Any Asians Out There? I need help

lotushw
lotushw Posts: 22 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 146 pounds and trying to get down to 130. Ideally I'd like to get to 125, but that's wishful thinking. I'm surrounded by asian food and it's hard to count those calories. That's what I usually eat. This past weekend I went to dimsum, which is traditional when taking parents out. I added up the dimsum I ate and woahhhh.. Now I've been eating chicken breast with bok choy, but it's getting boring! What kind of asian foods can I eat that are not fattening? I think pho might be a good choice, but what else?? Any good recipes?

Weekends are so hard for me unless I stay home!

Feel free to check out my food diary.

Replies

  • robeeen
    robeeen Posts: 15
    I don't have any healthy Asian Recipes, but I'm asian and this is what I eat....

    I measure white rice since it's so high in calories and then I will eat it with a fish and stir fried vegetables sauteed in a little bit of olive oil and garlic salt.

    Sometimes instead of fish I cook tofu, and after it is done put soy sauce on it.

    For breakfast, rice soup and vegetables and fish, or just american food. I think the key to it is do not eat "american-ized" asian food, eat the stuff our ancestors would eat!
  • red01angel
    red01angel Posts: 806 Member
    Well, I'm (clearly) not Asian, but I'd suggest subbing brown rice for white if you haven't already since brown rice has more nutritional value. Were you looking for a particular TYPE of Asian food? I see you talking about dimsum, so I assume you prefer Chinese?

    As for me, fresh (read: not pre-packaged) stir fry is one of my standbys, as are sashimi, tofu-based dishes, and Korean style bbq short ribs (gotta be careful with the sauce though!).

    This link will give you additional helpful menu ideas: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_asian_recipes

    Good luck!
  • mrphil86
    mrphil86 Posts: 2,382 Member
    The thing is well a lot of asian foods are packed with carbs! Pho is not that bad for you but it still packs some calories.

    As a general rule, I try to stay away from asian foods now. And I am asian. The vegetables are ok and so is rice in moderation. (Well everything is ok in moderation.)

    It sucks but hey, it's worth it.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    I feel you on the food. Rice [and lots of it] is a freakin' staple. Honestly, I don't even eat rice anymore. Well, only when I go out on special occasions, but when I'm at home, I substituted all of the white rice with brown. Then eventually, I just cut it out altogether and started eating stir-fried vegetables in low sodium chicken, beef, or vegetable broth along with chicken breast and/or fish. I'm not the typical Filipino/Asian to begin with, so it didn't bother me when the fam gave me crap at first saying that I'm "neglecting the heritage" and whatnot by not eating what they ate.

    If you do happen to go out for Asian food, try to get anything steamed, baked, or grilled. They're generally a little bit healthier. Even better if you could ask them not to put salt or MSG in the food either. Lastly, if you absolutely have no choice in the food being served, portion it out and go for clear broth soups and any vegetables and/or tofu along with the leaner meat, if there's a choice.

    It just kind of sucks that living a healthier alternative choice in eating habits falls just short of denying your ethnicity...kind of. :tongue:
  • pandafoo
    pandafoo Posts: 367 Member
    i'm chinese and as much as i love chinese food, i've definitely cut down my visits to chinese restaurants because they use so much oil, even for chicken and broccoli! i think the healthiest option at a restaurant would be moo shu pork because it's lean pork and lots of veggies. plus the pancakes have less calories than white rice.

    i posted a few healthy asian recipes on my blog if you're interested: www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/hsinster . these days i cook a lot of asian food at home, incl. mapo tofu (use lean pork), steamed fish (you can easily cook fish in the microwave too, with some chicken broth, soy sauce, chinese wine, ginger, scallions). i also love eating vietnamese summer rolls, which are easy to make. same thing with dol sot bibimbap (i even got a stone pot to help me make this! hehee)

    if i eat rice, it's only one bowl at most - so many calories! i still like the taste of white rice, so one thing you can do is to steam a mixture of 1/2 brown rice, 1/2 white rice.
  • janesmith1
    janesmith1 Posts: 1,511 Member
    I'm not Asian but I love to cook. I've been using Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen cookbooks for low fat food.

