A culinary revolution began when food delivery apps started their operations in Singapore. Suddenly, people were going out less and ordering in more. But while we traded heading outdoors for convenience and time-saving, were we actually making healthy food choices with our new way of chowing down? I decided to take on Deliveroo‘s healthy eating challenge to see whether a food delivery app could really help me make better food choices. Read on to find out how I did:
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I’d consider myself a key takeout customer in that I work in the media line where days are long and working overtime is absolutely the norm. I often eat in a rush in a bid to meet deadlines and I’m constantly on-the-go due to event obligations.
I’m pretty sure all the takeout food I’ve eaten hasn’t been good news for my waistline or my overall health but hey, anything that saves me time is good in my books.
So when Deliveroo approached me with their healthy eating challenge I was more than game. It was simple: I would order lunch using the app every during the work week from the comforts of my office chair. The only caveat? The meal had to be good for me.
Luckily, Deliveroo made the narrowing down of choices easy for me by putting all their healthy food partners under one easy-to-navigate tab.
So with the premise of the challenge sorted, I welcomed Day One of the challenge with open arms and was raring to go.
First choice was Salmon Samurai, a restaurant in the CBD area that served up nutritious salmon bowls at a pretty sweet price point.
I placed an order for the Salmon Mentaiko bowl with a Yuzu-ume Brown Rice base, added on a half avocado and 35 minutes later, dug into my bowl with gusto.
Verdict: Super yummy and full of Omega-3 goodness!
Day Two pretty much went the same way as the first. It rained and the office was feeling extra chilly so I wanted a big fat bowl of soup to warm me up.
Soup Spoon it was then and into my cart went a large beef goulash, which was loaded with a ton of health veggies and NZ grass fed beef.
Verdict: The beef goulash really hit the spot and it came up to just 394 calories which makes it super healthy for those watching their weight. The only problem? I was hungry just a couple of hours later.
This was a cheat day. I had a pretty rough morning with a ton of work to clear so needless to say I was feeling rough and needed something hearty to fill my tummy come lunchtime.
Mexican food never fails to put a pep in my step so I turned to Guzman Y Gomez. While not the healthiest meal in the world, I made up for it by ordering a mini spicy grilled steak burrito and not going full ham.
Verdict: Not gonna lie – this was my favourite meal of the week so far. Sometimes it feels good to fall off the wagon…
I vowed to get back on track on Day 4 so I turned to Soup Spoon once more because by this point, I wasn’t feeling entirely inspired by eating healthily anymore.
Not because of the food on offer (everything was delicious!) but because I was stuck indoors yet again. So I downed another large Beef Goulash and called it a day.
Verdict: While the soup was on point, I kind of wished I could escape the confines of my office walls and head outside for lunch because it’s really the only time of day I get to bask in the sun.
Day 5 was a major fail on my part as I had a pre-planned photoshoot on location that went over my designated lunch hour. So I didn’t actually order anything via Deliveroo on the last day of the challenge, and instead, had a measly serving of french fries at around 4pm.
Overall Verdict: While this challenge was great for me in terms of helping me make healthier food choices, I think my general disposition for being somewhat of an outdoorsy person failed me in this instance.
I missed going out for lunch despite knowing that I was eating better during my midday mealtime on this challenge than ever before. So, while Deliveroo certainly delivered in terms upgrading my health, I can’t say I was all that successful at this challenge.
Still, its worth a try for those of you who want to improve your eating habits.
After all, since Deliveroo’s launch in Singapore in November 2015, they’ve seen a 60 per cent increase in orders for healthy dishes as more and more customers want to take better care of their bodies. And recent research published in Preventative Medicine found no link between takeout and weight gain as long as it’s not fast-food takeout.