Staying hydrated does not have to mean carrying a giant water bottle around all day. A surprising amount of your daily fluid intake can come from food, especially meals built around broth, fresh vegetables, fruit, yogurt, and other water-rich ingredients.
If you are ordering through Skip, there are plenty of meals that can help you stay hydrated while still feeling like an actual lunch or dinner. Restaurant availability will vary depending on where you live, but the following types of meals are commonly available from restaurants on Skip and are among the best options when hydration is a priority.
1. Vietnamese Pho
Pho may be one of the best delivery meals for hydration.
A typical bowl contains a generous amount of broth along with rice noodles, herbs, vegetables, lime, and your choice of protein. Because so much of the meal is liquid, pho can contribute significantly to your fluid intake while also providing carbohydrates and protein.
Fresh additions such as bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, and lime add even more water-rich ingredients.
For an especially hydrating order, look for:
- Chicken or vegetable pho
- Extra bean sprouts and herbs
- Additional vegetables
- A lighter broth option if available
Keep in mind that restaurant broth can contain a lot of sodium. Sodium is an important electrolyte, but extremely salty meals may not be ideal if you are already eating a high-sodium diet.
2. Chicken Noodle Soup
There is a reason soup is one of the first foods people reach for when they are feeling run down.
Chicken noodle soup combines broth, vegetables, noodles, and protein in one hydrating meal. The broth provides fluid, while ingredients such as carrots, celery, and onions naturally contain plenty of water themselves.
It can also be a good option after exercising or spending time outside in hot weather because the combination of fluid, sodium, carbohydrates, and protein helps replace several things your body has lost.
If you are browsing Skip, check diners, sandwich shops, cafés, delis, and comfort-food restaurants. Many offer chicken soup either as a main meal or as a side.
3. Poke Bowls
A poke bowl is another excellent choice when you want something refreshing rather than heavy.
Most poke bowls include ingredients such as cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, edamame, avocado, seaweed, and sometimes fruit. Cucumber and leafy vegetables are particularly high in water.
You can make the meal even more hydration-friendly by choosing a base with plenty of vegetables instead of relying entirely on rice.
A strong combination might include:
Rice or greens, salmon or tofu, cucumber, edamame, cabbage, seaweed, avocado, and a lighter sauce.
Sauces can contain substantial amounts of sodium, so asking for sauce on the side gives you more control.
4. Greek Salad With Chicken
Few delivery meals contain as many water-rich vegetables as a large Greek salad.
Tomatoes and cucumbers make up much of the dish, and both have extremely high water content. Lettuce, peppers, and onions contribute additional fluid.
Adding grilled chicken turns the salad into a more complete meal with protein, while feta and olives provide some sodium.
For maximum hydration, ask for extra cucumber and tomato and keep the dressing relatively light.
Greek restaurants, Mediterranean restaurants, shawarma shops, and casual restaurants on Skip commonly offer some variation of this meal.
5. Vermicelli Bowls
Vietnamese vermicelli bowls are another good choice when you want something lighter and fresher than traditional takeout.
They typically contain rice noodles, lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, carrots, herbs, and a protein such as grilled chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, or tofu.
Although the meal does not contain as much liquid as pho, the large amount of raw produce makes it considerably more hydrating than meals dominated by fried foods, bread, or cheese.
Look for bowls with generous portions of cucumber, lettuce, bean sprouts, and herbs.
6. Burrito Bowls Loaded With Salsa and Vegetables
A burrito bowl can either be extremely heavy or surprisingly refreshing depending on how you build it.
To make yours more hydration-friendly, emphasize ingredients such as:
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Pico de gallo
- Corn salsa
- Peppers
- Fresh salsa
- Beans
Tomatoes, lettuce, and fresh salsa contain plenty of water, while beans provide carbohydrates, protein, fibre, and minerals.
You can still include rice, chicken, steak, tofu, or another protein. Just avoid burying everything under excessive cheese, sour cream, and thick sauces if hydration is your main goal.
7. Sushi With Miso Soup
Sushi can be a relatively light meal, particularly when paired with soup and vegetables.
An order containing cucumber rolls, avocado rolls, sashimi, nigiri, or vegetable rolls can provide considerably more water-rich ingredients than many fried takeout meals.
Adding miso soup provides additional fluid.
You could also add a seaweed salad or edamame for a more substantial meal.
Soy sauce is extremely salty, so use it moderately if you are trying to keep sodium intake under control.
