Waging a fare fight before tea time
Knowing there is a fish ‘n chips shop just around the corner can be comforting on a midweek evening when work becomes overwhelming and cooking gets shoved to the sideline.
But a family or flat trip to buy some deep-fried tucker can leave some members fearing clogged arteries. If the local chip shop also sells Chinese takeaways, that person may go for sweet and sour pork instead, as it still hits the spot, with the added bonus of a few pieces of pineapple, onion or carrots.
For this fast-food battle, advanced nutrition and lifestyle coach Tony Small helps decipher which meal is healthier.
FISH ‘N CHIPS
that Small wouldn’t look at it twice. It can be seen running down your hands, dripping down your face and darkening the paper used to hold this deliciously bad meal.
When asked to pick out the healthiest part, he hesitates, as there are no healthy grains to fall back on.
But if a few changes had to be made to make it healthier, he would throw away the fries, rip off the batter, or simply ask for a piece of grilled fish.
Even kumara fries don’t make the cut, as they’re still cooked in saturated vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, Small says.
Some fish ‘n chips shops claim to use healthier oils such as canola oil, but he says there’s nothing nutritious about canola oil, especially if heated time and again. These bad fats raise cholesterol levels, which leads to heart disease, stroke or diabetes.
SWEET AND SOUR PORK
The bonus of this dish, compared with fish ‘n chips, is the added vegetable component.
Often, sweet and sour pork contains onion, carrot and pineapple to give it a tangy flavour. But the pork is still battered and deep-fried, which is an unhealthy combo, Small says.
The sauce is full of sugar and there is so much bad fat and and gluten in the batter that it should be taken off. ‘‘When you’re looking at the best nutrients, go for what looks like a real food.’’
With that advice, there will be some vegetables, pineapple and dissected pork to eat.
Despite potato being the only vegetable, unless there’s a dusting of onion if using onion salt, fish ‘n chips is the winner of this battle.
But it’s not the traditional fish ‘n chips. After taking Small’s advice, you’re left with a plate of grilled fish, but you could always pinch a chip or two from someone else. Even he admits to indulging in a few chips to go with his grilled fish in the past.