Indian Food Advice, Please!

ali06013
ali06013 Posts: 24 Member
edited September 27 in Health and Weight Loss
My boyfriend and I have plans to eat out at an Indian food buffet restaurant this Saturday. I have eaten there once before, and it was my first time eating Indian food.

Now that I am on a diet, I am worried about what I will be consuming, nutritionally, when I go. Eating out is a hazard! :)

Does anyone have any advice? To be honest, I don't know much about Indian food at all, so I couldn't tell you specifics about the options I have there... Last time, I had a creamy, copper-colored dish with chicken in it (and I think some vegetables?) over Jasmine rice. Also, naan bread.

I realize the naan bread isn't a good idea, but otherwise...?

Please help!

Replies

  • veriviki
    veriviki Posts: 44
    I don't know a ton about Indian food, but I do know a bit :) The creamy dish you had was probably some kind of curry, and would most likely have been made with cream or coconut milk. Coconut milk is not that bad for you, but obviously cream is. Also, be careful of the "regular" curry dishes like Chicken Tiki Masla, they tend to have A LOT of oil and fat in then, even though it doesn't look like it. What I always do when I am going to eat out is either look at the menu ahead of time, or if that is not possible in your case just google something along the lines of "How many calories are in Indian food from a restaurant". That way you have an idea and can plan your other meals around that one so you don't go over your daily budget. And if you feel like eating a more unhealthy dish you can always exercise before you go out, so you would have your exercise calories on top of your daily budgeted ones to eat :)
  • DancingYogini
    DancingYogini Posts: 377
    My boyfriend and I have plans to eat out at an Indian food buffet restaurant this Saturday. I have eaten there once before, and it was my first time eating Indian food.

    Now that I am on a diet, I am worried about what I will be consuming, nutritionally, when I go. Eating out is a hazard! :)

    Does anyone have any advice? To be honest, I don't know much about Indian food at all, so I couldn't tell you specifics about the options I have there... Last time, I had a creamy, copper-colored dish with chicken in it (and I think some vegetables?) over Jasmine rice. Also, naan bread.

    I realize the naan bread isn't a good idea, but otherwise...?

    I would eat half a piece of naan or just stick to papadams (the crisp, cracker like bread)....go veg for the night!! Daal, aloo gobi, maybe a little palaak paneer (spinach with cheese and cream, so go light)...and add in some salad and lots of spicy chutneys!! Spicy food actually revs up your metabolism. I LOVE Indian food :smile:
    Please help!
  • Mom2rh
    Mom2rh Posts: 612 Member
    I love Indian food. But, it is very rich and has a lot of butter. I would suggest you budget some calories for it. Since starting my weight loss journey I have eaten Indian food buffet a couple of times...and both times I registered losses for the week. So, based on my experience what I ate was about half a cup of rice, a little of the various vegetable options (they usually have several vegetarian dishes). One of my favorite things is saag which is a creamed spinach so I always have that. Then I eat tandoori chicken which is skinless legs and/or thighs cooked in a tandoori oven. And my other favorite is butter chicken so I eat a little of that with very little sauce. And I allow myself a small piece of naan because I love that too. Both times I drank lots of water, ate slowly. Savored the food and stopped after that first plate. I was satisfied. Not stuffed. And I enjoyed every bite.

    You can do it! Enjoy!
  • DancingYogini
    DancingYogini Posts: 377
    Ok, that was odd...don't know why my post quoted yours?? I hope you got the gist of my response!
  • strapple
    strapple Posts: 353 Member
    i always stick to Chana Masala!

    its chickpeas in a vegetable gravy and very delicious. its the lowest calorie option that ive come across with indian food. try to go light on the rice and naan. some indian resturaunts have a cracker type bread you can order which would probably be less calories.

    otherwise soak up the atmosphere and enjoy some of the best food you can
    if you really want to taste something great try chicken korma (but its creamy so you should make your workout a little extra in the day to make up for it!)

