How to count calories when invite for dinner to a Chinese family?

judywoody
judywoody Posts: 50 Member
edited November 23 in Food and Nutrition
I am often invited to Chinese peoples houses for dinner.. needless to say the Chinese couldn't care less about calories. I can just about get them to cook vegetarian for me.. lol.. even then they look at me like I've gone crazy!

It's a custom to cook lots of different dishes - stir-fry style - and pick foods from different plates and have it with boiled rice. Many Chinese I know only have a tiny amount of rice with it and to be honest I can skip that cause the food is really filling anyway.

However, they don't skimp with the oil - Dishes like stir fried celery and eggs, stir fried aubergine or mu-er mushrooms sound diet friendly but I doubt they are.. lol.. So I am really not sure how to count that. What would you do?

Replies

  • mikestobbs1
    mikestobbs1 Posts: 294 Member
    Don't bother. Just enjoy yourself and be mindful of portion size, it's not going to kill you. Most likely it will give your metabolism a boost aswell.
  • Mezzie1024
    Mezzie1024 Posts: 380 Member
    I just log half to a full tablespoon of oil for each large helping of stir-fried food. It's probably not exact, but it's not off so much that I haven't lost or have started to gain.

    Stir fried food is delicious (especially with rice -- I've cut my rice serving down a bit, but I wouldn't dream of eliminating it), so enjoy it. If you're really curious, maybe you can ask them to teach you how to make your favorite dish. You'd get a feel for how much oil they use, and you learn something useful. :smile:
  • judywoody
    judywoody Posts: 50 Member
    edited August 2015
    I asked him if I could watch him cook. He used plenty of oil so we started a conversation about why Chinese people are so slim :D

    I had loads of veggies, some tofu, some rice but no idea how much oil I had.. lol.. they eat loads of fruit all day, too...and dont do much exercise. It's a mystery.. haha
  • judywoody
    judywoody Posts: 50 Member
    let's put it this way, the bottom of the pan was covered with oil and then some...
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