Question about Pho...

MSeel1984
MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
edited January 27 in Food and Nutrition
So last night I had a craving for Vietnamese food.

I went and got myself shrimp rolls (not the fried kind...the ones with the bean sprouts) and the "healthy" white meat chicken only pho.

I ate one of the rolls and half of the pho and saved the rest for tonight. I bought a small order of pho.

The pho was white meat chicken, jalapenos, onions, bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, rice noodles (used about 1/2 cup of them) and broth...along with a hot paste/sauce that I added (just a little so it wasn't too spicy) and a squeeze of fresh lime.

I looked it up in MFP and a HALF of a serving of Pho is over 300 calories?! What the hell....am I missing something? Especially since I got the lighter version I'm just SHOCKED at the calorie content!

Replies

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    I die a bit inside, when people get chicken Pho.

    I know my reply is useless, but in for answers as I'm a regular Pho consumer.
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
    I die a bit inside, when people get chicken Pho.

    I know my reply is useless, but in for answers as I'm a regular Pho consumer.

    Why-is chicken pho bad? It's the white meat kind...and rather tasty! It's a great local place...they give you all the fresh ingredients and you put it together...I'm just so disappointed-I had no idea something so seemingly healthy is so high in calories.

    My husband usually gets the beef kind...I'm just more of a chicken person.
  • Mjhnbgff
    Mjhnbgff Posts: 112
    It's the noodles. 2 ounces of dried noodles is about 200 calories.
  • MG_Fit
    MG_Fit Posts: 1,143 Member
    ^ Has it right with the noodle.

    I'm getting pho tonight ... it's Pho King good :)
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    How big is the serving? Man, I miss good Pho a lot. There was a really good hole-in-a-wall restaurant near my old college. Those were huge bowls of Pho, though, so I could see it being 600 calories for the whole thing.
  • dcr5452WECHANGED
    dcr5452WECHANGED Posts: 121 Member
    I'd be more concerned about the sodium level in pho than I would the calories. Thankfully, due to my size and height, I'm not on a 1200 calorie per day type deal so that would explain part of my thinking there.
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
    I die a bit inside, when people get chicken Pho.

    I know my reply is useless, but in for answers as I'm a regular Pho consumer.

    Chicken pho is just different. There was a place near my house that only sold chicken pho AND it was next door to a store that sold live chickens. I never got to try it because the health department shut it down. Pffft, when are they gonna shut down the junkies turning tricks out front?

    Anyway, OP, noodles are full of calories and pho has a LOT of noodles especially the large size. I would just estimate how many cups of noodles were in your soup - the rest of the calories are not much.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,835 Member
    Yup, it's the noodles. Rice noodles are relatively calorie dense -- but oh so good -- and pretty easy to cook. If you are worried about the calories or sodium in purchased Pho, just make a homemade equivalent. It might not be quite as good as the real thing but it will be pretty tasty. There a lots of Pho recipes on the web. Here's one for Pho Ga (the chicken version):

    http://www.steamykitchen.com/139-vietnamese-chicken-noodle-soup-pho-ga.html

    Here's my recipe for an ersatz Tom-kha-gai with rice noodles, a Thai chicken soup:

    http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/chicken/thai-style-chicken-coconut-soup-with-lemon.html
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    Pho for 600 calories a bowl?

    That's pretty low cal.

    Of course, I never get chicken. Beef, beef tendon, tripe and meatballs, please.
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
    Rice is calorie-dense, rice noodles likewise.
  • mmm_drop
    mmm_drop Posts: 1,126 Member
    Realized this last year that pho may be the best hangover cure/food, ever. That is all I know.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,260 Member
    Pho for 600 calories a bowl?

    That's pretty low cal.

    Of course, I never get chicken. Beef, beef tendon, tripe and meatballs, please.
    DAMN STRAIGHT! I eat Pho at least once a week and it's always a large bowl (I save calories for Fridays!) and always with spring rolls (fresh not fried).

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
    I die a bit inside, when people get chicken Pho.

    I know my reply is useless, but in for answers as I'm a regular Pho consumer.

    Chicken pho is just different. There was a place near my house that only sold chicken pho AND it was next door to a store that sold live chickens. I never got to try it because the health department shut it down. Pffft, when are they gonna shut down the junkies turning tricks out front?

    Anyway, OP, noodles are full of calories and pho has a LOT of noodles especially the large size. I would just estimate how many cups of noodles were in your soup - the rest of the calories are not much.

    Well and I'm also Type I diabetic so I don't use all the noodles they give me. Last night I didn't even use half of the noodles-maybe 1/2 cup.
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
    Pho for 600 calories a bowl?

    That's pretty low cal.

    Of course, I never get chicken. Beef, beef tendon, tripe and meatballs, please.

    Hell yeah!! Regular cooked/raw beef pho FTW!

    And OP, those "slippery" rice noodles actually do have a lot of cals..
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
    Pho for 600 calories a bowl?

    That's pretty low cal.

    Of course, I never get chicken. Beef, beef tendon, tripe and meatballs, please.

    Hell yeah!! Regular cooked/raw beef pho FTW!

    And OP, those "slippery" rice noodles actually do have a lot of cals..

    Yeah...I don't eat all the noodles...just 1/2 cup when I eat the soup...discard the rest.
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
    That's great portion control! When I eat a hot bowl of soup noodles, it's like comfort food to me and I tend to finish everything..
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
    That's great portion control! When I eat a hot bowl of soup noodles, it's like comfort food to me and I tend to finish everything..

    Well fortunately they did not refrigerate well. Ended up giving a little to the dogs for a treat and throwing out the rest. They didn't soften up with the hot broth...so it was basically chicken vegetable soup with no starch. Still tasted great.
  • amonkey794
    amonkey794 Posts: 651 Member
    Never had vietnamese. . . .sounds goooooood!
  • footiechick82
    footiechick82 Posts: 1,203 Member
    I eat pho whenever I am able to get to the place I like it from... I have 1 cup of chicken pho in my phone for 195 calories.
  • iarelarry
    iarelarry Posts: 201 Member
    Vietnamese here...

    Pho should be eaten all at once and not saved. If you babysit Pho, the noodles soak up the fluid rendering the bowl disgusting so I recommend just killing your order next time.


    When I was growing up, I was smacked with chopsticks by my mother everytime I tried to save my Pho for later consumption. Beware of the an unwritten rule in the Vietnamese culture to eat all your Pho.

    tumblr_m9nl9vjTeE1qesugk.gif
  • chatnel
    chatnel Posts: 688 Member
    Eating my beef pho right now. Delicous. Will try not to eat all the noodles then as already pretty filling.
  • djc315
    djc315 Posts: 585 Member
    I want pho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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