Lose up to a stone for summer

A DELICIOUSLY HEALTHY WAY TO SHED LOCKDOWN POUNDS WITH

At the end of a long week, it’s easy to reach for your favourite takeaway menu if you’re tired or stressed or simply in need of a treat.

So it’s hardly surprising that sales of takeaway meals soared during lockdown, with millions of us seeing our favourite Chinese or Indian meals or fish and chips as a small indulgence amid the rest of our worries.

‘Unfortunately, delicious as these meals are, they’re usually either fried in fat or laden with butter, cheese and sugars; you might be surprised at how calorific (and high in SmartPoints) they are,’ says Julia Westgarth, head of programme at WW, formerly known as Weight Watchers.

‘For instance, a medium 120 g fillet of cod has either 0 or very low SmartPoints on all myWW+ plans, yet if you bought the same fish deep-fried in batter from a chip shop, it would set you back 23 SmartPoints (the equivalent to your entire day’s Budget on the Blue plan). And that’s without the chips!’ says Julia.

‘Fortunately, our expert nutritionists have devised clever adaptations so that you can still enjoy the enticing flavours of your takeaway favourites. For example, an average large four cheeses pizza has a SmartPoints value of 42, but we have pizza recipes on the myWW+ app for as low as 5 SmartPoints.

‘It might not be quite as easy as picking up the phone, but our recipes are all simple to prepare, far healthier and a fraction of the cost of a shopbought meal.’

to show you how easy it is to prepare a home-made, healthy ‘fakeaway’, we’re sharing a selection of inspiring yet simple recipes today in the final instalment of our exclusive WW series to help you shed up to a stone and get fitter in time to enjoy the freedom of summer after lockdown.

Why not try our sweet chilli fish and chips recipe — a delicious alternative to the chip shop original, and with a SmartPoints value of 10 on Green, 8 on Blue and 3 on Purple, it’s more waistline-friendly, too (see MyMail.

co.uk). Or perhaps you’d prefer our aromatic prawn thai curry (2 SmartPoints on Green; 1 on Blue and Purple) or the spicy Japanese chicken yakitori (15 SmartPoints on Green, 9 on Blue and Purple)?

‘But if your heart is set on a specific takeaway, that’s fine, too, so long as you’ve budgeted for it and track your SmartPoints. MyWW+ has been specifically designed to be flexible so that you can treat yourself using your Weeklies and your Rollover SmartPoints. And you can always boost your Budget by earning more FitPoints,’ says Julia.

‘Don’t forget the app is also there to help you make the healthiest choices; it has SmartPoint values for meals from most restaurant chains in the UK as well as for generic dishes such as a standard margherita pizza or a chicken tikka masala.’

Whatever you decide, put on some music and line up a movie to watch afterwards, and enjoy your evening!