good choice for chinese takeout?

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mckant
mckant Posts: 217 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I absolutely love chinese take-out. What are some of the healthier choices?

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  • zumba66girl
    zumba66girl Posts: 136
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    BUMP
  • aehartley
    aehartley Posts: 269 Member
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    steamed veggies... with the sauce on the side
  • mosneakers
    mosneakers Posts: 343 Member
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    I'm very interested to see some responses. White rice is not the best for you and most Chinese is loaded with sodium - but it's soooooooo good!
    I would think that you should opt to have things steamed and have the sauce on the side.
  • JenFerguson1
    JenFerguson1 Posts: 156 Member
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    Miso soup is kind of boring but it only had 50 calories per cup! Also vegetable sushi with brown rice. (ask them to make it with less rice than usual to save some calories and carbs). Egg drop soup is also pretty low in calories. Any kind of broth-based soup is best!
  • codexavellum
    codexavellum Posts: 112
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    Steamed Chicken & Veggies. Pretty good
  • FunSizedBrent
    FunSizedBrent Posts: 6
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    I get chicken with broccoli, no rice, with the sauce on the side when I go for chinese.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    You can ask for sauce on the side for anything you order. If you order something with noodles or rice ask for them on the side too. You'll be able to control everything.
  • humblemonkey
    humblemonkey Posts: 576 Member
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    bump!! im going out for chinese with the girls tonight!! thank you for posting this!~!
  • yentess
    yentess Posts: 167 Member
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    I would say brown rice if they have it, steamed veggies, and shrimp is always good as long as it is not fried. I think chinese has a lot of fat and calories though so maybe eat smaller portions and be really good the rest of the day. Or walk to get your food instead of driving or having it delivered if possible (save on gas too!) :)
  • JacqueeeP
    JacqueeeP Posts: 5
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    Tough one! There really arent any because chinese food is loaded with sodium, and many options are fried. I am anxious to see what other responses are, but in general just try to avoid the fried "tempura," sticky-sweet options, or at least stick with portion control here. If they have brown rice, definitely go for that instead of fried or sticky rice- youll at least get some good omega-3's and fiber there! Low sodium soy sauce too. Good Luck! :)
  • nichole325
    nichole325 Posts: 244 Member
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    My boyfriend can pretty much eat anything and doesn't gain a pound...so sometimes this gets a little difficult when eating things like chinese and pizza which are both my WEAKNESSES!!!

    Most chinese places have the "healthy" or "steamed" section on their menus...which includes steamed, white rice, veggies and chicken. I have been getting chicken and brocoli and the steamed white rice and brown sauce on the side.

    It's a little bit to get used to (especially when you see it for the first time, it does NOT look appetizing without the sauce on it)..but It's still yummy and filling and I get my chinese fix. Also, my boyfriend always gets the fried, greesy rice so I ask for one little bit and I'm good!

    Hope this helps!
  • vampymegs
    vampymegs Posts: 39
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    Veggies of course, some places offer brown rice, if not get the white steamed rice (it's really not so bad in calorie count). Anything steamed is obviously good, but if you learn the chinese food lingo ... Jum (poached), Chu (broiled), Kow (roasted), Shu (barbecued). Also options like lightly stir-fried, dry stir-fried, or braised is nice. Anything breaded, fried, or coated in flour is not obviously. Also when you order something in a sauce you may ask for half sauce, just cutting more calories there. Mustard, hoisin or oyster sauces have less calories than like a sweet and sour or gen. gao's. Also use chopsticks, you'll pick up less oil than using a fork or spoon and also you may get fuller quicker.
  • ChitownFoodie
    ChitownFoodie Posts: 1,562 Member
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    1. ask for NO MSG and 2. Ask for them to use low sodium soy sauce.

    Take it from the Asian with a million friends that own/work/manage Chinese retaurants....most Chinese food isnt bad for you, its the additives that they place in it that is.

    STAY AWAY FROM THE NOODLES AND RICE!!!! BUT....If you are getting something with noodles, it may seem counterintuitive, but ask for pan fried noodles instead of the standard lo mein noodles they give you. The pan fried ones have less carbs. Also, rice.....Chinese restaurants use 1 day old rice to make fried rice because it has less water in it (when you add the soy sauce to fresh rice it tends to get all watery) ....theres no reason why you can't save money and make it yourself if you have rice laying around and a bottle of soy sauce.
  • kriots
    kriots Posts: 375 Member
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    look for the "diet section" if it some place you drive up, take and go. if not go for steam chicken, nothing that is fried, bascially everything on the side, go to pf changs...they have thier nutrition posted on thier website
  • fsugirl26
    fsugirl26 Posts: 207
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    Potstickers!! They are steamed pork and vegetable dumplings, and they are so delicious! Each potsticker is approximately 60 calories. I always just get an order of these and stay far, far away from the rice and noodles. And as I always say, be sure to drink a TON of water because 99% of chinese food is swimming in sodium!
  • mckant
    mckant Posts: 217 Member
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    Thank you! I simply can't resist it and I'd rather get something healthy than deprive myself and binge.

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