8 Healthy and Affordable Takeout Dishes

Eating out doesn’t have to disrupt your goal to eat better this year. In fact, dishes from these restaurants can help you stay on the healthy eating path.

There are four kinds of baco on the dirtbelly menu: chicken, ahi tuna, veggie and egg.

Photograph by Shallon Cunningham/Salt Food Photo

 

When things get busy, it can be hard to find time to cook a healthy meal at home. But that doesn’t have to mean throwing your healthy eating New Year’s resolution out the window. These eight restaurants all have healthy takeout options you can eat on the go or eat as soon as you get through the front door, whether you’re looking for dinner, breakfast or a small snack.

Calgary Co-op

Feature meals

For a healthy and satisfying meal you can pick up on your way home, head to one of the four Calgary Co-op locations in this city that has a Fresh To Kitchen. As well as the salad bar and curry bar, these Co-op locations have a whole buffet of food options made fresh on-site. Each day there’s a different featured main served with your choice of sides. (When it comes to the sides, there are plenty of vegetables, as well as macaroni and cheese and scalloped potatoes if your definition of “healthy” is a little looser.) Featured dishes are served daily between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. They include lasagna, hunter chicken, beef shepherd’s pie and jambalaya. $6.99.

35 Crowfoot Way N.W., 403-299-5353, and three other locations, calgarycoop.com, @calgarycoop

dirtbelly

Ahi tuna bacos

This vegetable-focused takeout joint opened in TD Square last spring, and it’s all about healthy eating that works for busy lifestyles. If you’re looking for something a little different from a salad and more exciting than a sandwich, try the one of the four bacos on the menu. (A baco is what a bready sandwich and taco’s love child would look like.) The ahi tuna baco is made with sliced seared tuna, wasabi mayo and a spicy Asian cabbage and carrot salad. There are also chicken, veggie and egg bacos on the menu. One for $8.50.

324 7 Ave. S.W., 403-452-3340, dirtbelly.com, @dirtbelly_yyc

 

Fit Kitchen

Tofu scramble

This is the place to go if you’re serious about healthy eating. Fit Kitchen is an extension of The Main Dish and sells healthy, pre-packaged meals. Each packaged meal is colour coded. The meals are red if you’re looking to eat to support athletic performance, or green if you’re looking to keep your waistline trim. There are breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks.

Enough with the Diet Coke and leftover cake for breakfast – stop here for a pre-portioned dish to eat on your way to work. The tofu scramble is made up of tofu, spinach, tomato, zucchini and two scrambled eggs. It has 23 grams of protein to keep you full and it’s completely gluten-free and dairy-tree. The small size is just 340 calories. $10.

33 High St. S.E., 403-455-3474, fitkitchen.ca, @fitkitchenyyc

Freshii

Buddha’s satay bowl

Freshii is a relatively new addition to Calgary’s takeout food scene and we’re glad it’s here. For a hearty, healthy meal that’s full of flavour, opt for the Buddha’s satay bowl. It’s packed with vegetables including carrots, broccoli and cabbage, as well as rice noodles and a peanut sauce to drizzle on top. And there are crispy wontons for some extra crunch. You can opt for a kale or quinoa base instead of noodles. There’s also the option to add in more protein to your bowl at an extra cost. Think tofu, chicken or turkey. $6.99 without extra protein.

409 10 St. N.W., 403-475-9200 and two other locations, freshii.com, @freshii

Made Foods

Barley mushroom risotto

This newish takeout restaurant has 44 pre-portioned, healthy meals on its menu. If you’re trying to make meatless Mondays a regular thing, opt for a vegetarian meal and choose the barley mushroom risotto. The creamy vegetarian meal is made up of hand-foraged roasted mushrooms, cauliflower, kale, leek, barley and fresh herbs. The addition of cauliflower means it’s high in potassium and folic acids. $11.

43 Crowfoot Terrace N.W., 403-375-8281 and three other locations, madefoods.com, @made_foods 

 

The Main Dish

Try this: Mediterranean broccolini salad

Satisfying snacking doesn’t have to be a bag of chips. And broccoli doesn’t have to be something you force yourself to eat because you know it’s good for you. The Mediterranean broccolini salad at The Main Dish will make you want to eat your greens. And the grilled salad’s chili flakes and shaved Parmigiano adds extra oomph to this salad. This is just one of 11 deli salads available on The Main Dish’s takeout menu. $5.

903 General Ave. N.E., 403-265-3474, tmdish.com, @themaindish

Our Daily Brett

Try this: Grab-and-go dinners

You could get a different healthy meal to take home from Our Daily Brett every weekday. The menu changes weekly, but could include anything from prawn and bean lettuce cups to roasted veggie lasagna to a substantial kale salad. From $15.

2509 14 St. S.W., 403-457-0422, ourdailybrett.com, @ourdailybrett

 

Cru Juice

F6: The Big ‘O’

After overindulging throughout December, your immune system probably needs a bit of a boost. (It doesn’t help that we’re smack in the middle of flu season.) If you’re looking for a healthy snack you can grab while on the go, opt for F6: The Big ‘O’ juice from Cru Juice. This juice is made from oranges and blood oranges so it’s got a healthy dose of vitamin C. If a tropical holiday destination could be bottled, it would probably taste like this – and who would say no to that on a cold January day? $7.

236 4 St. N.E., 403-452-5444 and three other locations, crujuice.com, @crujuice

[Correction: This article has been updated with the correct price for Cru Juice’s F6: The Big ‘O’. It is $7.]

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