Low-calorie Middle Eastern (Egyptian) food choices?

franch71

Advice please for 11 days in Egypt - I know nothing about Egyptian food so all info gratefully received. Thanks!

mannosabas

Hey, how did that go?? Egyptian food I mean. Hope you enjoyed it and were able to make good choices through them ... although I have to admit that most of our food is really fattening, because of all the butter used (which gives a great taste - still real full-lazy body at the end of the meal).

melindasuefritz

Identification

To find low-calorie Lebanese foods at your favorite restaurant or for preparing recipes at home, choose a vegetable, legume or grain dish. Hummus and baba ganoush are common appetizers on many restaurant menus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that 1 tbsp. of hummus paired with 16 baby carrots only has 75 calories. Baba ganoush has 80 calories in a 1 oz. serving, according to Fat Secret. An entree like tabbouleh has 175 calories for a 1¼-cup serving, according to Food Network. Dolmades, or grape leaves stuffed with rice alone is low-calorie, but versions with meat are not.
Shish kabob is a Lebanese meat dish that won’t break your calorie budget. It combines vegetables with cubed chunks of lamb on a skewer. A standard serving of one skewer with 3 oz. of lamb has 274 calories. Samkeh harra, a popular grilled fish dish and shish taouk, made with white chicken meat, are also low-calorie

melindasuefritz

Healthy Finds: To boost fiber, look for dishes and soups with fava beans and other legumes.
One skewer of Kafta has only 85 calories and 5g fat.
Chicken or veggie shish kabobs
Greek Salad
Tabouli (bulgur mixed with tomatoes, parsley, mint, olive oil and lemon juice) has just 170 calories per 4-ounce serving
Dolmas (stuffed vegetables, such as peppers, cabbage leaves, eggplant or squash)
Couscous (steamed wheat cereal)
Pilafs (rice dishes)
Midya Dolma (rice-stuffed mussels)
Yalanji Yaprak (rice-stuffed grape leaves)
Lah Me June (Armenian pizza)
Bulgur (cracked wheat)
Plaki (fish broiled with tomato sauce and garlic)
Pita Bread, especially whole wheat pitas
Tzatziki (creamy yogurt and cucumber dressing/dip)

melindasuefritz

Appetizers

If dieting, skipping the appetizer is always the best choice. However, if you would like to have more than one course for your meal, the best option would be a soup. Lentil soups are very popular in most Middle Eastern cultures, and are high in fiber, and like most soups, low in calories and fat. (Nutrition info: 188 kcals; Fat: 3 g; Carbs: 29 g; Protein: 13 g ).

If you want something more solid to eat, a yogurt salad is a good bet. This is yogurt, flavored with mint, parsley and/or dill, and often blended with shredded cucumber. (Nutrition: 78 kcal; Total fat: 1.8 g; Total carbs: 9.3 g; Protein: 6.3 g). It is sometimes thin and eaten like a soup.

Salads in Middle Eastern cooking tend to be more interesting and flavorful than the typical garden salad served in the U.S. or Europe. Look for mixtures of tomato and cucumber in olive oil and lemon juice (sometimes called a Shepherd's or Peasant Salad) (Nutrition: 265 kcals; Fat: 14 g; Carbs: 39 g; Protein: 6.5 g) or a cooked and cooled mixture of tomato, pepper and eggplant thick with olive oil. Needless to say, because of the oil, these dishes are not low calorie.

Hummus can be another good choice (also available at most restaurants), despite the fact that it does contain both tahini (sesame paste) which is high in fat, as well as olive oil. However, it remains a particularly low calorie option so long as the chef doesn't douse the top of it with additional olive oil! (Nutrition in ½ cup: 110 kcal; Fat: 1 g; Carbs: 19 g; Protein: 6 g). However, don't forget the calories in the pita bread! (Nutrition in 4 quarter-wedges: 170 kcals; Fat: 1 g; Total carbs: 34 g; Protein: 7 g)

Entrees

The health hazards at Middle Eastern restaurants are greater with the entrees than with appetizers, as lamb and beef are prolific entrée ingredients. Try to eat either vegetarian or chicken or fish to control the cholesterol and calorie count.

Chicken shawerma is marinated chicken in thin slices or chunks served with rice and/or hummus and sometimes grilled tomato and/or peppers; it is sometimes served in sandwich form (Nutrition in sandwich: 475 kcals; Fat: 13.2 g; Carbs: 48 g; protein: 42 g) .

Shish taouk (chicken on skewers) is similar. These are usually white meat (make sure to ask!) and are a lean, lower fat alternative to the beef and lamb found in shish kebab . (Nutrition: 475 kcals; Fat: 27 g; Carbs: 33 g; Protein: 32 g.)

On the vegetarian side, a vegetable tagine (a Moroccan dish) may be just what the diet ordered. It is a stew served in a clay pot, usually with a tomato-y broth. (Yum!). It sometimes includes chickpeas and raisins. (Nutrition: 246 kcals; Fat: 9 g; Carbs: 36 g; Protein: 12 g).

Vegetarian moussaka is another good choice, when available (most likely in Turkish restaurants). However, the lamb/beef version can be very high in cholesterol. The vegetarian version usually has an eggplant base, and sometimes also includes potatoes. It contains a lot of olive oil. (Nutrition: 315 kcals; Fat: 14 g; Carbs: 39 g; Protein: 11 g) Avoid it if it has a béchamel topping (made from cream, cheese, and eggs).

Grilled fish is found in some Middle Eastern restaurants and is usually a good, healthy choice. Salmon may be offered, but this is not authentic Middle Eastern food as it is not native to that area. There are many white fish dishes that may be offered, and given the health benefits of fish, may be considered a healthy choice.

Any dish with a bean or lentil base is particularly healthy for digestion, due to the high fiber content. Two that you might find in certain Middle Eastern restaurants are m'jaddra (or mjadra or imjadare), which is a lentil-rice dish (Nutrition: 442 kcals; Fat: 22 g; Carbs: 44g; Protein: 12 g) , and foul madamas (or medammas), which is fava beans in a lemon-garlic sauce (Nutrition: 336; Fat: 2 g; Carbs: 59 g; Protein: 25 g). Again, these dishes may be rich in olive oil (thus, hiking up the calorie count), but it is a good fat and beans are incredibly healthy and filling.

Dessert

There really aren't any healthy desserts in Middle Eastern restaurants, anymore than there are in other restaurants, unless a rare fruit salad is offered. Middle Eastern desserts are usually heavy on the cream (as in the rice pudding or custards) or butter (as in the baklava and pastries). If figs or dates are available, those are your best choice, but they are often stuffed with something decadent.

You can see there are many ways to enjoy the unique delights of Middle Eastern food without sacrificing your health or your waist line. So above all - enjoy... or as they say in Arabic, bil hana wish shifa'! (Or, "may you have your meal in gladness.")