An average slice of pizza contains between 200 and 400 calories.
But at popular restaurant Fish & Co., a whole Mediterranean pizza sets you back just 464 calories - one of 11 "healthier" dishes (all under 500 calories and costing 40 per cent less than its usual items) the casual seafood chain has cooked up in partnership with the Health Promotion Board's (HPB) new Healthier Dining Programme.
Eat out but eat healthy - that's the mission of HPB's recently-announced three-pronged food strategy, which will be rolled out over the next six months.
About the Healthier Dining Programme
The first phase of HPB's food strategy, this aims to increase the number of healthier eat-out meals consumed to 180 million meals per year by 2020. HPB is partnering with 18 food service providers to offer 500-calorie meals across 700 outlets and stalls island-wide.
Diners can identify healthier meal options by looking out for the attached logos (pictured above), which will be displayed prominently on the menus (beside each dish) of all participating eateries.
Popular eateries like Fish & Co., McDonald's, Swensen's and Subway have come on board. McDonald's, for instance, is looking to incorporate more vegetables and whole grains into its menu. Fish & Co.'s 11 dishes include grilled Peri-Peri Prawns, grilled Atlantic Cod with Black Pepper Sauce, Baked Pollock with Mediterranean Salsa, as well as a Clam and Shrimp Aglio Alio Pasta.
Vegan restaurant franchise Loving Hut will be introducing 15 500-calorie choices - including its signature Nyonya Laksa Lemak - while the Soup Restaurant will create healthier versions of its Earthen Bowl Steamed Rice with Chicken and Samsui Ginger Sauce, served with brown instead of white rice.
Partner food court chains Kopitiam and Foodfare will require their new and renewing tenants to include at least one 500-calorie meal option in their menus. On the list of affordable eats: chicken porridge, vegetarian seafood soup with rice, mee soto, a vegetarian dal set and pork macaroni soup.
Caterers on the list, such as Saybons, will offer incentives to their customers for making healthier choices when ordering from them. For instance, a 50-cent rebate will be given per person to customers who order iced water instead of sugared beverages, while also introducing skinny crepes that have less calories than their regular crepes.
The magic number - 500 calories
By trimming 500 calories off your diet each day, you stand to lose up to half a kilogram every week. Either that, or you can try your hand at some of these popular activities to burn off those calories.
- Play badminton for 2 hours
- Cycle for 1 hour 15 mins
- Jog for 1 hour 25 minutes
- Swim the breaststroke for 1 hour
- Practise taichi for 2 hours 5 mins
- Wash the car for 2 hours
- Play football for 1 hour 15 mins
- Sweep the floor for 3 hours
Sources: SingHealth/Singapore General Hospital, Life Centre, healthstatus.com, 42.195km.net