    I just went to Amazon and searched for "low fat Asian" & found a couple of books:

    http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Smart-Chinese-Cooking-Stephen/dp/1550544969/ref=pd_cp_b_1

    http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Way-Healthy-Low-Fat-Cooking/dp/0028603818/ref=pd_cp_b_2

    http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Thai-Recipes-Healthy-Living/dp/B0041T4QZG/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_0

    So if you don't like those, go to Amazon & find some more books, and see if your local bookseller has it (always good to purchase things locally rather than amazon, if you still have Borders in your town you can see whether they stock any at your local store by going to their website and entering in the info).

    Good luck.

    And it looks really good....
  • lotushw
    lotushw Posts: 22 Member
    OMG, thanks guys for the helpful tips. I've transitioned to eating brown rice too. I try to make my own food, but when I make dishes like pork adobo or thai chicken curry for the rest of the family, omg it's so hard to resist eating only one piece. Yikes!
  • lotushw
    lotushw Posts: 22 Member
    plus the pancakes have less calories than white rice.

    OMG, seriously?? I'd rather eat pancakes then. I'll look at your blog for the recipes. I make mapo tofu too, so it will be interesting to see your recipe.

    Thanks so much!
  • pandafoo
    pandafoo Posts: 367 Member
    plus the pancakes have less calories than white rice.

    OMG, seriously?? I'd rather eat pancakes then. I'll look at your blog for the recipes. I make mapo tofu too, so it will be interesting to see your recipe.

    Thanks so much!

    Actually, my blog doesn't have a recipe for mapo tofu :) That one I make up on my own, and I use the garlic sauce sold in Asian marts. Basically, stirfry chopped garlic and ginger over high heat (with some chili peppers), and add some garlic sauce. Then bring in marinated bite-size strips of pork tenderloin (marinated in soy sauce, wine, sesame oi, cornstarch, pepper), and stirfry. Add tofu and stir until heated thru. Top with a bit of sesame oil and chopped scallions. Feel free to modify it however! :)
  • lotushw
    lotushw Posts: 22 Member
    II'm not the typical Filipino/Asian to begin with, so it didn't bother me when the fam gave me crap at first saying that I'm "neglecting the heritage" and whatnot by not eating what they ate.

    Gosh, I'm getting that a lot these days from my Chinese family....:( So I end up taking a bite and then I want more! I must learn to resist. I'll try not to let it get to me. Thanks for the tips and congrats on such a success on your weightloss. I'm impressed!
  • lotushw
    lotushw Posts: 22 Member
    Hsin,

    Do you utilize the recipe tool on this site for your chinese recipes?
  • lotushw
    lotushw Posts: 22 Member
    The vegetables are ok and so is rice in moderation. (Well everything is ok in moderation.)

    Yes I agree, moderation is the key!
  • lotushw
    lotushw Posts: 22 Member
    Were you looking for a particular TYPE of Asian food? I see you talking about dimsum, so I assume you prefer Chinese

    I make all different ethnic Asian food, from chinese. filipino to korean. Since my family only likes asian food, that's what i generally make. Occasionally I'll make Italian, like spaghetti. Thanks for the link!
  • lotushw
    lotushw Posts: 22 Member
    I think the key to it is do not eat "american-ized" asian food, eat the stuff our ancestors would eat!

    Ahhh, Hong Kong cafe style food like baked porkchop over fried rice. We often go to these types of cafes. I'll look for healthier choices on the menu.
  • pandafoo
    pandafoo Posts: 367 Member
    Hsin,

    Do you utilize the recipe tool on this site for your chinese recipes?

    Yes I use the recipe tool on this site a lot! :) A kitchen scale is also invaluable for estimating recipe calories.
  • lalilalu
    lalilalu Posts: 102 Member
    Again, I'm clearly not Asian, but my husband is and I've lived in Indonesia in the past, and travelled to numerous other Asian countries. I'm stearing clear of Indonesian/Malaysian food, but what here are a few ideas I have....

    Mushroom/Veggie Omelette
    San Cho Bow (Sp?) Basically lovely flavoured mince and goodies in lettuce cups, good for the low carb people, and V.tasty.
    Chicken and Corn soup - Make it yourself and it's a good low fat meal with protein.
    Glass noodles are good, they are made from beans and again low cal/carb and can be used in a stirfry
    Vietnamese Rice paper rolls - Bit a fiddle to make, but worth it if you can be bothered, or good from the shop
    Sashimi and some sushi - I make my own sushi and so can control exactly what goes in.
    You can even make your own fried rice with some lean bacon, egg and heaps of veggies and it can be really good for you.

    that's all I can think of now - gotta go cook my dinner (bacon ricotta and zuchinni omelette, yum!)
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    II'm not the typical Filipino/Asian to begin with, so it didn't bother me when the fam gave me crap at first saying that I'm "neglecting the heritage" and whatnot by not eating what they ate.

