Thai food

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Momof2grls75
Momof2grls75 Posts: 5
in Food and Nutrition
What is the healthiest thing to eat at a Thai restaurant?
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  • hellohappylisa
    hellohappylisa Posts: 141 Member
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    Most Thai food is pretty healthy but who the hell knows how much crap they add at a restaurant...
  • DMZ_1
    DMZ_1 Posts: 2,889 Member
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    Not sure, but looking forward to seeing other responses. I like Thai food.
  • samblanken
    samblanken Posts: 369 Member
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    thai beef salad.
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    Bump
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
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    Could you give us some more details on what your goals are? The advice changes if you are trying to reduce carbs, or reduce fat, or increase protein.

    In general, healthy things could include dishes like chicken satay, which is basically grilled chicken. You might want to avoid the noodle dishes, and tofu tends to be fried.
  • jesse1379
    jesse1379 Posts: 239 Member
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    Thai food is great if you like ****ting fire.
  • Beezil
    Beezil Posts: 1,677 Member
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    Spring rolls with shrimp. :)
  • coffeeQ2hrs
    coffeeQ2hrs Posts: 52 Member
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    pad thai with tofu. stay away from sauces, they have a lot of calories usually.... my aunt is from thailand so i eat and cook a lot of thai food. many thai dishes are loaded with vegetables, so that's always great!
  • 2BhappyBhealthy
    2BhappyBhealthy Posts: 181 Member
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    I usually order the shrimp spring rolls with chicken (or tofu) tom yum soup. or any of the stir fries with meat and veggies. just stay away from the egg rolls and pad thai :)
  • AverageAngel
    AverageAngel Posts: 123 Member
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    Pho or any soup really.., Spring rolls, any salad. curry~ any color. The coconut milk which adds a lot of the caloric value, is actually good fats and calories. .. Just about anything that is not deep fried. Thai is really some good stuff. It can be high in sodium,if that is an issue for you . It is my FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE food..
  • affabletoaster
    affabletoaster Posts: 5 Member
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    Anything that hasn't been pan fried or deep fried will be lower in fat. Thai food is often full of great vegetables and fiber -- try fresh spring rolls, for instance. If you can, minimize your intake of straight-up carbs like rice, potatoes, or noodles, and aim for something with bamboo shoots, peppers, bean sprouts, and lean meats or seafood. Sauces for curries and pad thai are usually made with salt, fat, and sugar, so go light on them if you can. Satay -- meat on a stick -- is usually pretty good, though again watch the peanut sauce it comes with.

    When I make Thai food at home I use low fat coconut milk, and the very minimum of oil for frying (water can help lubricate the pan). Basmati rice is lower GI than Jasmine or most other rices. Brown rice is a little bit lower GI than basmati.
  • BlackKat75
    BlackKat75 Posts: 210 Member
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    If you like hot and spicy, I'd go for Tom Yum soup - with chicken or shrimp. Unlike Tom Kha, it's not a coconut-based soup, so you don't have to worry about the high fat and calories. I love Tom Yum - spicy and lemony grassy flavor. Most Thai curries use a coconut-milk base (Red, Yellow and Green Curry), so they will be higher in fat and calories. Masaman curry isn't coconut-based so it's a possibility. (Personally, I'm not a huge Masaman curry fan). Fresh spring rolls (i.e., not fried) are also pretty good.
  • Ginnyesq
    Ginnyesq Posts: 109
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    I like Tom Yum soup as well. Especially with shrimp.
  • eatcleanNtraindirty
    eatcleanNtraindirty Posts: 444 Member
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    Anything that hasn't been pan fried or deep fried will be lower in fat. Thai food is often full of great vegetables and fiber -- try fresh spring rolls, for instance. If you can, minimize your intake of straight-up carbs like rice, potatoes, or noodles, and aim for something with bamboo shoots, peppers, bean sprouts, and lean meats or seafood. Sauces for curries and pad thai are usually made with salt, fat, and sugar, so go light on them if you can. Satay -- meat on a stick -- is usually pretty good, though again watch the peanut sauce it comes with.

    When I make Thai food at home I use low fat coconut milk, and the very minimum of oil for frying (water can help lubricate the pan). Basmati rice is lower GI than Jasmine or most other rices. Brown rice is a little bit lower GI than basmati.

    ^This.

    Just be careful of all the "delicious" sauces because they can really pack on the calories from the sugars and fats. I personally like to make my own thai food. They have great seasoning packs at most grocery stores that you just need to add coconut milk to. Get the reduced fat coconut milk if you do this... it doesn't taste any different but is much less calories than the normal canned coconut milk.

    I made my own peanut satay sauce that I cooked chicken in the other night. It was 1 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt, 1.5 cup crunchy peanut butter, 3 tbs coconut butter, 3 tsp onion powder. It's a little bland so I might add more onion or garlic powder in it. But it tastes pretty dang good for just taking a stab at making my own sauce since I ran out of the packets.
  • Saezimmerman
    Saezimmerman Posts: 93 Member
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    My favorite tip for any resturant eating is to find the menu item with the most veggies.

    It's also good to talk to your server when you're reviewing your options. They have great insight on portion sizes and can always ask the kitchen to use a less oil or substitute a fried meat for another option.
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
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    Tom yum, sping rolls (easy on the peanut sauce)


    I usually order a chicken satay appetizer (usually grilled), a cup of tom yum, and a shrimp spring roll.
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
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    Not sure about what's healthiest but I'd avoid Thai curries, they're typically made with coconut milk. Maybe Tom Yum Soup or Pad Thai but watch the portions and sodium.
  • gauchogirl
    gauchogirl Posts: 467 Member
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    The best one is the one you love, enjoy and look forward to eating. Otherwise why eat it? If it's not the healthiest one, eat less or move more to compensate. I'd rather enjoy my food. I personally only like 2 things at a Thai restaurant and I get them both when I go: Spring rolls with shrimp and peanut sauce and beef satay with sweet chili sauce.
  • Rubie81
    Rubie81 Posts: 720 Member
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    Just be careful with your portions. I love me some Thai food. I usually order Chicken Pad See Yew.
  • cllovesdw4eva
    cllovesdw4eva Posts: 74
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    I love Thai, and just came from a lunch of fresh basil rolls, peanut sauce, and veggie drunken noodles. I thought that was pretty healthy until I logged it in MFP.......3000 friggin mg of Sodium in one meal YIKES! I will need to go hard on fruit to get potassium to counteract this LOL

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