Chinese Food

Unless it's Chinese food you're making yourself, there's little that's healthy at restaurants. Definitely delicious, but healthy is a long shot. If you eat in small moderation, it won't make a huge difference, but be careful.

Hot and sour soup. Egg drop/flower soup. pork 'n seeds. Pick off the breading if you can't avoid it. Drink ice water with your meal. Don't weigh yourself for at least 3 days after, you are going to gain from all the sodium.

Broccoli and beef. Egg drop soup. Foods at the salad bar. (cottage cheese, fruit, nuts, etc)

Non breaded shrimp. Lean looking meats. rice.

I've logged the broccoli and beef before, not bad.

something unbreaded (no sweet & sour chicken or anything)..... not covered in sauce..... You can usually request steamed veggies & chicken or whatever.

I eat Chinese several times a month but try to stick with vegetables and things that are non-oily, such as steamed vegetables, plain rice and broths. I was surprised when I checked into the calorie load for things like dumplings, even when steamed, so I use those as a treat rather than a full appetizer or main course.

Sushi at a Chinese place? Be careful!

Welllll, they all look the same.

:bigsmile:

Vegetable Soup.

Asian fusion places do exist to the folks feeling the need to correct that sushi is Japanese. :P

I order chicken and broccoli with the sauce on the side. No rice!

You can control how much sauce you have and your veggies aren't completely saturated. It's not the healthiest by any means but it's better than LOADS of the stuff on the menu

get your dish steamed with sauce on the side, brown rice rather than white

get your dish steamed with sauce on the side, brown rice rather than white

yep! i always opt for shrimp and broccoli personally.
i don't usually get rice, but if you love it, brown is a wiser choice.

I used to get steamed dumplings (about 8) with a side of steamed brown (half a pint) rice and broccoli (also half a pint)

Chinese resteraunts are a minefield. I'd be biting the bullet and just counting it as a cheat and picking what I wanted.

Otherwise broth based soups are probably your best bet, or seeing of they can do stir fry with sauce on the side

absolutely agree. when i am eating chinese, i want to eat everything that makes me happy...general tso's chicken, lo mein, crab rangoons, etc...so i would consider that a cheat meal...which you can have like once every week or two weeks, right? last time i went to a chinese buffet, they did have sauteed boy choy and it was so delicious...tasted a little garlicy. i bet that was pretty good for you. also, those little thin rice noodles...those are so good and i bet they aren't as bad for you as the lo mein noodles. won ton soup doesn't seem too unhealthy, but is probably packed with sodium. ****, now i'm craving chinese food. why did i look at this thread? lol

yummmm, i love dumplings.

Uh - it depends on what kind of Chinese restaurant you're going to, right? If you're going to a place that's equivalent to Panda Express, it's going to be difficult to find stuff that's delicious and nutritious. However... the better quality Chinese restaurant that you go to, the more likely you'll get more healthy options.

If you're going to a legit Chinese restaurant (which if they're serving sushi... I'm assuming it isn't), there should be some seafood options. Get the stuff that has a sauce that seems most nutritionally sound (i.e. soy sauce based sauces or something) and ask them whether you can get your fish/shrimp/scallops/whatever steamed and without breading. They'll usually do it for you.

However, if you're not going to a place like I mention above, I would suggest going for vegetarian options like... "Spicy Eggplant" or some such equivalent... you're just going to be ingesting a lot of sodium that day. *shrug*

Honestly, when you read the menu, you'll know which options might be safe and which options aren't. Make smart choices! Good luck!