Ordering every meal online or from food delivery apps is easy, but is it good for you? Rethink your habits, reclaim control over your plate, and eat mindfully
In its last year-end report, one of India’s top food delivery platforms projected that there are about 200 million people in India who will order food from it about five times a month, with the top 20 million cohort amongst these ordering more than once a day, every day. That’s a lot of people who have their food cooked, packed and delivered to them, doing away with the practice of home cooking.
If you are part of this vast segment and a valued customer of delivery platforms, you will have valid reasons for depending on them for your everyday sustenance. The demands of the workplace may leave you short of the time and energy that cooking requires. You may have never learned the basics of cooking. You know how to cook, but you don’t particularly enjoy kitchen time. You may prefer restaurant fare to the simplicity of homecooked food. Whatever the scenario, the food delivery platforms appear to be the perfect solution, bringing you meals within minutes, you having to do nothing more than pick up your phone, tap and swipe.
Also read: Shaikh Rehana Abdul Hamid: Keeper of recipes of IM Kadri’s Justa Diwans Bungalow
But you don’t have to be a health nut to realize that getting every meal from a restaurant or cloud kitchen isn’t the best way to eat. No matter how delightful their descriptions, dishes you order via a delivery platform are unlikely to provide all the nourishment you need. Your plate will be lacking in diversity and nutritional balance. Your intake of carbs, sugar and fat will tend to be high, because that is what makes restaurant food taste the way it does. So, what can you do if you order in often and still wish to reduce the ill-effects of this convenience?
Order before you’re ravenous
There’s an old piece of advice that warns against going food shopping when hungry. The same applies to opening your food delivery app. Systemic signaling will lead to you choose foods that offer instant gratification and are not the most nutritious. If you are starving when you order, you are more likely to go for the burger and fries than the tandoori roti and dal tadka, believing that all those greasy, salty carbs will hit the spot. You might also tend to over-order and then feel compelled to eat it all. So, whenever possible plan and choose your delivery meal ahead. You can then press ‘pay’ so it arrives at the right time.
Eat it mindfully
Do not scarf food from the black plastic box with a disposable spoon while scrolling or being glued to a screen. Transfer the food to a plate or bowl. Eat with your hands or with proper cutlery and without other distractions. This act of mindfulness enhances your relationship with food. Even if you continue to order in, you will do it with more thought and make better choices.
Order from restaurants rather than cloud kitchens
Restaurants that have a direct connection with customers tend to be more quality-conscious than cloud kitchens that are focused entirely on delivering food quickly and efficiently. This is especially true of big brands with multiple outlets that make dishes or parts of a dish in central kitchens, reducing the art of cooking into an assembly line. Would you not want your food to be cooked with more care than that?
Also read: How Prateek Sadhu’s Naar sparks a new era in Indian destination dining
Even when you order from restaurants, look for those that have an avowed commitment to using good quality ingredients and freshness. You would be surprised at the number of commercial kitchens that produce food using pre-mixes with elements of unknown provenance and ultra-processed ingredients.
Make wise choices
Look for dishes containing wholesome ingredients that are identifiable. This means staying away from masala-laden gravies that camouflage what they contain and opting for paneer tikka over paneer butter masala. Try and find dishes that contain fresh vegetables and greens.
And, no, biryani four times a week is not a good idea. While the combination of rice and meat may make it seem like a balanced meal, it’s a starch overload, often seasoned with MSG, an additive that causes carb cravings, making you overeat.
Be informed about the ingredients in smoothies and ‘healthy’ bowls. They can often be laden with sugar and dairy-like substances. You are better off eating a portion of whole fruit.
Exercise portion control
Food delivery businesses push you to order large portions, throwing in tempting deals. If there’s a choice between medium and large, order the former. Don’t pick combo meals that come with various fillers. You don’t need the cola and the gulab jamun on top of the biryani.
Save the treats for special times
The app might prod you to add dessert to your order every single time or come up with combos just for you, throwing in a triple chocolate brownie or massive wedge of New York cheesecake. Do yourself a favour and resist. Eat the tiramisu once a week, maybe. The same goes for doughnuts, almond croissants and other buttery, sugary treats. Make them an occasional indulgence, enjoying them to the fullest when you do.
Don’t order in-between meals
Do not go online to order a snack. The options are almost always calorie-laden and push you to overeat. Even if you don’t cook at all, keep nuts or fruit handy for when you feel just a little hungry. Avoid ordering and eating at midnight and after.
Make an attempt to cook
Cooking is a great life skill to have. You don’t have to create gourmet meals or cook every day. Getting a grasp of some basics will serve you well. A dish of rice, lentils and vegetables that you whip up in a pressure cooker on a Sunday afternoon will be far more satisfying and nourishing than anything you order online.
As you come to appreciate the goodness of homecooked food, you will be less and less inclined to eat from that black plastic box and wonder what to do with the line-up tiny plastic containers holding uneaten mayo.