    Gosh, I'm getting that a lot these days from my Chinese family....:( So I end up taking a bite and then I want more! I must learn to resist. I'll try not to let it get to me. Thanks for the tips and congrats on such a success on your weightloss. I'm impressed!

    Anytime. Thanks for the acclamation. I wish you healthy Asian eating :tongue: :laugh: :flowerforyou:
  • lotushw
    lotushw Posts: 22 Member
    Again, I'm clearly not Asian, but my husband is and I've lived in Indonesia in the past, and travelled to numerous other Asian countries. I'm stearing clear of Indonesian/Malaysian food, but what here are a few ideas I have....

    Mushroom/Veggie Omelette
    San Cho Bow (Sp?) Basically lovely flavoured mince and goodies in lettuce cups, good for the low carb people, and V.tasty.
    Chicken and Corn soup - Make it yourself and it's a good low fat meal with protein.
    Glass noodles are good, they are made from beans and again low cal/carb and can be used in a stirfry
    Vietnamese Rice paper rolls - Bit a fiddle to make, but worth it if you can be bothered, or good from the shop
    Sashimi and some sushi - I make my own sushi and so can control exactly what goes in.
    You can even make your own fried rice with some lean bacon, egg and heaps of veggies and it can be really good for you.

    that's all I can think of now - gotta go cook my dinner (bacon ricotta and zuchinni omelette, yum!)


    Thank you. Bacon ricotta sounds delish!
  • dailyorange
    dailyorange Posts: 128
    Hey! I definitely know how you feel. Every time I go home to visit my parents I am surrounded by rice and dishes full of oil. I one time was watching my mom as she was cooking fried rice and the amount of oil she poured into the wok made me go O.O!

    If you get tired of chicken, you can always try cooking pork tenderloin. I made it one time with a soy sauce, salt, sugar, garlic, 5 spice powder, oyster sauce marinade (kinda high in sodium lol) and then broiled it in the oven. Or you can ground the pork and then add some water chesnuts, garlic, ginger, and some soy sauce and steam it.

    You could always also cook fish. My family loves fish! I don't really know what my dad does, but usually it's steamed (very healthy!) with ginger, cilantro and soy sauce.

    Hope that helps a little =)
  • lotushw
    lotushw Posts: 22 Member
    If you get tired of chicken, you can always try cooking pork tenderloin. I made it one time with a soy sauce, salt, sugar, garlic, 5 spice powder, oyster sauce marinade (kinda high in sodium lol) and then broiled it in the oven. Or you can ground the pork and then add some water chesnuts, garlic, ginger, and some soy sauce and steam it.

    You could always also cook fish. My family loves fish! I don't really know what my dad does, but usually it's steamed (very healthy!) with ginger, cilantro and soy sauce.

    Hope that helps a little =)

    Getting so chickened out...LOL! That was very helpful..thanks!
  • I_Got_This_23
    I_Got_This_23 Posts: 27 Member
    Pho is great, but watch the rice noodles! If you make it at home, add some shredded napa cabbage to take the place of about half the noodles. Yam noodles have the texture of slightly overcooked rice noodles for little to no calories, but the price is crazy high. I tried all sorts of substitutes for white rice (brown rice, couscous, quinoa), but I found that cutting back the portion on some good white jasmine rice is more satisfying than any substitute.
    There is a brand of instant noodles called Mama that make a clear soup with rice noodles, and I LOVE it, and it's 200 calories a pack. WATCH your sodium though. Not sure of your ethnicity, but I'm vietnamese and the amount of sodium in fish sauce would floor you.
    When I go out for dim sum, I time it so it takes the place of two meals (like 11am and skip breakfast), and then go light on dinner, because I don't know about you, but I will eat my weight in dim sum.
  • lotushw
    lotushw Posts: 22 Member
    @jhall1218

    I will try your suggestions on Pho as I tend to load up on the noodles when I make it at home. At the restaurants I order the small bowls. I'm a Bun Bo Hue addict! But I think that may have a lot of fat in it, so I'll just get the Pho Tai next time and occasionally have the Bun Bo Hue.

    I'm the same on the dim sum part. I consider it “brunch”. I just calculated some of the dimsum that I ate and it was high! I’ll have to do more research on dimsum calories so I can make smarter choices next time.
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