Indian Restaurant Meal

[RHendry]

Hi. I'm counting cals and it's working well. Tonight it's a meal out though. Any suggestions on best choices at an Indian restaurant?

[Decaff 1 stone]

Hi there, when I'm being good I order chicken tikka. It isn't swimming in the creamy sauces that so many of the dishes are but is fairly dry. Hope that's a start.

[JiminyCricket 7lbs]

Ooo, good thread - I'm doing that on Saturday. Was thinking DONT START ON THE POPPADUMS as a good 'note to self'! Prawn or veg dishes rather than meat. Tomato sauces rather than cream. Rice rather than naan.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi RHendry, if you type 'Indian Restaurant Meal' into the search box (top right of your screen), it'll give you all the threads that have asked the same question and you'll get heaps of ideas

Have a great time tonight!

[roseabi]

Dry dishes (i.e. no sauce) like shashlik, plain rice rather than pilau - and see if you can share a portion of rice with someone, don't have naan, avoid lager of course and don't have any alcohol before the food, be sure to do as much chatting as eating, have a small pudding such as kulfi if you enjoy sweet things

[MrNiceGuy]

I hope that you enjoyed your night out, RHendry.

In the absence of advice beforehand, consider the following for future visits:

Starters should ideally consist of prawn/fish based offerings, since the spices used are less likely to overwhelm the palate and stomach.

As for mains, pieces of Tikka chicken (without the masala sauce), will help to reduce overall calorie intake. Supplementing a Tikka main course with salad and a chapatti, alongside a helping of yoghurt will help to ensure that the dish isn't overly dry.

Roll the ingredients up into the chapatti and you'll have a delicious wrap.

If you happen to prefer Tandoori, attempt to opt for the same, but be prepared to eat it off the bone, since very few restaurants prepare Tandoori chicken pieces.

Salmon is also a good main option if you've had a heavily spiced meat starter (such as skeekh-kebab).

Equally, you could consider variants of Biryani with a side of salad and natural yoghurt.

Depending upon how spicy you enjoy your food, not only does yoghurt help to dampen the fire during consumption, it also assists the following morning, making the process far less painful.

Moreover, by choosing to forego a sauce over your meat, you can leave the restaurant with an equal sense of satisfaction and virtuosity.

[RHendry in reply to MrNiceGuy]

Thanks, sound advice.

Here's what actually happened though.

I enjoyed the evening and had a poppadum (so much for taking advice that it was a 'no no'); Tikka Masala (so much for taking advice that it was better to eat Chicken Tikka) and one small glass of red wine (the norm, as I like sparkling water).

So I weighed in the following day at 1.25 pounds heavier (yes, my scales measure in quarters of a pound).

Now I'm making amends - weighed in this morning and had lost 0.75 lbs thanks to a v determined effort yesterday, but still got another 0.5lb to lose before catching up!

It makes me realise that it really is worth making the right choices first time.

Another Indian meal is booked with friends for 10 Dec. This time it will be different.

[JiminyCricket 7lbs in reply to RHendry]

I think you did really well!!! I had a chicken balti, which was kind OK. plain rice. about 5 poppodums - i unfortunately discovered beforehand they werent 'too bad' in terms of calories, although obviously 5 is bad!! i didnt dip them in anything though. And I ate slowly, which I think really helped as I felt properly full with my plateful, and didnt have seconds of anything. Except poppadums!

What are you going to do next time? I go out for Indian quite a bit - like you perhaps! - I feel like honing a battle plan is the way forward!

[RHendry in reply to JiminyCricket]

Next time is 10 Dec. So 1 poppadom and maybe a chicken tikka, but not a tikka masala as there was loads of sauce with it. (I used a small amount but knew it was just eating loaded calories). And maybe one small glass of red wine, after a large glass of sparking water. Coffee, no dessert. That's ze plan!

[JiminyCricket 7lbs in reply to RHendry]

Yep there's a good reason why all those sauces are so delicious!!!! Chicken tikka is the way to go I think. Good luck next time

[Decaff 1 stone]

Hi, I still think you did pretty well. I'm having a boxed Indian meal from Tesco tonight which although it is my whole days calorie intake it is substantially lower than a full blown takeaway. Good luck for next time

[Sailsalot]

You did well to keep away from too much alcohol as that always increases my appetite, all good resolutions then disappear . As others have suggested I usually have tandoori chicken tikka off the bone with 1/2 a portion of plain rice or a green salad,yoghurt as dressing. I have a poppadom as otherwise feel deprived when everyone else is eating them, you want to feel like you've had a good time Well done for getting back to healthy eating the next day, that's the secret to success long term.