Healthy Kids website: Healthy eating: Eating away from home

Eating away from home

Food advertisers would have us believe that it's un-Australian to eat anything but a pie and sauce at the football. But there are many healthy and tasty choices we can all make when eating away from home, and that kids can make when buying food at school.

Dining out and take-away

A bit of selective buying when dining at a restaurant or cafe, or getting take-away food, will make the experience much healthier and just as enjoyable. Here are a few tips on making healthier choices for you and your children when you eat away from home.

Some healthier options include:

Tomato-based sauces with pasta
Thin crust pizza with vegetable or seafood toppings
Plain hamburgers with salad (leave out the cheese or bacon)
Sushi
Grilled fish and salad (hold the chips).

Other tips:

Choose grilled or steamed options rather than fried
Choose small portions of less healthy options
Choose skinless meat or remove the skin yourself.

Find out more

Fast food and take-away
Tips on choosing healthier take-away foods, such as having smaller portions and choosing grilled over fried (Dietitians Association of Australia).

Dining out and take-away foods
Factsheet (pdf 34kb) on making healthier choices when eating out, with a handy chart covering various types of food, e.g. hamburgers, Italian, Asian (National Heart Foundation).

Guidelines for healthy take-away food
How to cut down on fat and sugar and have more fruit and vegetables when buying take-away food (Queensland Health).