Erin O'Hara: Naturopath and wellness expert on whether healthy takeaways are still bad for you

We've all had busy weeks and felt compelled to order a takeaway meal from the endless options we have available - but one expert is wondering if they're really the best for you.

While some options are better than others, many takeaways are high in calories, fat, salt, sugar and other questionable processed ingredients.

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara unpacked some of the more popular 'healthy' choices available on UberEats - and weighed up the best options. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
I'd be joining us now. Is Aeron O'Hara's talk. Well,
this good morning, Good morning, interesting topic today. You're going
to talk about healthy takeaways, all takeaways that claim to
be healthy, and I'm curious to know where we're going
to land here.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
Yeah. The other day in the office, we're all chatting
at the end of our Friday and we were looking
at the Uber Eats app and I was like, oh, look,
there's a healthy category. Let's see what's in the healthy category.
And I was blowing away what's in the healthy category
of questioning whether it was actually a healthy option or not.
It's really interesting what you'll find in there from things

(00:48):
like Nando's. I'm like, I wonder what you'd order at
Nando's that would be classified as healthy because it doesn't
actually specify on that category. It just has the food option,
but not actually what things you should be ordering if
you're trying to get healthy. Subway also questionable healthy. You
could try and do Subway healthy you kind of minus
the massive big white bread roll and obviously don't order

(01:10):
a foot long. Also things like kebabs, which can be healthy.
Depends if you get rid of all the sauces.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Out of there.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, just kind of makes it. Yeah, we get a
good kebab a up the road, and I think that
I do think that is our healthy option if we
get taken with it depends on.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
Which sauces you choose and how much sauce is in it.
Also things like bubble tea. I'm like, questionable healthy, bubble
tea a lot of sugar and bubble tea and usually
milk sugar black tea questionably healthy. Even Tank, I'm like,
I love Tank, but also you have to be very
choosy what you choose from the Tank menu, because a

(01:48):
smoothie that's full of frozen yogurt, you know, you could think, oh,
I'm having a smoothie, it's so healthy for me. Has
got some fruits and fiber good things there. Frozen yogurt
questionably high sugar. Also depends what else you choose there,
but they do have some good healthy options there. You've
got to be selective. And that's the thing when it
comes to these healthy options with takeaways, it's not order anything.

(02:11):
It's also you've still got to look through it. And
be like, Okay, how can I make this a good option?
And I think when it comes to takeaways, you really
want to also look at are you having takeaways because
you're wanting the convenience factor or you having takeaways because
you really want to indulge in something delicious that you
wouldn't usually make at home. And I think you can
look at it as two ways. And I think if
you're going with the you know, indulging in something that

(02:33):
you wouldn't usually make, and you really want to enjoy
something that's quite you know, maybe high in calories, high
in fats, and maybe something a little bit extra, it
would be in the treat category that you wouldn't have
very often when it is for something for convenience, And
you really want to know how to work these healthy
options when you're trying to order something healthy, because you
might be doing that more often, Yeah, if you're doing

(02:54):
it more often. So if you're doing it several times
a week and you're wanting the convenience of ordering Uber
eats or picking something up local, always looking for things
like lean protein sources in your takeaway options, or whether
it's choosing check for your tofu instead of your sort
of your fried, battered kind of meats. Also not so
much the process meats, which we actually talked about last week.
So if you're choosing, you know, no ham salami, kind

(03:17):
of picking the less process options. Also maybe bumping up
the vegetables, focus on the vegetables, whether you're choosing a
salad rather than you know, a big sandwich with lots
of bread, choosing whole grains over more your refined flowers,
so swapping out maybe for a sourdough bread over your
white bread. Also limiting all your fried options. So if
it's ordering a burger, you might be like, cool, I'm

(03:39):
gonna get my burger, but I'm also gonna skip the fries.
Trying to make it just that little bit better for you,
a little bit less high calorie. Also just really watching
all those fried foods because that's where you're getting all
your extra calories. High trans fats also lots of salt,
taste delicious, but also not always the best option if
you're doing lots of regular, convenient takeaway meals, and being

(04:03):
really white aware of the portion size, because quite off
when we order foods, we think, okay, it's in a
portion control, but actually it's quite a lot more sometimes
than what we would naturally put on our dinner plate.
So maybe it might be getting the takeaway home and
instead of trying to eat out of the container and
eating the entire thing, be like cool, We're going to

(04:24):
plate it up and maybe even dividing, you know, one
takeaway meal between two, which I can actually make the
price down half the price too, but actually just eating
what you need rather than having to eat the whole meal,
which we tend to do.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
But that's what stops us from getting takeaways. I love
the convenience of takeaways, you know, after a long, hard week,
but it's so expensive, and if you're getting it for
a family of four, can you sort of look at
it and go, wow, we just paid that for that.
That's my thing, and I think that's a common thing
with the cysts, scramble an egg and throw some avocada
on a plate.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
I know. I think it's that convenienc thing. And that's
where I think really been mindful, Like if you are
ordering something like if it is over and you know
that indulging category where you're ordering it because you don't
want to cook and you want to eat something a
little bit different and you get sick of your own cooking,
then definitely look at you know, just enjoy it and
then next day back to your own home cooked, yummy,

(05:16):
healthy meals.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
Aeron O'Hara, thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin. Listen
live to News Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio