There’s something very exciting about getting takeout, which is perhaps why the average American is forecast to spend a massive $70,000 on takeout food during their lifetime! But ordering so much takeout does have its pitfalls. Aside from being expensive, it’s also often unhealthy, loaded with extra sugar, salt, and fat which we all know isn’t good for us. So how can you have your takeout and eat it? Well, the answer is, by cooking it at home.
Now we know what you’re thinking – ‘how is it takeout if you cook it at home?’ And, well, we guess technically it isn’t, but we can help you duplicate the same flavor and experience so you’ll stop missing your weekly takeouts in no time. Read on to find out how.
The taste
There’s no denying that takeout food has a taste of its own, and as we’ve already mentioned, this is often because takeout food is filled with extra salt, sugar, and fat – but all hope is not yet lost. People are getting savvy as to what goes on in takeout food and are developing recipes like this restaurant-style paneer butter masala, that taste just like the real deal. You may need to put in a little extra effort and there may be some trial and error, but it is possible to replicate your favorite takeout dishes at home and for them to taste just as good as the ones you have delivered from the store.
The effort
Fast food is often used as a quick and easy meal for days when we don’t want to cook, and so it’s understandable that the idea of spending time in the kitchen to replicate a takeaway isn’t appealing to most, which is where meal prepping comes in. If you know you have a real love for Indian takeout, then cook a batch of your favorite Indian dishes and freeze them in takeout style containers and then they’re ready to be simply put in the oven on the days when you would normally have ordered takeout.
The experience
Aside from the taste of your favorite takeout, the other thing that has a huge impact on your overall enjoyment of the food is the experience of eating it. This includes things like eating out of containers, not having any washing up, using chopsticks for Chinese, etc, and the good news once again is that all of this can be replicated at home. Of course, to minimize waste we’d like to recommend trying to enjoy the takeout experience using the cutlery and crockery you have at home, but if it’s a deal-breaker then you can actually buy takeout style containers from the dollar store, along with takeout style cutlery, which will make your feast seem all the more authentic. When it comes to eating the food itself, try to replicate the environment you’d usually eat the takeout in. Such as eating on the sofa rather than at the table, whatever it is that you usually do when enjoying a takeout.
Of course, we don’t expect you to never order takeout again, but hopefully, by trying the above three things you’ll be able to enjoy more takeout style food at home, saving you tons of money and also helping you eat more healthily too.