Chinese food

splenda

What are the best (by best i mean low cal) choices at a Chinese Buffet


And my god, I hope someone says cheese wonton

Also, is there a GOOD chinese restaurant nutrition guide on the net?

I tried using MFP, and not being Chinese, or a frequent eater of it, I had no clue what it was after I left the buffet line. Hope I don't have to whip out a pen and paper mid-line :embarassed:

splenda

What are the best (by best i mean low cal) choices at a Chinese Buffet


And my god, I hope someone says cheese wonton

Also, is there a GOOD chinese restaurant nutrition guide on the net?

I tried using MFP, and not being Chinese, or a frequent eater of it, I had no clue what it was after I left the buffet line. Hope I don't have to whip out a pen and paper mid-line :embarassed:

splenda

ooh comon. Chinese food isn't that bad.... tell me the good ones, please???

Hellllooooo:flowerforyou:

cinandchris

Sorry, I honestly do not know. But I do know that my favorite, pork lo mein is horrible !!!! I am interested to see the answers.

elliott062907

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/eatingout/a/chineserest.htm

From the spicy food of Szechuan and Hunan to the more subtle flavors of Canton, Chinese food tends to present somewhat of a challenge for low-carb diners. Besides the rice and noodles, the majority of the dishes seem to have at least some sugar and starch. Although it is perfectly possible to eat a delicious controlled-carb meal in a Chinese restaurant, the diner must be careful.
Before You Go
Before heading out to the restaurant, it is important to make some decisions about how strict you’re going to be in regards to carbohydrates. If you are on a moderate-carb plan, then you probably don’t need to worry too much about a little cornstarch in a dish. On the other hand, if you are in a restrictive diet phase, such as Atkins Induction, you will want to be more “pure” in your low-carb eating. On the other hand, if low-carb eating has become a permanent way of eating for you, occasional, structured, planned deviations are probably going to be part of your life. You just have to decide when those times and places are going to be. Some people make Chinese restaurants such a planned deviation.
Variations in Chinese Food
Chinese food not only varies based on where in China the food originated, but according to where the restaurant is located. Featured dishes, levels of sweetness, and condiments on the table are different, for example, in various parts of the United States. This makes it hard to find strict rules about menu choices. Kung Pao Chicken may be relatively low-carb in one place, and loaded with sugar in another. However, some guidelines will help you in making selections. Here are the basics of eating out low-carb in Chinese restaurants:
Foods to Avoid
Rice, including fried rice and steamed rice
Noodles, including chow mein, lo mein, and chow fun
Wontons, including the deep-fried type sometimes on tables
Breaded meats, such as in General Tso’s Chicken
Egg rolls
Sweet Sauces
It’s often hard to tell by looking at the menu which sauces have sugar in them, but these sauces generally will have quite a bit. Obviously the amount you eat will govern the carb level:
Sweet and sour sauce
Duck sauce (the orangish sauce for egg rolls in some places)
Plum sauce (often served with mu shu)
Oyster sauce
Hoisin sauce
Proceed With Caution
Thick soups and sauces are thickened with cornstarch. One tablespoon of cornstarch has about 7 grams of carb. In a platter of food with a thickened sauce, there will be about 1 to 2 tablespoons of corn starch. A cup of hot and sour soup might have about a teaspoon of corn starch (2 grams of carb).
Cornstarch is also often used to “velvet” meats prior to stir frying. Meats prepared in this way don’t necessarily looked breaded, as it is a very thin coat of starch.
Some Chinese dishes are quite sweet. If it’s a dish you’ve had before, your taste buds will be your guide. If not, ask. Spicy sauces are apt to have sugar in them, so ask about this. Lemon chicken almost always has a lot of sugar.
Water chestnuts are somewhat starchy, but a few slices aren’t a big deal. 4 whole water chestnuts have about 3 grams of effective carb. ½ cup of slices has about 7 grams.
The Safest Choices
Clear thin soups like egg drop, which is usually thin
Steamed food, including whole steamed fish or steamed tofu with vegetables.
Meat and vegetable combinations with thin, savory sauces (a small amount of sugar may be added, perhaps a teaspoon (4 grams of carb) for the whole dish. Examples would be (in many places) chicken with mushrooms, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Szechuan prawns, and curry chicken. Again, use your eyes and taste buds to figure whether the sauce is sweet and/or thick.
Stir-fried dishes without sugar or starch (normally there may be a small amount, perhaps amounting to a gram or two of carb per serving)
Black bean sauce does not tend to be carby as some of the others (there is a very small amount of beans in the sauce)
Mu Shu without the wrappers
Walnut chicken is usually not made with starch or sugar
Egg Foo Yung (without gravy)
Mongolian Barbeque, while not Chinese, is near to it. It is a good choice, as you can choose your own meats and vegetables and prepare them to order
Practice saying the following sentence: “Is it possible to have this dish without sugar or starch?” Many (but not all) restaurants will do this for you. An alternative is to ask for the sauce on the side.

