Skip to content
  • Register
    • We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

    Chinese Food?

    Posts: 2
    edited February 19 in Getting Started
    Once a week my work group goes out to eat. I've been able to find salads most of the time. However, they are heading to a Chinese Food place soon. Is there anything there that can be eaten, that isn't high calories. What would be the best choice if I had to choose one?

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Replies

    • Posts: 3,974 Member
      Broccoli in garlic sauce is one of my favorites. You can also try vegetable lo mein or Noodles Peking style.
    • Posts: 292 Member
      you may find help here. Google is your friend

      https://www.google.com/search?q=healthy+chinese+food+dishes&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb
    • Posts: 2,320 Member
      Don't stress yourself. All you have to do is fit those calories into your daily calorie range. Plan ahead and you'll be fine.
    • Posts: 218 Member
      Do you know the name of the restaurant? You can look it up in the database and see what they have for you. I like beef and broccoli. Hold the rice.
    • Posts: 938 Member
      Broccoli in garlic sauce is one of my favorites. You can also try vegetable lo mein or Noodles Peking style.

      This is wonderful! And tasty!
    • Posts: 8,111 Member
      Prawn and vegetable stir fry or beef and broccoli stir fry with plain rice. If having a starter, make it soup. Avoid fried rice or noodles, fried starters like egg rolls, and chicken dishes that are first deep fried in batter and then stir fried with a sauce. This includes sweet & sour chicken, General Tso chicken and lemon chicken.
    • Posts: 3,550 Member
      I usually do something that isn't overly sauced and control the rice portions. Works for me.
    • Posts: 137 Member
      Stick to veggies and lean protein stir-fry, avoid the deep fried stuff and limit rice/noodles. I always check menu's before we go anywhere it gives me a chance to figure out what I will eat before I walk in somewhere and I can plan for my other daily choices to make sure i keep my goals in check.

      I went out for chinese food with some co-workers and got some Hot and Sour Soup along with asparagus chicken. i stayed within my calories for the day and it was delicious. Its all about balance
    • Posts: 302 Member
      My favorite is either beef and broccoli or chicken and broccoli. Egg rolls really do nothing for me, or perhaps the places I've eaten at just don't make good ones. :) If you are going to a buffet, that makes it a little easier as you can take more broccoli than beef/chicken to make it a little healthier. I tend to skip the fried rice and just add a little brown or white rice. (I mean, like 1/8 of a cup.)

      The biggest thing is that you might retain a little water from the sodium, but just drink more water and it will flush out.

      Oh! One thing I found out is that one of the Chinese buffet restaurants will let me get one of their small to-go boxes to take to the buffet and "fill up". I can eat it in the restaurant and then I can take my leftovers home. (I hate going to buffets and eating a little bit of food, pay full price, and have to leave my plate of food.)
    • Posts: 766 Member
      Any seafood or chicken veggie dishes, just ask for the sauce/gravy and rice on the side.
    • Posts: 713 Member
      Beware that pretty much anything you eat from a Chinese place will cause a spike on the scale due to water weight. Lots and lots of sodium in Chinese food.

      ETA: This is not a problem, just don't freak out when you see it happen.
    • Posts: 534 Member
      Steamed Chicken and Broccoli with garlic sauce on the side with brown rice and dip lightly to flavor.
    • Posts: 2
      A lot of great information! Thank you so much!
    • Posts: 508 Member
      Steam rice and shrimp with extra HONDO sauce.
    • Posts: 8
      You can always ask for steamed chicken or tofu and/or vegetables with sauce on the side. I love doing that because I can control how much sauce I put on and I know there was no oil used in the cooking of the meats and veggies. I like to get brown sauce on the side, and it's about 100 calories per cup (but there's a significant amount of sodium).
    • Posts: 74 Member
      Well It's hard to ever realllly know how many calories because of how they might cook it, however I do recommend giving tofu a try (AKA bean curd) I adore sweet and sour tofu or sweet chilli tofu (usually comes with veggies) and it is so filling and yummy + is MEANT to be reasonably low cal

      And like the other person , chinese food = king of sodium .. so no weighing for a few days XD
    • Posts: 2,484 Member
      They have steamed entrees.
    • Posts: 38 Member
      Beware that pretty much anything you eat from a Chinese place will cause a spike on the scale due to water weight. Lots and lots of sodium in Chinese food.

