Craving a big juicy burger or a delicious spicy curry 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. Curry Nights
There’s nothing better than a takeaway curry but sometimes they can be hard on your wallet and even harder on your waistline if you’re having them too often. Pick up a curry paste from the world food aisles, grab yourself a tin of tomatoes, chop up some veg and add a little natural yoghurt to make your sauce creamy. All you need to do is cook off whatever meat or veg you fancy in your curry, add your curry paste, tomatoes and some yoghurt and heat through. Add extra chilli flakes if you like it hot! Serve with quinoa if you’re feeling really healthy - it has fewer calories and more protein than rice.2. Chinese Dream
Chinese takeaways are notoriously full of salt. Ever woken up after a big takeaway 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, spring onions 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.3. 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!4. Something Fishy
No promises here, this is not going to be battered, fried and dripping in chip-shop goodness but it might, just might, cure your fish and chips craving. Opt for frozen, pre-battered or even breadcrumbed fish for a cheap and cheerful alternative to the chippy. Although not particularly healthy this will be a dream in comparison to the fat content in the fish from your local. Feeling creative? Whip up your own breadcrumbs using grated parmesan, breadcrumbs and herbs. Dip some fish fillets into a beaten egg and then into your breadcrumb mixture and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and crispy. For your chip fix, head to the frozen section again, grab some skinny fries and control your portion or get yourself a sweet potato and get chopping. Spritz with oil spray and sprinkle a little salt on them. Bake for 25-30 minutes and voila!5. Pizza Party
There are loads of ways to make your pizzas healthier. First up, re-think your base. Use pitta breads, wraps or even sandwich thins 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! Join UNiDAYS Now For Free Student Discount
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