AIBU to ask, what helped you give up takeaway?

[EndlessUserName]

We have one every week without fail. I'd like to get to once a fortnight but we can never manage it! Money isn't a super issue, but I think it would be healthier to go less often. If you've done it, how did you manage to have less takeaway / none anymore?

Gousto! The food is so good that’s our treat - 4 times a week healthy from scratch and not been disappointed in our first 4 boxes!

Egghead has a good point, I’ve swapped takeaways for Charlie Bonghams

I love takeaways. Being overindulgent, not having to cook and minimal washing up is great. My waistline hasn’t thanked me for it though! We get special meals for fridays now that we look forward to, homemade Nando’s with halloumi fries and nice veg like asparagus, fillet steak with tender stem broccoli or making a curry in the slow cooker and adding cream. Not quite a takeaway but a good compromise.

Lockdown.
Before Covid, we had 3 or 4 takeaways a month, as a "treat", but then stopped as we weren't convinced they were safe.
Now I can't imagine ever wanting to order one again.
Both DH and I have lost weight in lockdown, and giving up the almost-weekly takeaway has been the only change to our diets. Plus we've saved loads of money.
Some of the supermarket "fakeaways" are quite good, and are a fraction of the price and calorie content.
If you want to stop, just stop?! Delete Just Eat from your phone, chuck the menus out and have some easy, fast "treat" meals in the fridge if you need to bridge the gap.

Moving house! We moved to a rural village that no takeaway delivers to

If it's something you really enjoy, can you balance it out - make sure have a smaller, healthy meals on the day before and after, maybe just have a salad or veg soup without carbs for lunch? Or even do something like 5:2 - varying the amount you eat each day of the week can be quite a good thing if done thoughtfully.

Live in the sticks - no local takeaway and no delivery. Sorted. We occasionally go to The Moving Plaice on the village green for a 'treat'. I would kill for a take away even though it's a distant memory.

For me it was having easy meals in. I realised the main incentive for us getting a takeaway was convenience after we'd both had a long day rather than wanting junk food. We started getting two ready meals in our weekly shop and now have those on the day we can't be bothered to cook - I know they're not all that healthy either but they're less calories and only £1-2 each.

I live in a tiny village with one little shop and one pub. Takeaways are a distant memory, the nearest town is 12 miles away and it has a Chinese and and Indian takeaway, but we just don't seem to bother any more.

PPs saying lockdown has stopped them having takeaways- I've ended up having more because of the sheer boredom of it all! We rarely had takeaway in the past but having it about once a week now.

If it's something you enjoy and look forward to, I agree with a PP - carry on, treat it as a weekly indulgence and balance it out with other meals. I lost 23kg while keeping up a weekly breakfast at McDonald's; it isn't impossible and can actually keep you going if it's something you really like.

Not being able to afford them.

I don't think there's anything wrong with takeaway. As long as you're not doing to often. We average once a fortnight which I think is fine. I would suggest checking scores on the doors website though. I only order from places that have a 5 hygiene rating. If any of the places you order from have a lower one than that, that will help you stop ordering from them!

Covid

Find yourself a couple of quick, really delicious recipes and make sure you have the stuff in ready to make it on your old takeaway night. We used to have takeaway 2 or 3 times a week but now it’s once every 2 - 2 weeks. Our go to recipes are carbonara, Chinese chicken (with either veg or noodles) and home made burgers. I can cook all of those within half an hour so quicker than we can get something delivered.

*I don't get how people can cross the street to avoid walking past someone but will eat a meal that strangers have just prepared with their hands.

Personally I don't cross the street to avoid people. I've been either eating in or getting takeaways from my favourite Indian for over 20 years so the only difference lockdown has made is takeaways instead of going to the restaurant. I think the only thing that'll stop me ordering is the restaurant closing!

The disappointment

We always expected it to be fab

Great curry (not chinese as it all tastes the same)

Excellent kebabs from turkish restaurant

But it all changed and no idea why

The only takeaway we have now is a dirty doner kebab as there are no expectations - and that is once in a blue moon

I don't get how people can cross the street to avoid walking past someone but will eat a meal that strangers have just prepared with their hands

You wouldn’t catch Covid from eating a meal, your stomach acid will sort that out. It’s breathing in the virus that’s a problem.

When I got food poisoning.

I never want to repeat looking after a three year old whilst vomiting and all the rest for three days.

We've found a nice pizza restaurant that does take away so we may have that every few months.

The price

Always have a lot of fresh food in the house. Get a weekly veg box. That way you have to eat the food you already have or it will go to waste so a takeaway becomes hard to justify.

You can't ignore a fridge full of kale glaring at you, no matter how hard you try!!

Just diarise it. Once every 10 days for the next month, then once every two weeks for the next two months and then once a month.

Same as anything that becomes a bad habit, ease yourself it slowly.....

The way that you do it is you have to recreate what you get the takeaway for.

So find something which is a treat, something you can justify not making for the kids (something they don't like) and that takes very little/no prep. Maybe posh ready meals? Something like one of those Cook boxes?

But to be honest none of that is especially healthier. What about just trying different restaurants? It doesn't necessarily have to be a "traditional" takeaway e.g. Chinese, Indian, burgers. Since COVID a lot of restaurants have opened up to doing takeaway, almost American style so you could essentially have takeaway from any kind of cuisine you could think of. Many of those will be healthier than curry. Or choose lighter options for your takeaway? Eat more healthily on other nights to offset?

Restaurant at home. Think about what you would order if you could go to any restaurant in town. Then cook it at home. Nice drink to go with it.

Much cheaper and stretches your cooking skills.

We're dieting so the continued weight loss is what keeps us going.