Best Chinese?

fruitsalad15

Hi There,

I don't post loads but I have a bit of a dilemma tonight. My husband and I have some friends coming over for a takeaway. I'm happy to indulge a bit but I really want to stay under my calories. I have eaten OK for Breakfast and Lunch and did some exercise this morning so I have nearly 1000 calories for my dinner.

I was thinking that if we have Pizza I would buy a load of salad and have salad and 1 maybe 2 slices of pizza to stay under.

I think the same with Indian - I can have Chicken Tandoori.

My problem comes if they want Chinese - whats the best Chinese to have for staying under the calories? Does any Chinese go with Salad?

Just curious what other people might do in this situation?

I'm also not drinking - not a big drinker anyway so its not like they would miss me having 1 or 2!

kat2brigid

I typically order Chicken and Veggies or Steak and Veggies with the sauce on the side. One Chinese restaurant offers to cook with no oil and offer steamed brown rice. Still, the sodium will probably be pretty high. :-/

TeaBea

For Chinese - stay away from sweet & sour and anything deep fried. Get plain rice not fried rice.....have a small portion. Maybe have some egg drop soup, that should be low.

Homemade Chinese can be really healthy (except for sodium). I load up on water during the day. I also load up on the veggies. The problem with restaurant food is you don't know how much oil they used.

fruitsalad15

Thanks! I always have boiled rice - don't actually like the fried stuff! (I think that's the only fried thing I don't like!) ha ha!

I want to carry on living my life and seeing friends etc but not go over board, its great to know there are Chinese options I can have. I'm not really a big fan but you have to ask the other people, going to try to steer them to a Pizza, calories online and goes well with Salad! :-)

Thanks for the help!

RodaRose

Here the Chinese take out restaurants have a Steamed option.That might work for you in the future. Enjoy the time with friends.

bohemian124

Some Chinese restaurants have a healthy side of the menu, typically steamed chicken and veggies and the like. If not, I like to go with chicken or tofu with mixed vegetables and brown rice if possible. The sauce is usually a light gravy. I suppose you could ask for sauce on the side, but with 1000 calories in your bank, that seems a bit excessive, plus I imagine there would be very little joy in that dish.

Broth-based soups are also a good way to start off the meal and help you fill up a bit before your entree. Think wanton or hot and sour soup. Steamed vegetable dumplings are also a good appetizer.

Rather than a salad, which may not really go with the cuisine, I'd suggest an extra portion of steamed veggies.

HeidiCooksSupper

The brown gravy-like sauce is surprisingly low in calories. Look for something with lots of veggies in brown sauce or even order an extra side of mixed veggies.

A typical brown gravy recipe is
3/4 cup beef broth -- probably fewer than 15 calories
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oyster sauce -- about 12 calories
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce -- about 5 calories
1/2 teaspoon sugar -- about 8 calories
1 tablespoon cornstarch -- about 30 calories

So, a whole cup of the brown gravy is only around 70 calories; a tablespoon less than 5.

The biggie in calories would probably be whatever oil was used to stir-fry what goes in the gravy.

tulips_and_tea

The main thing you need to be careful of is the sodium content. Even if you order something low fat, if it's full of soy sauce the sodium will bloat you and probably make you feel not very good tomorrow. Drink a lot of water today. And, if it does bloat you anyway, don't be discouraged. It will go away.