Healthy Hawker: 10 Meals that won’t tip the calorie count

updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:08
Fishball noodles (dry)
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Help your waistline survive Singapore’s bustling hawker scene by making the right food choices.

“What would we do in Singapore without hawker food?” opined our Editor-in-Chief over lunch the other day.

What would we do indeed. With the best food Singapore has to offer at rock bottom prices, hawker centres make our wallets way happier. It’s certainly not financially prudent to dine at a bistro or cafe everyday, so we often head to the delicious wafting scents of chicken rice, fish ball noodles and char kway teow for lunch.

The Health Promotion Board of Singapore recommend 2 servings of fruits and vegetables every day and no more than 10% saturated fat in your daily diet. But what’s a girl to do when tucking into an oily plate of mixed rice or laksa?

We tell you how to survive the hawker paradise. And because, we are extra nice, here are the calorie counts as well. Flip through the gallery up top.

LOOK BEFORE YOU EAT

Instead of joining the shortest queue or falling into old habits, try looking around for better options instead. We love roast meat and chicken rice as much as the next person but unfortunately, we’d balloon if we had that for lunch every day. Try looking for soupier options or something less oily.

ASK FOR WHITE RICE

It may sound like an impossible task, but when you have chicken rice either have less of that fragrant chicken fat coated rice or swap it out for regular white rice instead.

AVOID SLURPING UP GRAVY

We understand the deliciousness of curry or laksa gravy but it is laden with coconut milk and oil which is high in saturated fat. Have a little to go with your meal but resist the temptation of slurping up all the gravy. Same goes for healthier options such as yong tau foo soup or fish bee hoon soup as there is too much sodium or MSG in commercially prepared broths.

ASK FOR ‘SIEW DAI’

Ah, our quintessential kopitiam lingo. You’ll catch on to it soon enough. Siew dai means ‘less sweet’ in coffeeshop speak and kosong (zero, in Malay) means no sugar. The next time you order coffee or tea or even Milo at the hawker centre, ask for this healthier option like a pro.

NO SKIN, PLEASE

When having chicken rice, duck rice or even roast pork rice, ask for the skin and fat to be trimmed off. You’ll easily shave 100 calories off your daily count.

FRUIT FOR DESSERT

End your meal with a sweet piece of fruit to up the nutritional content in your lunch. Fresh fruit has more fibre than fruit juice so opt for whole uncut fruits at the hawker centre for dessert. Ready-cut fruits will have lost their nutrients due to oxidation after a few hours, so it’s best to get uncut ones to ensure you’re not eating fruit with no value.

Cheryl Lee

Photos: Shutterstock.com


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Marie France Asia, women's magazine