In our forthcoming book about running and weight loss, we discuss the value of take-away and fast food for people attempting to control their weight. In particular, one of the main problems with take-away food: not knowing the contents of the food being eaten.
Although we are not into calorie counting for weight-loss, we do believe it is pretty vital to have a rough idea of nutritional values with regard to fats, sugar, and total energy content.
Runners tend to be busy people, by the time they have managed their working lives, family and training, there is not a lot of time left to prepare and cook food. And there lies the problem for anyone watching their weight: what can they eat that is: tasty, easy and quick to prepare, and varied? Often, the take-away or carry out Indian meal is the answer. But unfortunately, aside from the cost these meals are less than ideal because they can be loaded with fat and sugar. Research carried out by the UK consumer magazine ‘Which’, found that a take-away Indian meal could contain more saturated fat than the recommended daily allowance for women.
Of course the answer to eating healthily is to cook for yourself, and it is possible to create indian-type meals quickly from your own base ingredients and packet or jar sauces. This way, you can keep an eye on the energy content, particularly the fat. But, the problem is that they usually taste like they were made from packet sauces; it’s difficult to replicate that fresh-tasting spicy meal from a packet — until now.
A few weeks ago, I received a telephone call from someone who wanted to send me a free sample of some indian spices. I usually politely end such unsolicited marketing calls, but because it was about free food, I just gave them my address.
Through the letterbox the other day dropped an indian meal, all but the base ingredients. Some spices (whole, not ground), and two sachets, once labeled ‘base’, the other, ‘sauce’. The packet clearly showed the ingredients, the instructions for use and some interesting background about the particular dish that the contents was going to be creating.
So, the other day, I put the lot in a pan with some chicken, boiled some rice, and very soon after we ate an extremely tasty, healthy, indian meal. In fact, it was the very best packet indian meal I’ve ever eaten.
I was surprised, especially so given that it was a korma dish, I usually prefer something a little more exciting (although the makers had thoughtfully packed a dried chili for those who like to tingle a bit).
So a rather unusual (for us) recommendation for the creators who seem to have achieved something remarkable. Check out the Spice Tailor site, it’s really informative and useful for anyone who likes their indian food and wants to keep things healthy.
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