Healthy Eating in Sheffield: Hendo’s, the Chippy and London Road, by the Numbers

What does Sheffield eat, and what does it mean for your training?

Sheffield’s food is a working city’s food: the chippy, the pie, the Sunday roast with a Yorkshire pudding, the fry-up after a Saturday parkrun, and a bottle of Henderson’s Relish on most tables. Layered on top is the food its communities brought. London Road, south of the city centre, is described as one of Sheffield’s most multicultural streets, with a Chinese community at its northern end and South Asian restaurants further south. Sheffield has one of the UK’s largest Yemeni communities, estimated at 3,500 to 9,000 people. Around 60,000 students arrive each year at the two universities, and they eat a lot of takeaway.

None of that has to stop you losing fat or building muscle. What matters is portion size, how the food is cooked and how much protein each meal carries. The figures in this guide come from the UK government’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID, 2021), which gives values per 100 g. Where we give a portion, the weight is our worked example, so you can scale it to what lands on your plate.

How many calories are in Henderson’s Relish?

Henderson’s Relish has 44 kcal per 100 ml, according to the label published on Henderson’s own shop. Per 100 ml it carries 0.1 g of fat, 7.4 g of carbohydrate including 6.3 g of sugar, 0.7 g of protein and 1.10 g of salt. A 15 ml splash on a pie is about 7 kcal and 0.17 g of salt. Henderson’s says the relish is vegan and gluten free and contains no allergens.

Hendo’s has been blended in Sheffield since 1885, first on Broad Lane and, since 2013, at Sheffield Parkway Business Park. It looks like Worcestershire sauce but contains no anchovies, and it is lighter: CoFID lists Worcestershire sauce at 113 kcal per 100 g and reduced-sugar brown sauce at 88 kcal. If you are counting calories, Hendo’s is one of the cheapest ways to add flavour to plain chicken, a baked potato or a bowl of chips.

How many calories are in fish and chips from a Sheffield chippy?

A Sheffield chippy tea can fit a diet, as long as you watch the chips. CoFID gives haddock in batter, fried, at 232 kcal and 17.1 g of protein per 100 g, and takeaway cod in batter at 240 kcal and 16.8 g. Chip-shop chips are 214 kcal but only 3.5 g of protein per 100 g. So the fish is a decent protein meal and the chips are mostly fuel.

Haddock, 200 g of chips and mushy peas comes to about 1,014 kcal and 50 g of protein. Make it a big portion of chips and it is about 1,228 kcal for the same protein. The simplest swap is to ask for a small chips, or share one, and keep the peas: they add 8.7 g of protein for 122 kcal.

The chippy fishcake, a slice of fish between two slices of potato, battered and deep-fried, is common in parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire. CoFID has no entry for it, so we won’t guess a number. Treat it as mostly potato and batter, closer to a portion of chips than to a piece of fish.

Is a pie and peas or a Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding a good choice for training?

A Sheffield Sunday roast is one of the better high-protein meals in the city if you lead with the meat. CoFID gives lean roast topside of beef at 175 kcal and 32.2 g of protein per 100 g. A homemade Yorkshire pudding made with semi-skimmed milk is 197 kcal and 6.7 g of protein per 100 g, and frozen roast potatoes cooked in oil are 157 kcal.

Pies are a different story. CoFID lists an individual retail beef pie at 292 kcal and 9.2 g of protein per 100 g, so a 200 g pie is about 584 kcal with 18 g of protein. A homemade single-crust steak and kidney pie is 243 kcal and 17.0 g per 100 g: the same 200 g gives 486 kcal and 34 g of protein. One pastry lid instead of two nearly doubles the protein per calorie. A splash of Hendo’s on top costs you about 7 kcal.

What’s in a Sheffield fry-up, and how do you lighten it?

A full English in a Sheffield café can easily pass 1,000 kcal, and most of that comes from frying and from the extras. Worked from CoFID values, two rashers of grilled back bacon (50 g), two fried pork sausages (100 g), a fried egg, 200 g of baked beans, a slice of black pudding (40 g) and a slice of fried bread (40 g) add up to about 1,052 kcal and 52 g of protein.

Keep the bacon and the beans in both versions. Grilled back bacon is 287 kcal and 23.2 g of protein per 100 g, and baked beans are 81 kcal with 5 g of protein. The lighter plate has more protein than the standard one for 300 fewer calories, which makes it a good post-parkrun breakfast after a lap of Endcliffe Park.

