How bad is that boerie roll?

Worried what fast food may do to your waist line? Dietitian Maya Naumann offers guidance on choosing the best of the bad.

Look at the appearance of the food

• What we don’t want is food where you can see visible signs of excess fat: where grease leaves a mark on paper packets, serviettes, fingers and lips.
• Vegetables are overcooked so that the colours are washed out, and the only bright colours come from the artificial-looking beverages and sauces.
• Sauces, dressings and garnish provide a colourful accent without overwhelming the food. Natural vibrant colours and textures can be seen with the naked eye.

Evaluate the taste of the food

• Stay away from food where subtle flavours are not noticeable.
• Natural flavours are masked by the taste of fat or artificial “flavour enhancers”
• The first bite seems very tasty, but then every bite is the same afterwards
• Salt, sauce and dressing should not overwhelm the food
• What you want instead, is food with natural flavour which gets better the more you eat. The taste is subtle and builds gradually. Sauces and dressings enhance the flavour without overwhelming.

Pay attention to the texture of the food

• Avoid mushy, gooey, soft and greasy food that you don’t have to chew, i.e., breads with a soft, cake-like texture with no coarseness and overcooked, over-processed foods. Look for crunchy, crisp, chewy and clean textures. Breads and bread products with a courser texture, salads and vegetables with plenty of crunch left in them.

How does the food feel in your mouth?

• Avoid food that coats the top of your mouth with grease, and drinks that leave your mouth feeling dry. Tasting fat is fine, but it shouldn’t dominate the meal.

What is your body response?

• Fatty food will leave a heavy feeling as it goes down, and make you feel tired and bloated when finished. It lies in your stomach like a rock. Sugary beverages leave you feeling thirsty. Food should leave you refreshed, satisfied and energised – not over-full.

Clever eating tips

Watch the portion size: you don’t have to finish it! If the portion is more than what you are hungry for, share with someone else, or eat half now and keep the rest for later. Meal sizes are aimed at satisfying the majority of customers, not individuals. You have to decide what’s right for you.
Keep fried foods to a minimum: French fries, chicken nuggets and vetkoek are starchy and deep-fried. Starch soaks up a lot of fat.
Drink water: it’s ideal to quench thirst. If you want something with more flavour, mix sparkling water and juice. It’s lower in sugar.

It’s difficult to accurately calculate the kilojoule-content of your favourite snack food unless you know with absolute certainty what it contains, but here’s an approximation of what you might expect to consume: