Family and friends love to order takeout, and while it is tasty, one dish from a Chinese or Indian restaurant can easily be a day’s worth of calories, fat, salt and added sugar. There must be a way to enjoy the taste and convenience of Ethnic takeout and delivery meals without throwing healthy eating out the window.

There is a way, and luckily it is easy, cheap and simple! Order a side of steamed or grilled vegetables to eat with a light topping of the decadent dish of your choice! These curries and saucy stir fries are full of flavor (and sugar, fat and salt) so a little bit will go a long way. No need for rice (or use rice as part of your 1/2 cup “tasty treat topping”) – use the steamed or grilled veggies in place of the rice – that is how you balance out the indulgence of the “tasty treat” portion of the meal. Remember that eating well is all about balance, not about absolutes or rigid rules.

Here are some of my favorite pairings:

1/2 cup Thai curry or Chinese stir fry on a side of steamed broccoli. Eat the whole steamed veggies side dish and you will not be hungry for seconds and will get a very nutritious and tasty meal. 

1/2 cup Indian curry, dal or saag dish on a side of grilled zucchini.    

1/2 cup Mexican takeout on a side of grilled summer squash, onions and mushrooms.  

As a dietitian, it is easy for me to choose any menu item and make it 10 times healthier through a few modifications: “no bacon”, “sauce on the side”, “half the cheese” etc, but those complicated orders quickly get annoying to my dining companions. Enjoying vibrant health and high energy are certainly worth a few sidelong glances, but sometimes I just want to make things easier for others and not the one who makes ordering difficult!