5 mistakes to avoid when ordering food online

FOOD delivery services are amazing, delivering food to our doorsteps without much effort on our part.

Before the smartphone explosion, people would have to call a restaurant to order food. Now, thanks to the advances in mobile technology and the wide development of on-demand food delivery apps, we can quickly and easily place orders via the app and have our food delivered wherever and whenever we wish.

All we need do is pull out our smartphones and find the best apps for ordering food in our area.

Each food app has many restaurants, cafés and places to choose from. What makes them easy to use is that we can order food from the joints and eat it in the comfort of our own homes.

Ordering in is a fabulous way to support food establishments and to take a break from having to cook and then wash the dishes afterwards.

However, there are some mistakes we could all be making and it’s best to keep some things top of mind when getting takeaways:

Ordering when hungry

This might sound weird but there is a point to be made here. Many people order delivery when they are starving and do not feel like cooking.

Plan your order before you get hungry. Order when it is an hour or minutes away from mealtime. If you order when you are starving, you are more likely to be irritable and impatient.

In such a state, you could forget the long process of getting the food to you, thereby souring your mood.

Not saving your takeaway containers

One of the top mistakes people make when they order takeaways does not have anything to do with the food;- it is about the takeaway container.

If your favourite takeaway spots use relatively good-quality containers, stash them in your kitchen cupboard until you need to store something in them.

It is the easiest, cheapest way to get more containers for your leftovers at home.

Ordering food that spoils quickly

If you we order pizzas and have leftovers, we will probably put them in the fridge and eat them the next day. However, we cannot do this with all foods and people often forget this.

Popular dishes such as sushi do not last long and can soon become unappetising. In fact, sushi should be eaten on the same day it was ordered. The same applies to a salad covered in dressing.

If you are going to order these types of food, then make sure you can eat all of them. Otherwise, order food that can be kept in the fridge.

Overlooking veggie options

Food delivery is almost simultaneous with fast food. Unless you are looking for veggies or salads, it is easy to miss the options. Take advantage of them to balance your diet.

Not using leftovers in creative ways

Do not let leftovers go to waste. With the price of food rising, it is more important than ever to get the most out of everything we buy. Before you even think about throwing anything away, use your imagination and make something delicious with the leftovers.

For example, you could cook leftover meat (chopped) in a sauce and add it to pasta, make a stew or a sauce-based dish, like an Asian dish, or add it to a sandwich.