Lebanese food?

glitteryaurora

Hi all!

I am going out to dinner with my coworkers to a Lebanese restaurant tonight. Being Polish American, I have had Lebanese food in the past but not frequently or recently. I am doing so well right now (down almost 50lbs, the lowest in a very long time!), I don't want to mess it up.

Any ideas as to healthier options in Lebanese cooking? I know grape leaves are pretty good but honestly I don't know enough about the food, ingredients, or cooking style to really make a good choice. Any advice?

Sp1nGoddess

Salads, tabouleh, fattoush, hummus, grilled meats, braised fish.

10acity

I love Lebanese food! I always go for Tabbouleh (no good if it's full of oil, but in my experience it's usually not) and chicken schwarma -- basically just grilled chicken. Yum!

p0pr0cksnc0ke

Misread... hmm... :ohwell:

emilyhawarah

From my family's "cookbook," I always know that tabbouleh salad, hummus and kibbeh are fairly safe from a macros standpoint and also DELICIOUS to me. Just be aware of your portion sizes to control your calories!

nakabi

Salads, tabouleh, fattoush, hummus, grilled meats, braised fish.

This!! love me some tabbouleh & fish! mmmm

Psychoanalytic

Misread... hmm... :ohwell:

Please tell me you read Lesbian food :laugh:

hsaab

I'm Lebanese! Our food can be a bit high on cals cuz olive oil is always involved but its decently healthy - your best bet is to stick with tabouli n grilled meats (fantastic anyway), fatoush is ok but its got fried bread in it, grape leaves are moderatley healthy sometimes at restaurants they tend to use too much oil. Try not to eat pita bread with anything cuz its tempting to eat hommus with and the dips with it but u can just eat it w the meat to cut out the extra carbs n cals.

If i go to a restaurant I usually just eat till im almost full try not to worrry toooo too much about calls since i go maybe 2x a month max, enjoy it just dont eat till u cant breathe lol happens to me sometimes!

PS i dont recommend the desserts.. theyr FULL of sugar! unless ur treating yourself GL and enjoy!

p0pr0cksnc0ke

Misread... hmm... :ohwell:

Please tell me you read Lesbian food :laugh:

shut up dammit. LOL

taunto

Born and lived in mid-east for a long time. This is my take on the lebanese food made in US.

Falafel: stay away. Think french fries except its different kinds of veggies rather than potatoes

shawarma sandwich: Very tasty but typically not the healthiest unless you ask them to hold the sauce. In the old country you can find a tasty shawarma sandwich where for taste all you needed was hot sauce and spices but in US they insist on putting crap in a simple dish. The americanized version might as well be called Gyro because thats all it is

shawarma platter: the meat itself is very tasty and usually restaurants don't use external sources of fat and let the meat cook in its own fat but what ruins it is the rice or fries most restaurants in US serves it with

Deboned chicken: This is something I would recommend. Juicy, soft, with just spices to bring it somewhere in between a classes American steak and and Indian chicken tandoori

Lamb Kabsa: You might not see it if its an actual lebanese restaurant since Kabsa is a yemeni dish but if you do and you want some rice, go with this.

Gallaba: Another low carb dish. Might be a bit rich in terms of oil/butter. Ask the chef to cook it with extra veggies, put some extra spice into it, cook it well done and put little butter/oil and it would be perfect for you. Think Fajitas when you imagine gallaba

Khubz Tawak: a fried bread. VERY VERY good. Most restaurants in US don't carry it and its a Yemeni dish but boy is it addicting

Ruz-Hashwi: Stay faaar away from it. Very unhealthy. The meat is fried, the rice is fried, they hide the meat in the rice and them load it up with almonds that're fried. Might as well have multiple donuts except that Ruz-Hashwi don't have sugar

Sujuk: Arabic sausage. Good eats. Low fat than most european sausage

Lamb/Chicken kebabs: Kinda BBQ'd chicken or lamb. Good eats. Most places tend to not load it up with butter and rely on the meat fats to cook it. Ask the chef how its made.

Hummus: chick pea dip. Moderation is key to this. I see alot of folks in US gobble it down. Its basically a dip and in most US restaurants, its full of tahini which is sesame seed with oil. Too much of this is bad eats but a little bit of it is actually good.

Baba-Ganush: Same as hummus really in terms of diet but made with egg plant

They have a garlic mayonaise dip they give out in US restaurants. Stay far away from it. There's a reason you never see that crap in the old country.

Foul (pronounced fool). The lebanese version is terrible in taste. However, if the restaurant made it Sudani or Egyptian style, then that is definitely GREAT eats. Its Fava beans with some other beans (depending on the style) mixed in with spices and yogurt mix. VERY yummy and healthy. The lebanese version is just freaking boiled chick peas and fava beans, not good eats

For sides, I would suggest have their fatoosh but ask them to give you olive oil on the side rather than putting on the top and put olive oil yourself
Also, if presented, go for their lentil soup. Very good eats

TL;DR: If possible, get deboned chicken, chicken/lamb kebabs, gallaba, shawarma plaater (without the rice). Those would be your goto healthy dishes (if prepared properly)

glitteryaurora

Thank you everyone! This has been so helpful!