Five tips to avoid takeaway and cook at home instead

By Dr Mike Edgley - Docklands Health

There are a bunch of reasons we turn to takeaway for dinner. We’re busy, we left it too late, we haven’t done the shopping, we just want pizza because it’s delicious and we’re treating ourselves … twice a week. 

Whatever the reason, takeaway certainly has its place in everyday life, but it can be hell on your hip pocket and your hips in general.
Here are five great tips to start avoiding takeaway and unleash your inner chef. 

Plan your meals 

Admittedly, this does rely on some level of organisation, but the more practice you get in, the easier it will become. By planning out the week’s dinners in advance, you’re able to reduce waste and buy exactly what you need, save money on impulse purchases, and you have an idea of the time and effort commitment each night’s dinner has. 

Fill your cupboards with the recipe basics 

Some of the best meals are created from random ingredients you happen to have stocked in your pantry (and usually never able to be recreated). A lot of typical homecooked go-to recipes start with the same basic ingredients such as flour, pasta, rice, eggs, vegetables, stock … you get the picture. Having a steady supply of staple ingredients in your pantry is a great pathway to never having the excuse of “having nothing in the cupboards”. 

One pot wonder 

Being time constrained is usually at the top of the list for turning to takeaway. If this is the case for you, investing in a slow cooker could be a game changer. With countless recipes and creative ways to slow cook your favourites, these one pot wonders do all the cooking work for you. Prep your ingredients when you’re cooking dinner the night before, and pop it on first thing in the morning. Eight hours later, you’ll have a beautifully cooked and flavourful dinner ready to serve. 

Try cooking your favourite takeaway 

If you have a regular hankering for a specific takeaway, chances are someone else feels the same way and has created a homecooked recipe to replicate your favourite tasty treat. The pros to cooking your favourite takeaway meal is that you can adapt the flavours and ingredients as much as you like to suit your tastes, even making a healthier version to support a better lifestyle. 

The online buffet of recipes 

Where there’s the internet, there’s a way.
The internet holds millions of recipes, cooking tutorials, videos, tips, and every ingredient necessary for a successful homecooked meal. There are even websites that can suggest what you should have for dinner based on your tastes and time available. There really are no more excuses! •