elliott062907

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=lowcarbdiets&cdn=health&tm=3&gps=131_1808_1020_565&f=22&su=p674.5.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/rest-review-pfchangs.html

Much of the chain's success seems to now be credited to CEO Rick Federico. Federico has worked 19 years in the restaurant business. He was also co-founder and V.P. of Grady's Goodtimes restaurants until bought out by Brinker Int'l (owners of Macaroni Grill, Chili's, On the Border.)

On Friday evenings, a good portion of Saturday, and Sunday afternoons, you can often expect a long wait to be seated. I've seen waits as long as two hours, though most often it's around 15 to 30 minutes. The very fact that these waits exist is a testament to their delicious food.

The Food...

It seems wrong to even begin to discuss the food without starting with Chang's Chicken in Soothing Lettuce Wraps (stir fried chicken, water chestnuts, green onions, garlic and a faintly sweet spicy sauce served with crisp, cool lettuce "bowls".) It's become their signature dish, and with good reason. It's uniquely delicious. It's crisp, and soft at the same time; spicy, and cool at the same time. This dish is large enough for two people to share, but let's just say you might hesitate to let go of even a bite.

To keep them low carb, please remember to ask them to serve them without the rice "noodles" they place the chicken mix on. Their website nutrition counter lists the carb count on the lettuce wraps as extremely high, but that's because they include the rice noodles in the count.

Also be aware they use a small amount of sugar in the sauce, but it really is quite small, and doesn't add an inordinate amount to the carb count. Without the noodles, the dish comes in at a total of 16 NET carbs (after fiber reduction), but since this appetizer serves 2, that means 8 net carbs per serving. Not bad at all.

Another favorite for us in their appetizer category is their Northern-Style Spare Ribs. Unlike the Chang's Spare Ribs, these are not dripping with barbeque sauce, but rather are seared to tender extremely juicy perfection in a wok, and served with 5-Spice salt. An appetizer plate generally yields 6 to 8 ribs (depending on size of the ribs.)

As for entrées, my personal favorite is a variant of their Moo Goo Gai Pan. I ask them to add celery (since it's crisply exceptional), leave out the snow peas (because I'm not a fan), and to bring it with a small bowl of toasted almonds on the side. Unlike standard "Chinese place Moo Goo Gai Pan," P.F. Chang's is a splendid mix of large tender shrimp along with the usual wok browned chicken breast slices. The sauce is light in color and texture, but deeply flavorful. It's why I order the almonds on the side (try it sometime!) The almonds compliment that sauce to a tee, and the addition of celery gives the dish a welcome crunch. I've been known to order a second dinner to go, and have it again at home the following night. Like other many other items in their nutritional guide, their carb count includes the rice, and does NOT reduce for fiber. To keep this dish at bare minimum carb-wise, they will prepare the sauce with no (or minimal) cornstarch. It's pretty thin anyway, and I've never had a problem with having it prepared as-is.

All entrées come with a choice of brown or white rice. One of my friends always orders the brown, and tells me it has a faintly nutty taste that he really appreciates. As low-carbers, of course we skip the rice on all dishes here.

Then there's the Kung Pao Chicken. It's very tender chicken that's been quick-fired with chili peppers and scallions, and then made crunchy with the traditional addition of peanuts.

Friends also love their Lemon Chicken (they call it "Philip's Better Lemon Chicken") and it's a tart citrus sauce, rather than the candy-sweet stuff found in other Chinese dining. The dish is served with broccoli. This is NOT a low carb dish. No matter what, it's good enough to recommend to your non-low-carbing friends.

