Takeout survival guide

Have you ever been in a situation when you didn't have access to your kitchen and any kitchen stuff for an extended period of time? I am not talking here about being on vacation but rather about your day-to-day life. Maybe, you had a kitchen renovation? Or maybe, just like me, you moved to another city and all your stuff is taking longer to arrive then expected? As we were moving to San Francisco, it took about a week for our shipping container to arrive. During those days all we had was a couple of mattresses to sleep on and 2 suitcases with clothes and some other essentials. No cooking pans, china or silverware made it to the essentials list. So we went out to eat or got a takeout 2-3 times a day. I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to a home cooked meal at the end of that week.

Eating out doesn't have to take all control away from you

Just a few years ago I would be very excited about eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.  However, as I got more conscious of what I eat, I really became a big proponent of home cooking and meal planning. Don't take me wrong - I love going out to a nice restaurant or trying a new place every now and then. But not if I have to go out for every single meal in a day. Preparing my food makes me feel much more in control of what goes into my meal. Eating out is even more complicated when you have some food restrictions or specific preferences, such as limiting gluten, dairy or sugar. Restaurant food also feels heavier to me - even if I order a salad or something light - as I can't control the amount of dressing, sauces, etc.

Healthier "takeout" tips

1. Plan your meals
Plan your meals in such a way that you get the majority of your starchy foods and carbs for breakfast and lunch. When getting your dinner meal, skip that side of rice or potatoes. Fill your box with more veggies and protein. Or ask to substitute that side of french fries with a salad.

2. Check out cooked meals and salad bar sections in the nearby grocery store
Wholefoods really become our main go-to place for takeout food during that week. With the salad / warm meal bar options there you are much more in control of what you put in your takeout box and how much dressing you add.

3. Have breakfast at home
Stock up on some breakfast items that don't require cooking or much kitchen stuff. My normal breakfast is a bowl of oatmeal or other porridge. As I didn't have my pressure cooker or any cooking pan, that wasn't an option. So we bought some coconut milk yogurt, gluten-free granola, berries, bananas, raw almonds, and cacao nibs and had our breakfast at home.

4. Stock up on healthy snacks
For me it's almost always apples or raw nuts. But it can also be little packs of hummus, baby carrots, bananas, string cheese, etc.

5. Don't be shy to ask for what you want
When eating in a restaurant, don't be shy to ask for substitutes. You are here to eat and you are paying for your meal, so you have the right to ask. For example, one of the days we went to a Greek restaurant for lunch. I love Greek mezes and really wanted to order an eggplant-based meze. However, they always come with pita and the restaurant didn't have any gluten-free bread alternatives. So I asked if they could put a few slices of cucumber so that I could dip it in my meze instead of pita. And I got a beautiful meze platter with cucumber slices and a variety of pickled vegetables, which was a nice bonus! 

All in all, we have finally received our shipping container and I am free to decide what I want to cook and how. But that week of living on takeouts reminded me again a few basics of healthy eating. If you do have to eat out for an extended period of time, put some effort into planning your meals, snacks and takeout places. And you'll be able to stay in control and get more balanced and nutritious meals throughout your day.