Chinese Restaurant

cwilber1

I'm visiting relatives this weekend and I know this will involve Chinese food. I need some ideas of what I could order that would make fairly good sense. No seafood however. Thanks!

maggibailey

Broccoli and beef is usually a pretty good bet.

cwilber1

Thank you. Thought maybe steamed dumplings - not as bad as I thought.
Just a bit nervous at the thought of dining out. Its been a while.

jdlobb

Kung Pao chicken with a side of steamed veggies is a good choice

unigirl143

chicken and veggies, steamed veggies

chrissywelsh10

Steamed prawns in garlic & boiled rice

dwilliamca

I would look up a few ideas in the data base before going out. I see a lot for PF Changs and although maybe not exact, it will give you an idea. I always do that when I know I am going to a restaurant or fast food.

RedheadedPrincess14

Steamed veggies and steamed rice

rheddmobile

Look up the menu ahead of time. At many places you can also ask the cook to prepare food in a lighter fashion, with less sauce or oil, for example.

DX2JX2

Most chinese places will happily provide steamed chicken and vegetables (or any protein for that matter) with no sauce/sauce on the side.

Assuming you go with chicken, they'll maybe use 6 oz of breast meat in the entire dish (~300 calories). Add 195 grams of white rice to that (~200 calories) and you have a very filling large meal for somewhere on the order of 500-600 calories.

If no plain steamed dishes on offer, then most of the stir fries with a basic brown or white sauce are very manageable. The only thing you really need to stay away from General Tso's or any other dish that contains fried components, or that uses a very sweet/sticky sauce (for example, those delicious spare ribs). Also, fried rice and noodle stir fries are deceptively high in calories. Stick with plain white/brown rice instead.

laur357

Soup + egg roll or steamed dumplings

Steamed veggies and meat with sauce on the side

Beef, chicken or shrimp w. broccoli or Hunan shrimp/chicken (similar brown sauce, with more vegetables like peppers, sometimes baby corn, mushrooms, carrots - varies a lot from restaurant to restaurant). I like to get this for take-out and put it on a big pile of shredded cabbage or broccoli slaw - the hot+cold and crunchy texture is nice

Steamed dumplings and chicken satay or other skewered/grilled protein appetizer

Portions are important here! Cooked white rice can add up quickly (1 cup = 200 calories) if you're also getting a stir-fry that's heavy on the oil.

Bianca42

My restaurant offers a "special diet menu". It's steamed veggies and protein with rice on the side and sauce on the side. I usually either skip the rice or eat a little bit and have a minimal amount of sauce for flavor.

midlomel1971

Moo Goo Gai Pan and Beef and Broccoli are my go-tos. My biggest challenge is the rice and limiting myself to a small amount.

Famof72015

Panda Express!

Francl27

Steamed chicken and shrimp and steamed veggies, sauce on the side. I usually have rice too.

How tasty the chicken tastes greatly varies on the place though.

sgt1372

If they have a live fidh tank, steamed whole fish w/ginger and scallions would be my choice.

Just ask them NOT to top it off w/hot oil to finish the dish if you're worried about cals. This is a traditional way to finish steamed fish but not every restaurant does it. So, don't be surprised if the waiter doesn't understand why you are making this request.

Add a veggie dish like bok choy & mushrooms or Chinese broccoli topped w/oyster sauce plus rice and you've got great meal for 2-4 depending on the size of the fish.

Just cut back on the rice (or skip it altogether) if you're concerned about too many cals. At Chinese banquets, it's customary to NOT serve or eat any rice to avoid getting too full to eat the real food.

Fitnessgirl0913

Some great suggestions above, just be aware that Chinese food 9 times out of 10 has a lot of sodium so if you weigh daily you may see an increase, I hope you have fun with your family!

cwilber1

Thanks all! Wish me luck!

cebreisch

CHicken with garlic sauce and Mongolian Beef are two of my favorites.