      ETA: This is not a problem, just don't freak out when you see it happen.



      Exactly, this is what happened to me. Drink lots of water after and flush out the salt.
    • Posts: 212 Member
      My elderly friend had health issues and a strict diet. When he'd go to Chinese restaurants, he would get chicken and vegetable stir-fry, but he would tell them: No oil, No salt. No Soysauce. No sauce of any kind. So it would be like steamed chicken and vegies.
    • Posts: 938 Member
      Pancit isn't too bad as far as calories if that's your worry. Love me some pancit!!
    • Posts: 4 Member
      Question of my own about chinese food....

      I had a chinese takeaway tonight (I only started MFP last sunday and i just caved tonight!!). Instead of trying to look for something that might have been kind of lower in calories... I went for my usual;

      Spicy Chips (2/3 of the bag)
      Fried Rice (1/3 of the tray)
      Salt & Chilli Chicken (2/3 of the tray)
      Satay Sauce (about 4 tablespoons overall)

      I have no idea how many calories this is, so I just stuck it in as 1,000 (although it could be a lot more???)
      I'm just going to start fresh tomorrow, but if anyone knew how many calories it actually is that would be a great help!
    • Posts: 573 Member
      We go once a week - I get steamed shrimp and vegetables - low in fat but a very healthy choice. See if this restaurant has any steamed options
    • Posts: 41
      I think those steam dumplings are fairly reasonable. 3 @ 150 in my grocery store.
    • Posts: 153 Member
      I love Chinese food. I always get steamed shrimp or chicken with string beans or mixed Chinese vegetables, with brown rice and a lower sodium brown sauce on the side for dipping. (If you ask, they can make their regular brown sauce "lighter" and less sodium) I have that every other week and never get a spike in the scale.
    • Posts: 436 Member
      Beef and broccoli, cashew chicken, steamed green beans, crab legs, steamed shrimp, and egg drop soup are good choices.
      Anything fried, rice, or noodles is going to be higher calorie. Sesame chicken and General Tso are diet catastrophes.
    • Posts: 258 Member
      Once a week my work group goes out to eat. I've been able to find salads most of the time. However, they are heading to a Chinese Food place soon. Is there anything there that can be eaten, that isn't high calories. What would be the best choice if I had to choose one?
      Most Chinese restaurants will prepare your dish to your needs. If you are on a special diet, let them know and they can recommend some light fare for you. If you can have rice, broccoli is good, Lo Mein, kung pao chicken, steamed shrimp with veggies--oh! steamed rice is good, but get a half portion. Don't eat the crispy stuff, like the noodles, egg rolls, etc.-you will save alot of calories by skipping that stuff. Spring rolls are good, too.
    • Posts: 90 Member
      I always have to watch the sodium when getting Chinese food these days. It always causes me to retain water. I've learned to ask for sauce on the side and get brown rice. I also ask them to use low sodium soy sauce when they have it.
    • Posts: 7,963 Member
      Chinese food places usually have steamed mixed vegetables that you can have as opposed to the fried rice or chow mein. Mushroom chicken, teriyaki chicken, broccoli beef, etc are all low calorie.
    • Posts: 3,013 Member
      Oh goodness, I wish you the best of luck! I struggle terribly with ethnic foods, but it seems like a lot of great advice being spread here! Personally, whenever my friends decide to get Chinese I always opt for Wonton Soup. I hope I'm not wrong, but I remember hearing that it's very low in calories and it actually fills you up! But BEWARE, it's a sodium bomb. It's hard to win with Americanized Chinese food unfortunately :x
    This discussion has been closed.

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Quick Links

    Categories