5 Healthy Hacks Your Takeout Meals Need

Here in New York City, it's not uncommon for me to encounter patients who rely on takeout for one to two meals daily. There are many reasons folks here may rely so heavily on takeout: NYC kitchens are notoriously small -- some of them don't even contain an oven!; workdays can be very long; and many people lack the confidence for (or interest in) preparing their own meals.

Unfortunately, relying so heavily on takeout meals has several significant downsides. Restaurant food typically contains far more fat -- and way more sodium -- than you'd ever cook with at home. Portions are typically larger than home-prepared meals. And depending on the cuisine, there may not always be a veggie on the menu -- or at least one that makes it into your takeout order. As such, it can be incredibly hard to consume a balanced diet, manage your weight or eat appropriately to manage (or prevent!) chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease when takeout is a way of life.

But we all rely on takeout at least once in awhile, and when you're bringing restaurant food into your home, there are some tricks you can employ to make these meals healthier than they might otherwise be. So whether getting takeout is a daily occurrence or a once-weekly one, here are some health hacks to upgrade the nutritional quality of food prepared outside the home.

Add dry roasted seaweed snacks to Asian noodle soups. Noodle-heavy Japanese udon or ramen soups, Chinese won ton soup and Vietnamese vermicelli noodle soups all have one thing in common: They're heavy on the starchy carbs and too-light on the nutrient-dense greens. To spruce up these entrée-sized soups, I recommend removing a portion of the noodles and replacing that missing volume with an entire package of those popular dry roasted seaweed snacks. The crinkly sheets soften immediately in the steaming hot liquid, and they add a much-needed vitamin infusion for a negligible amount of calories per container -- just 10 paper-thin sheets can provide about 16 percent of your daily vitamin A needs (though precise amounts vary by the type of seaweed used) with a negligible amount of calories.

[Read: America's Next Top Superfood .]

Order pizza by the slice, not the pie. When it comes to pizza, takeout is way better than delivery for one reason: You can order by the slice rather than being forced to commit to an entire pie. My patients typically report overeating pizza by one or two slices beyond what they intend when a whole pie is brought home, and that's because "it's just there." I advise my weight-conscious patients who want to make room for pizza to stick to a single slice (larger or more active men can sometimes justify two), and then fill up on a yummy Italian vegetable side -- such as garlicky broccoli rabe, steamed broccoli or sautéed spinach. When I bring pizza home for my kids (yes, even dietitians have the occasional pizza night!) I serve it with edamame -- a fiber- and protein-rich accompaniment that, like pizza, can be eaten with their hands. The typical plain cheese slice should set you back 250 to 300 calories, so if accompanied by a pile of veggies instead of a second slice or order of garlic knots, it shouldn't break the bank for even people on a strict calorie budget.

[Read: Pizza Anyone? How to Choose a Healthy Slice .]

Dilute carby pad thai with ready-to-eat kelp noodles. I have yet to meet a patient who can escape a Thai takeout meal without finishing their entire over-sized portion of pad thai. Alas, consuming that entire tangled pile of starchy nice noodles will probably cost you well over 1,000 calories -- close to a full day's worth for many waist-watching women! So if you're unwilling to part with your favorite Thai comfort food, I recommend using a low-calorie "noodle extender" to reduce the dish's caloric impact and carb load. The easiest option is to use ready-to-eat kelp noodles (look for Sea Tangle or Gold Mine brands in the Asian section of your grocery store, or order online). Just toss a heaping pile of these low-calorie extenders into a pad thai entrée and share it with your dining companions, family style, to keep your individual portion in check.

If kelp noodles are too hard to find -- or if you're willing to put in some prep time -- "zoodles" (zucchini noodles made with a vegetable spiralizer) or spaghetti squash "noodles" made from a roasted spaghetti squash work just as well.

[Read: 6 Healthy Foods Worth Splurging On .]

Add a can of drained chickpeas to saucy Indian entrees. Indian takeout is one of my family's favorites, but the high sauce-to-protein ratio can really pile on the calories. After all, most Indian restaurants are quite heavy handed with the fat -- whether from oil, ghee (clarified butter) or cream -- when it comes to their delicious sauces. To help spread the sauce out over the more nutrient-dense parts of the dish, I always dump a can of drained chickpeas into the Indian entrees we order. Not only does this increase the protein and fiber content of the meal while helping us consume less sauce, but it also ensures we'll have plenty of leftovers, giving us more bang for our takeout buck. This trick works equally well for dishes that feature chickpeas -- chana saag is our favorite -- as it does for popular dishes such as chicken tikka masala, chicken korma and saag paneer that don't.

If you're feeling really ambitious, put a pot of quinoa on the stove when you finish placing your delivery order; it will be done cooking by the time your meal arrives, and you can use it as a more nutritious base for the meal (and tomorrow's leftovers at lunch) than white basmati rice.

[Read: Quinoa 101: What It Is and How to Cook It .]

Order one steamed veggie dish to toss into your favorite Chinese entrée, and leave off the extra rice. Most families order one entrée per person, served family style with loads of rice. Unfortunately, veggies are an afterthought in this equation, which results in people filling up on empty-calorie white rice and oily stir-fries or noodle dishes. To help reduce the caloric density of your typical Chinese meal, then, I recommend swapping out one of your usual chicken, pork or beef-based entrees with a steamed veggie-only selection. Then, combine the steamed veggies with your favorite entrée to kiss them with flavor while helping you fill up on fewer calories. If your local joint doesn't offer some version of "Buddha's Delight," they'll most certainly steam up some staple veggies such as carrots, bok choy, string beans, broccoli and snow peas on request. Just ask!

Also, ask the restaurant only to send one container of rice per two entrées. Since the typical takeout rice container has two cups of rice, having to share a container between two people maxes out any individual's portion at 1 cup -- about 240 calories' worth. These modifications help alter the relative proportions of your meal to boost its nutrient content and dilute the amount of sodium, empty carbs and total calories you'd otherwise be likely to consume.

Even when the healthiest hacks are applied to takeout, of course, we'd all most certainly be better off eating less takeout and having more meals prepared at home. If you're trying -- but struggling -- to get organized and execute more regular home-prepared meals, stay tuned for my article next week, where I'll share the latest and greatest technology hack that's been helping me plan and execute homemade family meals six nights per week! (Even God rested on the seventh.)

[Read: 5 High-Tech Cooking Gadgets .]

Tamara Duker Freuman, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian whose NYC-based clinical practice specializes in digestive disorders, celiac Disease, and food intolerances. Her personal blog, www.tamaraduker.com, focuses on healthy eating and gluten-free living.