8. Mediterranean Chicken Bowls
Mediterranean bowls are particularly easy to customize into hydration-friendly meals.
Look for combinations containing:
Cucumber, tomato, lettuce, cabbage, parsley, hummus, grilled chicken, rice, lentils, or chickpeas.
Tabbouleh can also be an excellent addition because it often contains large amounts of parsley, tomato, cucumber, and lemon juice.
Many shawarma and Mediterranean restaurants available through Skip allow you to customize bowls with additional vegetables.
9. Smoothie Bowls
If you want something sweet, a smoothie bowl can provide plenty of fluid through fruit.
Common ingredients such as strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, mango, watermelon, oranges, and yogurt all contain significant amounts of water.
Smoothie bowls can become surprisingly calorie-dense when loaded with granola, nut butter, chocolate, coconut, and other toppings, so keep the toppings simple if hydration is your main objective.
Fruit-forward bowls are generally the best choice.
10. Watermelon, Fruit and Yogurt Bowls
Breakfast restaurants and cafés sometimes offer fruit bowls or yogurt-and-fruit combinations through Skip.
These are among the most water-rich meals you can order.
Watermelon is particularly notable because it is mostly water, while strawberries, oranges, cantaloupe, pineapple, peaches, and grapes are also excellent choices.
Greek yogurt adds protein and makes the meal more filling.
Pairing a fruit bowl with yogurt, eggs, or another protein source can turn it into a more complete breakfast.
11. Thai Soups
Thai restaurants can be another excellent place to look for hydrating meals.
Tom yum and tom kha soups, for example, contain substantial amounts of broth along with ingredients such as mushrooms, tomatoes, herbs, lime, vegetables, shrimp, or chicken.
Tom yum tends to be lighter, while tom kha contains coconut milk and is usually richer.
Either option can provide considerably more fluid than something like fried rice or deep-fried appetizers.
12. Korean Soups and Stews
Korean restaurants often have several broth-based dishes that work well when you want a filling meal with plenty of liquid.
Options may include tofu soup, kimchi stew, beef soup, or vegetable soups.
These dishes can contain broth, tofu, mushrooms, cabbage, onions, vegetables, meat, and rice.
The main consideration is sodium. Korean soups and stews can be quite salty, so they are best balanced with water and less salty foods during the rest of the day.
What Makes a Meal Hydrating?
When choosing a meal on Skip, you do not necessarily have to search for something specifically marketed as hydrating.
Instead, look at the ingredients.
Meals tend to be more hydrating when they contain plenty of:
- Broth
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Celery
- Cabbage
- Watermelon
- Strawberries
- Citrus fruit
- Pineapple
- Yogurt
- Fresh salsa
- Soups and stews
Meals dominated by fried foods, bread, cheese, creamy sauces, and heavily processed meat generally contain less water.
That does not mean you need to avoid them entirely. It simply means that a bowl of pho or a chicken salad is likely to contribute more toward hydration than pizza, wings, or a burger and fries.
The Best Hydrating Meals to Search for on Skip
If you want a simple shortlist, search Skip for:
- Pho
- Chicken noodle soup
- Poke bowls
- Greek salad with chicken
- Vietnamese vermicelli bowls
- Vegetable-heavy burrito bowls
- Sushi with miso soup
- Mediterranean bowls
- Smoothie bowls
- Fruit and yogurt bowls
- Tom yum soup
- Korean tofu soup
The exact restaurants and dishes available will depend on your location, but these search terms should give you plenty of options in most larger cities.
Do Hydrating Foods Replace Water?
Not completely.
Water-rich foods can make a meaningful contribution to your total fluid intake, but drinking fluids throughout the day is still important. This is particularly true during hot weather, intense exercise, illness, or any situation where you are losing more fluid than usual.
The best approach is usually a combination of water, other beverages, and water-rich foods.
Final Thoughts
Ordering delivery does not automatically mean choosing a heavy or dehydrating meal.
Skip has plenty of options built around broth, vegetables, fruit, yogurt, and other high-water ingredients. Pho, soups, poke bowls, Mediterranean bowls, salads, vermicelli bowls, sushi, and fruit-based meals are some of the easiest places to start.
If hydration is your priority, focus less on finding a meal with a special health label and more on what is actually inside the container. A meal full of broth, cucumber, tomatoes, leafy vegetables, fresh fruit, and other water-rich ingredients can help you stay hydrated while still giving you a satisfying meal.