What should I order on London Road or at a Sheffield curry house?

On London Road and at Sheffield’s curry houses, the high-protein order is something dry from the tandoor, and the calories hide in the bread and the sauce. CoFID gives retail chicken tandoori at 214 kcal and 27.4 g of protein per 100 g, against chicken tikka masala at 156 kcal and 12.4 g. Per gram the masala is lighter, but you eat more of it with rice and naan, and it carries less than half the protein.

The swap that does the most work is bread. One 160 g naan is about 456 kcal; a 45 g chapati made without fat is 91 kcal. Tandoori chicken, dahl and two chapatis comes to about 962 kcal and 79 g of protein, a strong meal for a muscle-gain day.

CoFID has no entries for Yemeni dishes, so we won’t put a number on them. The useful rule holds: grilled or slow-cooked lamb or chicken over rice is a high-protein meal, and CoFID’s grilled lamb shoulder is 288 kcal and 28.5 g of protein per 100 g. The rice is the part to measure.

Doner or shish: which Sheffield kebab is higher in protein?

A shish kebab is one of the better late takeaways in Sheffield, and a doner one of the heaviest. CoFID gives a shish kebab in pitta with salad at 149 kcal and 13.6 g of protein per 100 g, and a doner in pitta with salad at 248 kcal and 14.1 g. A 350 g shish is about 522 kcal with 48 g of protein; the same weight of doner is about 868 kcal with 49 g. Same protein, 346 more calories.

What does a fat-loss day of Sheffield food look like?

Here is a day of ordinary Sheffield food at about 1,600 kcal and 150 g of protein, worked from CoFID values. It suits someone aiming to lose fat who trains three times a week; a larger or more active person may need more.

1. 1

   Breakfast: porridge and a milky coffee

   300 g of porridge made with semi-skimmed milk (252 kcal, 13.8 g protein) and a latte made with 300 ml of semi-skimmed milk (138 kcal, 10.5 g). About 390 kcal.

2. 2

   Lunch: a shish kebab in pitta with salad

   350 g from a city-centre takeaway: about 522 kcal and 48 g of protein. Skip the chips on the side.

3. 3

   Afternoon: reduced-fat cottage cheese

   150 g is 102 kcal and 15.9 g of protein. Eat it with fruit or straight from the tub after a lunchtime session.

4. 4

   Tea: grilled chicken, a jacket potato and Hendo’s

   150 g of grilled chicken breast (222 kcal, 48 g), a 250 g baked potato with skin (242 kcal, 6.2 g), 150 g of mushy peas (122 kcal, 8.7 g) and 15 ml of Henderson’s (about 7 kcal). About 593 kcal.

5. 5

   The day

   About 1,607 kcal and 151 g of protein. On a Friday, swap the tea for haddock, small chips and peas: about 1,014 kcal and 50 g of protein, so trim lunch to keep the day near 2,000 kcal.

How do I eat for muscle gain on Sheffield food?

Building muscle needs a small calorie surplus and plenty of protein, alongside the two or more strength sessions a week the NHS recommends for all adults. This day comes to about 2,900 kcal and 210 g of protein, all from food you can buy in Sheffield.

If that is more food than you can face, cut the porridge first. The protein sits mostly in the meat, eggs and dahl, so keep those.

How do I order well in Sheffield without weighing food?

• At the chippy: order the fish, a small chips and mushy peas. The peas add protein; a big chips adds about 214 kcal.
• At a curry house: start with something from the tandoor, add dahl, and choose chapati over naan.
• At the kebab shop: shish over doner, with salad in the pitta.
• At Sunday dinner: fill half the plate with meat and vegetables, then add the Yorkshire pudding and potatoes.
• With Hendo’s: use it freely. At 44 kcal per 100 ml it is the lightest sauce on the table; mind the salt if your doctor has told you to.
• At Moor Market: the market has 196 stalls and sells produce alongside food from several cuisines, so it is a handy place to stock up on fresh vegetables, eggs and meat for the week.
• On labels: since 6 April 2022, food businesses in England with 250 or more employees must show calories on non-prepacked food, so check the menu before you order.

Food is half of it; the training is the other half. See what a personal trainer costs in Sheffield and where to run and train in staying fit in Sheffield. The Sheffield page has our session times in UK time, and the UK page lists every city we coach.