Craving a big juicy burger or a delicious pizza but don’t want the calorie content of your dinner to skyrocket? It’s time to get all DIY! Making meals yourself is a surefire way to keep calories down and get a little healthier because you know exactly what’s going into what you’re creating.
1. Chinese dream
Chinese food is notoriously full of salt. Ever woken up after a big noodle feast and felt like you’ve been drinking even if you haven’t? That, my friends, is what they call a salt hangover. Ick. Cure your Chinese cravings with something a little fresher like a healthier chicken fried rice. Grab yourself some brown rice and get that cooking. Leave your rice to cool once cooked, it’s best to refrigerate over night but you can just pop it in the fridge until cold. Chop up a bell pepper, scallions and chicken breast and fry them all up together in a wok with a little soy sauce, ginger and chilli. Once everything is cooked mix it all through so the rice is hot and then push to one side of the pan. In the other side, crack in an egg and quickly scramble it before mixing it all together. Add some more soy sauce at this point for extra flavour. This is a great dish for making a ton of and then keeping in the refrigerator for lunches during the week! Grab yourself some awesome snack boxes from ASOS and stock yourself up for healthy meals. We like the Paperchase Mermaid Snack Box Set and this great Happy Jackson Health Snacks Box. Don't forget you can save 10% with your UNiDAYS college discount too.
2. Patty & bun
To keep calories down in your burger, choose a lean beef mince or even take things even skinnier with turkey mince, add your seasoning of choice and form into flat patty shapes. Grill, bake or fry these off with a little oil spray and you’ve got a super tasty burger that you know only includes the good stuff! Build up your burger with a wholemeal bun, add some salad and pop on a bit of cheese if you fancy. Love bacon on your burger? Try using bacon medallions instead of streaky rashers and you’ll save a whole load of fat and calories here. Two bacon medallions usually come in at around 70 calories and are packed with protein. Why not try making your own burger sauce by mixing some spices into Greek yoghurt? Delicious!3. Pizza party
There are loads of ways to make your pizzas healthier. First up, re-think your base. Use pitta breads or tortillas to create a thinner base. Add tomato puree, chopped vegetables and meat (we love chorizo, chicken and yellow pepper!), pop on some herbs such as oregano, black pepper and chilli flakes and finish off with a sprinkling of low-fat grated mozzarella. Seriously, your pizza cravings will be cured and you’ll have eaten about a quarter of the amount of calories compared to a takeaway pizza. Easy! There we have it - whipping up your own takeout inspired dinners are an easy way of keeping the calories and the costs down as a college student.
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