After spending a long day running around, few things sound less appealing than cooking a large, time-consuming meal.
Yet when you don’t cook, it’s easy to feel guilty. Not cooking involves needing an alternative. Oftentimes, the easiest alternative seems to be a form of takeout, and healthy takeout options can be hard to come by.
Fast-food options are plentiful these days, and even “healthier” options available seem to be unnatural and heavily processed.
Eating should not require you to make a binary choice. You should not see spending time cooking as the only secret to healthy-living, nor should you see ordering out as a guaranteed unhealthy option.
What if there was an option for healthy takeout? What if there was a way to combine the benefits of a homecooked meal with the convenience of takeout?
If you’re in the Houston, Texas area, it may surprise you to know the healthy takeout options available to you.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know.
Consider Your Options
When ordering takeout, what are the places that you like? Are you more attracted to the food you’re eating, or to the convenience?
Odds are, you simply like how easy the process of ordering takeout is. According to a 2016 Mintel study, 87% of Americans said that using food delivery apps made their lives easier. Additionally, 31% said that they use food delivery services at least twice a week.
When ordering out, it may be unclear as to whether or not some healthier options are all they claim to be. Because of that, it is important to pay attention to some of the language used with particular dishes.
A salad may sound healthy, but if you see words like “crunchy”, “drenched”, or “loaded”, it may not be what it seems.
When looking for healthy options, try to keep your food as close to the original source as possible. If you’re unable to find these sorts of selections at the restaurant you’re looking at, it may be best to try somewhere else.
Check out some of the many positive reviews past customers have left for the fresh and healthy choices available from the Dinner Dude.
Use Healthy Takeout to Eat Sustainably
Next time you are about to eat, look at the food in front of you. Do you feel that what you’re about to eat will benefit your health or harm it?
Boston Medical Center estimates that 45 million Americans begin a new diet each year. They also spend $33 billion on weight loss products.
Yet instead of living in a healthy and well-balanced society, around two-thirds of Americans are still overweight or obese. Furthermore, even if people achieve their desired goals, many still struggle with body image or self-esteem issues.
This is because too many diets are like rollercoasters, with epic highs and subsequent lows. They demand adherence to a regimen that is far too strict, which leads to natural deviances. This, in turn, leads to feelings of shame and failure.
A healthy lifestyle should be one that is much more consistent. While small forms of “cheating” are inevitable, there should be no gigantic or extreme leaps forward or backward.
One strategy that can help prevent you from going back to unhealthier options is to have a selection of fresh and healthy choices ready on hand.
Instead of stocking up on chips and ice-cream flavors, stock up on several days worth of healthy takeout options.
Be Mindful and Don’t Feel Guilty
What is your current relationship with food like? Are you someone who struggles with consistency? Do you regularly compare yourself to others?
When transitioning into a healthy lifestyle, understand the difference between weight loss and health.
Someone may be extremely skinny and look healthy, but if they still struggle with obsessing about food and exercise, have low-energy, and go through cycles of overeating and then dieting, they have not achieved sustainable health.
That person has achieved weight loss, but in the process has formed a damaged relationship with food and their body.
Instead of counting calories and being a diet perfectionist, you should ask yourself how the food you’re eating makes you feel.
No, that doesn’t mean how happy you feel while eating peanut butter cheesecake. The brain is biased in this regard, as it can have a number of cravings based on factors such as stress and sleep patterns.
How does your body itself feel? Do you now feel sleepy or invigorated? Bloated or comfortable? Listening to your body after eating is the best way to predict how the food you just ate will impact it.
Your brain might have a craving for ordering a plate of loaded fries, but your body might not be too happy about it afterward.
Contrarily, chicken and grilled vegetables may not sound as exciting to your brain, but afterward, your body is certain to be thankful.
You also may be surprised at how delicious, fresh, and healthy food can really be!
A Healthy Mindset and a Healthy Lifestyle
Having a healthy relationship with food starts with your own mentality. You need to accept that the journey to being healthy is not a continual upward trend. You are only human, and you will have good days and bad days.
But accepting that these deviations will happen, avoiding extremism and perfectionism, and creating sustainable eating patterns will allow you to become a healthier individual.
Healthy takeout options can be one way to encourage accountability. By stocking up on delicious breakfasts, snacks, and entrees, you are taking steps towards promoting a long-lasting healthy lifestyle.
If you’re in Houston, Texas, and are ready to begin a convenient healthy lifestyle, check out the Dinner Dude’s menu.
We’ll help provide you with fresh and delicious healthy food to go, ready to be heated and eaten. You can order for in-store pickup, or you can have healthy food delivered to your hom