What to pick in a Thai Restaurant on a diet??

Nathanae
Nathanae Posts: 29 Member
edited May 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm having a night out with my colleagues on Friday. I picked a Thai Restaurant because I thought that might be safer than British pub food. I know Thai does a lot with rice, chicken and coconut milk, not inherently bad, albeit not everyday-diet-food ingredients... Does anyone have any tips on what I should order?? (I don't like fish, unfortunately, so that's out)

Thank you! :)

Replies

  • geministyle67
    geministyle67 Posts: 22 Member
    Most Thai places have a beef salad or salad rolls on the menu. Both are delicious and lower in calories.
  • stephchadz
    stephchadz Posts: 143 Member
    When I go out for Thai food I usually get Pho.
  • Pam_1965
    Pam_1965 Posts: 137 Member
    Lemongrass chicken and steamed veggies is what I get, plus a salad roll. Stay away from any of the curry items!
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Steamed veggies of various sorts. Soups are typically very good to get.

    Basically you'll want to avoid most noodle based dishes and rice things.

    Normally, when I know I am going somewhere heavy in calories, I eat very low cal foods throughout the day in preparation.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Not sure how big your portions are over there, but here in the US I ask for extra veggies and can get three meals out of a Thai rice or noodle dish.

    There's nothing inherently wrong with coconut milk, but it is very high in calories. When I make Thai soup at home I use half the amount called for in the recipe and add stock as a substitute. So a bowl of Tom Ka Gai (chicken coconut soup) may have a surprisingly large amount of calories. I can make red curry (which also uses a lot of coconut milk) at home so haven't ordered it out in ages, plus it was a favorite of my ex so I haven't made it at home since we broke up which was before I started counting calories.

    Will you be getting appetizers as well as entrees? Som Tum (papaya salad) is low cal. I'd probably get this plus a chicken and rice or noodle dish, ask for extra veggies on that, and plan to bring at least half of it home. But if you wanted even lower calorie, you could get the Yam Neua/Yum Nuea (beef salad) as your entree and steal some carbs from your coworkers.

    Enjoy!
  • caffeinatedcami
    caffeinatedcami Posts: 168 Member
    stephchadz wrote: »
    When I go out for Thai food I usually get Pho.

    Pho is Vietnamese. You might find both at an Asian-fusion restaurant but not an authentic Thai place.

    I love Thai food. Probably your best bet would be a salad or a stir fry rather than curry (although curry is delicious). Also consider eating only some of the rice that is served. Enjoy your night out!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,988 Member
    stephchadz wrote: »
    When I go out for Thai food I usually get Pho.
    Pho is Vietnamese not Thai. Thom Ka would be Thai.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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  • Nathanae
    Nathanae Posts: 29 Member
    Thank you all! :) I haven't been to that restaurant yet, so I don't know how "authentic" it is, but I will keep an eye out for those salad rolls and save up some calories!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,988 Member
    Can never go wrong with a papaya salad with grilled shrimp.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • geministyle67
    geministyle67 Posts: 22 Member
    All this discussion of Thai and Vietnamese food is making me hungry. :)
  • Nathanae
    Nathanae Posts: 29 Member
    edited May 2016
    me too. and I found their menu online! that would help with making a decision beforehand so I don't go in hungry and pick the curry after all when I panic under the pressure of having to decide with people waiting ^^"
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Now I want Thai...
  • CorneliusPhoton
    CorneliusPhoton Posts: 965 Member
    I'd probably just get an appetizer order of tod mun (fish cakes) with the cucumber relish... and dash my good intentions of only eating half out the window and gobble it all up. It's got to be very low carb anyway. :)
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    Nathanae wrote: »
    me too. and I found their menu online! that would help with making a decision beforehand so I don't go in hungry and pick the curry after all when I panic under the pressure of having to decide with people waiting ^^"

    Nothing wrong with a curry either. I make one at home and it's about 400 cals/serving before the rice. 600 cals with the rice, which seems very reasonable to me for a good Thai meal. Not saying mine is authentic, just that I doubt a good curry is going to run you more than 750 cals and that's about what I would expect from any restaurant entree I order.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    It's just one meal. Enjoy yourself, log it as best you can and move on. :)
  • BinaryFu
    BinaryFu Posts: 240 Member
    Here's the best advice I can offer, because I absolutely love Thai food (but their portions are insane):

    Get some chicken (or for an even lighter calorie count, shrimp) Pad Thai - and request a HALF PORTION. Some places will do this with no problem, some will warn you that the cost is the same, some will refuse to do it at all.

    If it'll cost the same or they refuse - no problem! Request a box with your meal. That way you can pack up half the meal straight away and you won't have to look at it. You'll have a tasty dinner for the next night as well - and just as calorie conscious!
  • samwiserabbit
    samwiserabbit Posts: 153 Member
    On a diet or not, don't skip the green papaya salad!
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
    I'm going to give you an answer that you may not want to hear. Go out have whatever you want try to estimate the calories and don't worry about it. 1 day every once in a while blowing your calorie limit in the long term it's not going to affect your weight loss. The caveat is just don't do it all the time that will kill you.

    My only criticism is that you're calling it a diet. Don't look at this as a diet diets suck and most people fail at them. Approach this as a lifestyle change. By depriving yourself of the things that you would enjoy you're going to fail eventually.

    I've been on a diet plenty of times and every time I failed at it. This is the first time I'm truly enjoying what I'm doing. By looking at it as a lifestyle change, what I've basically done is I've educated myself as far as portion control and how much to eat.
  • hapa11
    hapa11 Posts: 182 Member
    I always get chicken larb.
  • toe1226
    toe1226 Posts: 249 Member
    Larb!
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    My favourite is Thai Green Curry Chicken with rice noodles.

    I normally have a light lunch and no snacks, and I'm good to go, with no guilt.

    I've lost over 80 lbs in the past year by making room in my calorie limit for whatever I most love on the day. Nothing is off-limits, except excess.

    Kind regards.

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