Got your local Indian on your favourite contacts? Addicted to takeaways?

A recent survey* showed that takeaways are rapidly becoming a weekday fixture, rather than the once-in-a-while indulgence and that men are the worst culprits.

Break the habit with these three easy “fake-away” recipes from DW Fitness Clubs for a healthy alternative to your go-to favourites.

3 fake-away recipes

Chicken Kebabs

Serves 4

Combining the zucchini with the chicken breasts creates a protein meal that is light on saturated fats and high in nutrition.

Also, as we only gently sear the zucchini, we can ensure that the nutrients within the vegetable are not denatured. We also love Greek yogurt, as it is richer in protein than regular yogurt.

INGREDIENTS

For the tzatziki:
250 ml of Greek yohurt
½ a fresh cucumber
2 tsp of lemon juice
2 chopped garlic cloves
3 fresh mint leaves
Salt and pepper (optional)

For the chicken skewers:
4 skewers
500g of chicken breast, chopped into squares
2 zucchini, cut into halves
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of thyme
30 ml of extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

For the tzatziki:

  1. Grate the ½ cucumber. Dice a few mint leaves.
  2. Pour the Greek yogurt into a serving bowl, adding the grated cucumber. Stir in the chopped garlic and add the diced mint leaves.
  3. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the chicken skewers:

  1. Coat the chicken with a thin layer of olive oil. Grill chicken pieces separately on low heat for 15 minutes (or until cooked through). Add some salt, oregano and thyme for flavour.
  2. While the chicken is cooking, shave the zucchini into thin strips.
  3. Once the chicken is ready, remove it from the heat, but don’t turn the grill off just yet!
  4. Roll zucchini strips and place each slice on a skewer with a piece of chicken breast. Repeat until skewer is full.
  5. Place the skewer on the heat for two minutes for zucchini to brown slightly. Add any more oregano and thyme to flavour the zucchini.
  6. Remove and serve with tzatziki.

3 fake-away recipes

Sweet and Sour Chinese Prawns with Super-Light Glass Noodles

Serves 4

We all love a good Chinese takeaway, but they’re never the healthiest option. Noodles and rice are loaded with carbs; sweet and sour sauce is filled with sugar; and deep frying meats is a health no-no, however good it may taste.

Prawns are a low-fat source of protein, and delicious to boot. According to The World’s Healthiest Foods, prawns have a high content of omega-3 fatty acids with 114g providing about 325-375mg.

We’ve also gone with rice noodles, which are a light alternative to traditional noodles.

INGREDIENTS

A handful of sugar snap peas
500g of prawns, peeled and deveined
Red & yellow peppers
Red cabbage
100g of beansprouts
Spring onions
100 ml of soy sauce
1 tsp of honey
½ tsp of chilli powder
250g of rice noodles
2 tbsp of canola oil

METHOD

  1. Place the rice noodles in a bowl of warm water and soak until soft (around 20 minutes). In a separate bowl, stir together soy sauce and honey.
  2. Place a large wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two. Pour the canola oil into the wok and spread it around evenly.
  3. Add the garlic and stir fry for a few seconds, before adding the peppers, red cabbage, sugar snap peas, spring onions and beansprouts. Stir fry for one minute.
  4. Add the prawns and the sauce, and stir fry for a further three minutes, or until the shrimp is bright pink. Drain your rice noodles and add them in, stir over the heat for another minute.
  5. Remove from the heat and serve!

3 fake-away recipes

Clean-Eating Chicken Jalfrezi

Serves 2-4

If it’s warming, comforting food that you’re after, you simply can’t go wrong with a curry. You don’t have to go all in with a carb-heavy portion of rice and a naan bread.

Why not spoon some of your fiery Chicken Jalfrezi onto a jacket sweet potato instead?

Lean and packed with protein, chicken is extremely versatile. Chillies also carry unexpected health benefits, mainly in the form of antioxidants.

Meanwhile, the humble pepper is said to offer more vitamin C than an orange.

There are no heavy creams or excessive use of oil here, which means the dish is generally much cleaner than a Jalfrezi that is served up by your average takeaway.

INGREDIENTS

2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 large onion (chopped)
4 full chillies (you decide the strength!)
1 green pepper (chopped into thick slices)
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato puree
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of garam masala
1 tbsp of curry powder
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of salt
A handful of fresh coriander
2 tbsp of Greek yoghurt
100ml of cold water
500g of diced chicken breast
1 chicken stock cube

METHOD

  1. Heat your oil up in a big pan, before throwing in your onion, garlic and tomato puree. This should be done on a medium to high heat.
  2. Chop two of your chillies up finely (keep the seeds in if you like it hot!)
  3. Add your garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and curry powder into the pan and stir. Cook for five minutes.
  4. Once your onions have softened (don’t let them burn), add your chopped chillies and diced chicken into the pan.
  5. Allow the chicken to cook in the spices for around five to six minutes.
  6. In the meantime, take your two remaining chillies and slice them vertically from top to bottom. *Note* – you only need to pierce them slightly.
  7. Add the chopped tomatoes, pepper, whole chillies, stock cube, salt and pepper, and water. Put a lid on the pan and allow to simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes or so.
  8. Stir in your Greek yoghurt. This will give your curry a bit of creaminess.
  9. Add your chopped coriander and thicken the mixture with cornflour if you need to.

*Survey undertaken by DW Fitness Clubs who asked 2,000 UK residents which day they were most likely to eat a takeaway.