Ordering healthy and tasty food online
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Cooking during the hot summer months isn't always fun.
Online food delivery sites and apps make ordering out easier than ever. But those online orders can add up, and so can the calories.
The concept of ordering food online or using a smartphone app has made dinner easy. But it can also make it more costly, and less healthy.
A recent study from the University of Rochester evaluated 160,000 online orders to a North Carolina pizza chain over the course of 4½ years. Under the cloak of online anonymity came orders with higher costs and more calories.
The same online tools used to load more toppings on a pizza can easily be used to customize a healthier meal.
Sites like Grubhub, for example, have recently added more options.
"We've had a lot of people really ask for these low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian, gluten-free, of things like that, because they want more healthy options," said Grubhub co-founder Mike Evans.
Ordering online means requests to take off sauces, substitute healthier sides are less likely to get lost in the shuffle, so take advantage of that.
And for big portions, put half to the side as soon as it arrives.
"One of the nice things about delivery food is it comes in its own container, so you can put half that portion in the fridge and eat it as a leftover," Evans said.
That cuts calories and turning one meal into two, or possibly three, adding more bang and less bulk for the buck.
Take those leftovers, add a nice side salad and you've got yourself another quick and simple meal.
Online food delivery sites and apps make ordering out easier than ever. But those online orders can add up, and so can the calories.
The concept of ordering food online or using a smartphone app has made dinner easy. But it can also make it more costly, and less healthy.
A recent study from the University of Rochester evaluated 160,000 online orders to a North Carolina pizza chain over the course of 4½ years. Under the cloak of online anonymity came orders with higher costs and more calories.
The same online tools used to load more toppings on a pizza can easily be used to customize a healthier meal.
Sites like Grubhub, for example, have recently added more options.
"We've had a lot of people really ask for these low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian, gluten-free, of things like that, because they want more healthy options," said Grubhub co-founder Mike Evans.
Ordering online means requests to take off sauces, substitute healthier sides are less likely to get lost in the shuffle, so take advantage of that.
And for big portions, put half to the side as soon as it arrives.
"One of the nice things about delivery food is it comes in its own container, so you can put half that portion in the fridge and eat it as a leftover," Evans said.
That cuts calories and turning one meal into two, or possibly three, adding more bang and less bulk for the buck.
Take those leftovers, add a nice side salad and you've got yourself another quick and simple meal.