    i hope you enoy! i personally love indian food :}
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    Tandoori chicken is always a good option ..I always have Daal Makhani which are lentils and my fav dish..but higher in calories..my ex husband was Indian and owned a restaurant ...just stay away from anything fried & creamy.....I found a site with some pretty descriptive options http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2805182/guide_to_lowcalorie_indian_food.html.
  • 2chubby4now
    2chubby4now Posts: 93 Member
    I don't know much about Indian food, but this is some advice I have been given about eating out. Google the restaurant to find out about their dishes if possible. Exercise during the day and eat lightly. Eat half of whatever you order. Take the rest home for another day ( or just leave it). Careful of deserts and appetizers. Or Just give yourself permission to enjoy the one meal as a special treat (as long as it doesn't happen too often) and continue being conscious of you eating habits etc. the next day. Good luck and enjoy your evening!
  • 6Janelle13
    6Janelle13 Posts: 353 Member
    honestly, be educated but find what works for you. You may get a lot of advice, but if you find what works for you that is best. my life or my own weaknesses didn't give me the option of turning down social and date nights. i choose to embrace them as work out hard days and relax at nights. now I have only lost 18 lbs in the past year and yes i wanted to lose more but I also don't want to put folks out.
    Find what works for you and don't over indulge. You have started on a journey and it is up to you how successful you will be and what you want to give up. find what will sustain a long term change.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
    Sounds like you had kurma... although there are so many different cultures within India and they each have there own different riff on the cuisine.

    I've never thought of Indian food as a bad choice, but haven't checked it out the details since starting here.

    I'm a big fan of Saag (which is a spinach dish, sometime it's got cubes of paneer-- a cheese -- in it)
    I also like Kurma a lot, which is a yogurt based sauce.
  • ali06013
    ali06013 Posts: 24 Member
    Thanks!

    I am still new to the Indian food and it looks like the only dish I was comfortable eating so far is a not-so-healthy one... I think I will budget the calories for it and drink lots of water.

    Also, I will see if they have the saag. And is tandoori chicken blackened? They had a chicken breast that came out with our meal which was DELICIOUS and seemed to be safe for dieting because it was just grilled-looking chicken with spices, no skin, I think.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Yum, I love Indian food.
    Look for a tomato based curry not a creamy one, and try the dahl (lentils) and the saag or palaak (spinch) panneer.
    These aren't going to be low cal options but probably better than the creamy stuff.
    Have a little bit of rice or naan, not too much, add some raita (yoghurt with cucumber and or mint), avoid the chutneys, or just have a little bit.
    Avoid the sweets if you can, they are likely almost pure sugar.
    Or, ignore all the advice, try lots of different stuff, enjoy it all and don't worry about the cals!
  • ballwebhost
    ballwebhost Posts: 26 Member
    Also a lover of Indian cuisine here!

    I most likely always and have always went for the most unhealthy item on the menu and always have a Chicken Korma :)! With a garlic naan to myself lol! However recently I've found myself experimenting with different menu items, I would have never chosen tomato based currys, but Im tending to do this now :)

    Thinking of having an indian myself Tomorrow/Today lol !
  • nicxox
    nicxox Posts: 175 Member
    I went to a curry night at my local pub last night (probably not the best thing to do in my first week of dieting, but I organised it weeks ago!) Before I went I checked the nutritional info on the pub's website and decided in advance what I was going to eat. There wasn't much choice but I found the lowest calorie option was a jalfrezi, the highest ones were creamy dishes such as korma, so I'd recommend sticking to tomato based dishes.
  • 130byaugust
    130byaugust Posts: 3 Member
    chicken prepared the indian way never has skin on it, so something liked grilled tandoori chicken would be very healthy. naan is made of indian flour with is whole wheat based so its not as bad as suspected. lentils are healthy. and of course most dishes not dairy based are great.

    i eat indian food at least once a day at home (we're indian) and i find that i gain weight eating american food when i'm away at school. Other than a little bit of oil, there is no other fat content (no dairy in south indian cooking) except for when you eat yogurt on the side.

    Oh, and as a general rule, stay away from anything too fried, just like you would with any type of the cuisine.
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