There are a lot of chicken dishes that come with the chicken fried. Once my family went to P. F. CHangs, and my brother ordered the sesame chicken with I think he called the Velvet Chicken. It wasn’t battered or fried. I LOVED IT!!! Since then, anytime I go for Sesame Chicken, I ask for that.

Stick with either brown rice or steamed rice. I typically don’t eat much of it though. Having the protein, onions, peppers etc. is so much better. THe sesame chicken at PF CHangs had some roasted bell peppers in it that were YUM-MY!!

Make sure you drink LOTS of water to counter act the amount of sodium though.

Azdak

2 scoops and put the rest away for leftovers.

xvolution

It depends on what kind of chinese restaurant it is (ordering from a menu or a buffet house, and if it has a hibachi grill), since buffet houses tend to have other dishes as well as chinese food. It also depends on if you're watching your sodium levels or not since, as stated above, a lot of chinese dishes are very high in sodium. Limit dishes with heavy sauces (sesame chicken/general tso/coconut shrimp/etc) since the calories and salt in these are usually the highest in the restaurant. Soups are usually a safe bet, especially if they serve hot & sour soup, which is typically just veggies and tofu cooked in a broth. If the restaurant does have a hibachi, then go with that since you can control the ingredients that goes into your food.

150poundsofme

chicken on a stick, tasty

rheddmobile

cwilber1 wrote: »

Thanks all! Wish me luck!

Please update us when you know how it went! Maybe it will help future people navigate the same kind of situations.

daisyfields79

I had Chinese earlier in the week, I went over my calorie goal to lose 2 pounds a week but under for 1 pound a week. I put on 7 pounds and still have 1 pound to go to get to what I was the morning I ate it. I'm not doing that again lol not for a long time. Lol

cwilber1

Things went great! I had 2 spring rolls (108 cals), 3 pieces steamed peking ravioli & dipping sauce (257 cals), 2 cups vegetable chop suey (282 cals) and 1/2 cup steamed white rice (100 cals) along with 1/4 cup pineapple chunks. Also had water and some diet soda. All was delicious! Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

WilmaValley

Chicken, veggies, rice - all good!

DX2JX2

cebreisch wrote: »

CHicken with garlic sauce and Mongolian Beef are two of my favorites.

There are a lot of chicken dishes that come with the chicken fried. Once my family went to P. F. CHangs, and my brother ordered the sesame chicken with I think he called the Velvet Chicken. It wasn’t battered or fried. I LOVED IT!!! Since then, anytime I go for Sesame Chicken, I ask for that.

Stick with either brown rice or steamed rice. I typically don’t eat much of it though. Having the protein, onions, peppers etc. is so much better. THe sesame chicken at PF CHangs had some roasted bell peppers in it that were YUM-MY!!

Make sure you drink LOTS of water to counter act the amount of sodium though.

One word of warning - PF Chang's sesame chicken is a perfect example of a dish you might expect to be healthy but that really isn't. You're right that it isn't breaded and fried but it does come in a sticky sweet sauce and one of the first steps in classic chinese stir fries is to 'velvet' the meat. This is basically marinating the meat, tossing with cornstarch, and then frying in oil before adding it to the actual stir-fry. Not every place does it, but it isn't uncommon.

PF Chang's portion sizes can be relatively large but note that the 'unfried' sesame chicken contains about 1000 calories for the entree portion (before the addition of rice or any sides). Lunch portions are much more reasonable.

cwilber1

I see your point. Ethnic food at a restaurant can be a mystery to me at times. I love to cook it at home, but we all know eating out isn’t the same calorie wise. I was nervous, but tried to keep it in perspective - and I did! The encouragement I got from you all was so helpful. Thanks again!

LynnJ9

Just beware with all that soy sauce you will be eating a lot of sodium. You may see a spike in weight for a few days. I know I did. Shrimp with Lobster sauce, and a little rice. Super low calorie, but i.gained 2 pounds for 3 days, then it, along with more was gone.

hebergman

anything steamed and sauce on the side