You’re ordering delivery for lunch. What do you order, and from where?
The Short Answer
Delivery apps are minefields of endless choice and poor options. Before opening the app, decide what type of food you want and roughly what you’ll order. Then execute that plan without browsing. Good delivery options exist: grilled proteins, salads with protein, poke bowls, Mediterranean plates, Thai soups. Bad options are everywhere: fried foods, huge portions, combo meals designed for sharing. Order one thing you’ve already decided on, skip the add-ons and suggested pairings, and close the app. Browsing creates problems.
Something to Sit With
Do you browse delivery apps for entertainment, or with a specific order in mind?
What’s your typical delivery order size versus what you’d prepare yourself?
What would change if you had three pre-selected “healthy default” orders for your main delivery restaurants?
Learn More
The Delivery Trap.
Food delivery apps are designed to maximize your order:
Endless browsing. Every photograph on the screen is a food cue, and food cues (sights, smells, even thoughts of food) activate the brain’s dopaminergic areas in anticipation of reward.[1] Scrolling a menu keeps the anticipation running without ever resolving it.
Appetizing images. Photos are styled to trigger desire.
Add-on prompts. “Add fries?” “Don’t forget a drink!” “Frequently bought together…” Each prompt is designed to increase order size.
Deal psychology. “Free delivery over $20” encourages ordering more than you need.
Menu architecture. The most profitable items tend to be prominently placed; healthier options can be buried.
Minimum orders. Force you to order more than you wanted.
The app is optimized for their revenue, not your health.
The Pre-Decision Strategy.
Effective delivery ordering starts before you open the app:
Know what you want. “Protein and vegetables” or “Thai soup with chicken” or “Mediterranean bowl.” Have a category in mind.
Know where to get it. Pick the restaurant before browsing. Don’t compare twenty options.
Have default orders. For your regular delivery sources, know your go-to healthy order.
Set a calorie ceiling. Not for obsessive tracking, but as a rough guardrail. “Somewhere around 500-600 calories” prevents ordering 1,500.
Navigating Options.
Better choices typically available:
- Grilled chicken, fish, or steak with vegetables
- Salads with substantial protein (not just lettuce and dressing)
- Poke or grain bowls with protein, vegetables, minimal sauce
- Thai or Vietnamese soups with protein
- Mediterranean plates (kebabs, hummus, vegetables)
- Indian dishes with protein and vegetables (watch the rice portion)
- Sushi/sashimi (fish-focused, not fried rolls)
Worse choices to avoid:
- Fried anything as the main component
- “Combo meals” with multiple items
- Dishes described as “crispy,” “breaded,” “loaded”
- Giant burritos, subs, or portion-for-two plates
- Anything with “cheese sauce” or “special sauce”
Specific Tactics.
Order the entree only. Skip the sides, appetizers, and drinks. You don’t need them.
Request modifications. “Dressing on the side,” “no cheese,” “double vegetables instead of rice.” Many restaurants accommodate.
Ignore suggestions. “Customers also ordered…” is revenue optimization, not health guidance.
Don’t order hungry. If you’re famished while browsing, you’ll order too much. Have water, wait 10 minutes, then order.
Close the app immediately. Once ordered, stop browsing. Continued looking creates desire for your next order.
The Portion Problem.
Delivery portions are typically designed for:
- Perceived value (“look at how much food!”)
- Sharing (many portions are implicitly for two)
- Compensation for delivery fees
- Encouraging leftovers that remind you of the restaurant
One delivery order can run to 1,000-1,500 calories or more on typical menu values. Eating the whole thing because “it’s there” is easy.
Solutions:
- Split the order in half before eating. Put half away.
- Order smaller items (appetizer-sized proteins, side salads)
- Order with intention to have leftovers as a second meal
The Better Question.
Before ordering delivery at all, ask:
Could I make something simpler? Sometimes delivery is the best option. Sometimes it’s laziness avoiding a 10-minute meal prep.
Am I ordering because I’m hungry or because I’m avoiding something? Ordering food can be procrastination, entertainment, or comfort — not just sustenance.
Will this choice align with how I want to eat? If the answer is no, don’t order it hoping willpower will limit consumption.
Further reading:
- Hollands GJ et al., “Altering the availability or proximity of food, alcohol, and tobacco products to change their selection and consumption”[2] — Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019
- Thaler RH & Sunstein CR, Nudge[3] (2008) — On choice architecture
- Johnson EJ & Goldstein D, “Do defaults save lives?”[4] — Science, 2003 — On the power of defaults
Written by AI, directed and approved by me. How this is made →