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Healthier takeaway swaps that still taste right
The swaps we use in our healthier versions, and roughly what each one saves.
Cutting salt
- No-added-salt tomato ketchup instead of regular tomato sauce. Regular is about 800 mg of sodium per 100 g; no-added-salt versions are close to zero. In sweet and sour sauce this is the single biggest saving.
- Skip the soy sauce or use a salt-reduced one. A tablespoon of regular light soy is more than 1,000 mg of sodium.
- Check bread and crumbs. Burger buns and panko are the sneakiest sources of salt. Compare labels — there can be a two-fold difference between brands.
- Buttermilk instead of a salt brine keeps chicken juicy.
- Lemon zest, garlic, smoked paprika and fresh herbs add the flavour you'd otherwise get from salt.
Cutting fat
- Air fry instead of deep-frying. An egg-and-cornflour coating with a light oil spray at 200 °C gives a glassy crunch for a fraction of the oil.
- Greek yoghurt instead of mayonnaise in burger sauces. It has about a fourteenth of the fat.
- Leave off the cheese slice, or use one thin slice instead of two.
Cutting sugar
- Use less sugar in sauces and lean on acidity. A sharper sauce tastes just as satisfying with a third less sugar.
- Pineapple juice sweetens sweet and sour sauce naturally.
See them in action: bondi burger, sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken, chicken burritos.