with three different sauces, packs a whopping 1,026 calories — that’s an extra 750 calories.
Yet, reducing calories isn’t the only benefit when you decide to prepare your evening meal at home.
When cooking from scratch, you have the option to choose ingredients with reduced amounts of fat, sugar, and salt, along with higher fiber content, similar to what you'd find 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 decreased risk of 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 boost the fiber content in your daily nutrition.
Rob Hobson, a registered dietitian and the author of "Unprocessed: Your Guide to a Whole-Food Lifestyle," emphasizes that "it depends on your decisions." However, he points out that preparing meals at home provides greater control over what goes into your food.
He stated to MailOnline: "Both options can be equally healthy or unhealthy depending on your choice of dishes."
'Cooking at home gives you control over the ingredients and portion sizes, which is crucial since takeaways often come in large portions, encouraging overeating.'
'Frequently, takeaway meals are rich in saturated fats, sugars, and salts, all of which may have adverse effects on your well-being,' he mentioned additionally.
When you cook at home, you can steer clear of consuming excessive amounts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which have long been criticized for their associations with various health problems such as cancer and diabetes.
A simple indication that a food might be classified as a UPF is if it includes components you typically wouldn’t have at home, 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 substances from plants that help guard against illnesses."
WHAT DOES A WELL-BALANCED DIET ENTAIL?
• Consume a minimum of five servings of different fruits and vegetables daily. This includes all types of produce such as fresh, frozen, dried, and canned varieties.
• Build meals around potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, or other starchy carbohydrates, preferably whole grain.
• Aim for 30 grams of fiber daily: Equivalent to consuming the following: five servings of fruits and veggies, two whole-wheat cereal biscuits, two hefty slices of whole-grain bread, and one big baked potato including the skin.
• Include some dairy products or their 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 to 8 glasses/cups of water daily
• Individuals over 18 years old should consume fewer than 6 grams of salt and no more than 20 grams of saturated fat for females or 30 grams for males per day.
Source: NHS Eatwell Guide
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