The Orange Peel Shrimp is another must-try dish, made with hot chilis and fresh orange peel.

Our Cincinnati location has no problem with altering the dishes to suit your tastes, dietary needs, or even whims.

sitarami

http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/calorie-counter/calories_in_chinese_food/


this should help. just know that
fried rice and lemon chicken are killers! :grumble:

Eponaa

Hi there,

I think Chinese food is really 'iffy' and you have to be really careful. In general, any 'buffet' style, or western style chinese food is not going to be that healthy. Anything fried is horrible actually, ex sweet and sour pork, honey garlic chicken etc. A lot of places also coat their veggies heavily with oil, so the fried vegetable dishes aren't that great. As you know, white rice isn't so fantastic as well. Stick with steamed dishes, the more traditional. I love hot pots with lean meat and brown rice, steamed dumplings, steamed greens with spices, that kind of thing. I am not sure about cheese wonton, I've actually never even heard of it! It could be a good thing though, sounds yummy and like something I'd love!

Here are a couple of links to help you out:

http://chinesefood.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=chinesefood&cdn=food&tm=12&f=00&tt=14&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http://www.cspinet.org/nah/chinese.html

http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/chinese-food

http://www.cspinet.org/new/200703211.html


Hope this helps!

FitJoani

Honestly none of it. Your best bet is to make a stirfry at ohome and take away that temptaion of the "all-you-can-eat). The food is most often fried in alot of fat, uses white rice, and furthermore contains a ton of sodium. an average meal conatins sometimes upwards of two days worth of sodium according to recent reports. I like to make edamame stirfry over brown rice. I heat up edamame(soybeans) with no oil I just let the water do the work I toss in any veggies I feel like ating I use a little low-sodium soy sauce, a little splenda to sweeten the deal, some ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes(whatever spices you like works and heat till hot pour it over brown rice and YUM!!!!!!

Lisabeth

ON THE BORDER IS THE BEST! I love their Chili Reallnos

sgtinvincible

There is a local chinese restaurant that brings your meals to your table, so no buffet. It's SO much better, hot, fresh and very good. If I didn't have my usual hunan chicken, steamed rice, and eggdrop soup once a week I think I might blow away and die. It's actually not too bad for you, about 600 calories total, and the chicken isn't as bad as general tso's (my old favorite) as it isn't deep fried. I usually have my Hunan on my workout days, and so far it hasn't even began to touch my weight loss. Guess it's all about moderation. :bigsmile:

TamTastic

I eat chinese sometimes. It's not a regular thing but there are wiser choices. I like the egg drop soup or hot and sour or steamed veggie dumplings to start and then will order steamed chicken and broccoli with the sauce on the side and do the fork dip thing. You will save A LOT of calories doing it that way. Also, if they offer it, order brown rice instead of white, though a little steamed white rice on occasion isn't going to kill you!

pam0206

If you have something in mind that you want to know the calories for, I like to use calorieking.com. You can choose another chinese place for a close approximation. (I don't think anyone else mentioned this site.) If it were me......I would do a little longer workout and enjoy my dinner......GL!

cindyfaye

This is a trigger place for me. I binge eat, and this is one of the places I do that.

splenda

thanks for the input, its a little sad to see that there are no real low-cal dishes, short of items that, to me, seem undesirable.

And I have always had bad experiences with full service Chinese restaurants. It always comes to me cold and messy. At least with buffet I can see it before it's put on my plate!

Thanks a ton, a lot of help!:flowerforyou:

DBranchaud

Chinese food is one of the places where I kinda forget about the diet. I go to the buffet and I usually load up on the veggies first and I'm usually too full for dessert

KathyR

I just ate at a chinesse buffet. my hubsnad laughs at me cause i eat basically what i want but dont eat the rice anymore and i try and choose the things that at least have some kind of vegtable in it too. I take the breading off the chicken on the sweet and sour, and if i do venture on chicken wings there i also take the skin off before i eat it LOL, at least im enjoying what i want and taking a lil fat off it. And i didnt gain any weight and still lost my two pounds for the week.