Healthy Chinese Food???

nmescalera
nmescalera Posts: 233 Member
edited September 29 in Food and Nutrition
Is there such thing??? I love chinese food but can't think of anything that would be healthy to eat. Everything that i can think of hass like the brown sauce and probably alot of soduim. Any suggestions??? Is egg drop soup ok??

Replies

  • kirstyfromscotland
    kirstyfromscotland Posts: 555 Member
    bump
  • megruder
    megruder Posts: 216
    I'm sure if you tried to make something at home you could alter your favorite recipes to create something healthy. I've seen a number of Chinese style dishes in cooking and health magazines that would fit the bill. As for specifics, sorry I don't have any.

    Edit to add: I know the Broccoli Beef at Panda Express is decent on calories, but not sure of the sodium content.
  • TinaS88
    TinaS88 Posts: 817 Member
    I just posted this last night! I LOVE Chinese food too.. What I ended up getting was Chicken and Vegetables STEAMED with no sauce and white rice. The look of the chicken through me off a bit ( it was white), but it was still good. I wasn't able to find the numbers to log it, but I KNOW it was a lot better then the normal. The sodium is the worst part about Chinese food.. it's REALLY high :/
  • Robyn_T
    Robyn_T Posts: 540 Member
    If we're going to eat Chinese, I tend to stick with vegetable Mei Fun (very thin noodles, egg, vegetables). Don't know if it's any better than anything else, but I figure that, while it may have been cooked in the same amount of oil as other items, the lack of sauce should make it a lesser evil. Plus, the place we order from puts in a ton of broccoli and other veggies that are still somewhat crisp and not over cooked.
  • significance
    significance Posts: 436 Member
    Steamed vegetables (or mushrooms and bok choy), steamed dumplings (not the bready kind, but the kind in a ricepaper skin), chicken and corn soup, stir-fried meat & vege dishes (cashew chicken is often good), "drunken" chicken (which is poached).
  • totustuusmaria
    totustuusmaria Posts: 182 Member
    This is a great link on how to survive Chinese food!!!

    http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/466
  • W0zzie
    W0zzie Posts: 262 Member
    Go Thai instead :)
  • sdsmart
    sdsmart Posts: 25 Member
    sweet and sour shrimp or pork isn't too bad for fat and calories.
  • WildWayz
    WildWayz Posts: 68 Member
    How about Singapore Vermicelli?
    It is rice noodles, chilli, chicken, port and veg. No sauces.
  • CajunCubsFan
    CajunCubsFan Posts: 29 Member
    This is a great link on how to survive Chinese food!!!

    http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/466

    That site is good!!! Good Find
  • WildWayz
    WildWayz Posts: 68 Member
    Go Thai instead :)

    Why do people think Thai is healthy? Have you seen how much fat is in coconut milk?
    I make Thai food a lot and the average main course is about 500+ calories without rice/noodles!
    And that is a Chicken Penang curry :)

    Edit:

    Was wrong - 395 per person without rice/noodles:


    Tesco - Chicken Breast Fillets (Grilled), 2 chicken breast(s) 360 0 7 75
    Vegetables - Green Beans, 7 oz 63 14 0 4
    Onions - Raw, 1 large 63 15 0 1
    Tesco - Sliced Carrots - Value, 90 g 23 4 0 1
    Maesri - Panang Curry Paste, 2 Tablespoon 50 8 0 1
    Oil - Vegetable, corn, 0.5 tbsp 60 0 7 0
    Chaokoh - Coconut Milk, 1/3 cup 150 2 14 2
    Continental - Chicken Powdered Stock, 1 tsp (5g) makes 250ml stock 13 3 0 0
    White Sugar - White Granulated Sugar, 0.5 teaspoon 8 2 0 0
    Add Ingredient
    Total: 790 48 28 84
    Per Serving: 395 24 14 42
  • totustuusmaria
    totustuusmaria Posts: 182 Member
    Go Thai instead :)

    Yeah, seconded! I don't know if it actually is better, but...

    Although I have only had Thai once (when I was out of town... I don't know a Thai restaurant around home) it just feels so much better than chinese. I loved it. It looks better, feels better, and (I thought) tasted better. i do <3 chinese though... well some things, but my thai experience was pretty awesome.

    EDIT: Just read wildwayz post... interesting. I thought it was better because it sure did taste better and I felt better after compared to my Chinese experiences. Wonder what they are doing different...
  • totustuusmaria
    totustuusmaria Posts: 182 Member
    This is a great link on how to survive Chinese food!!!

    http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/466

    That site is good!!! Good Find

    Oh, I know! I love it! My favorite part of the site is the "Chew the Right Things" where she has created recipes to all your fast-food and "worldly-before-diet favorites" and made them healthy but still just as good as the original!
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    This is a great link on how to survive Chinese food!!!

    http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/466

    I love her Crab Rangoonies!
  • totustuusmaria
    totustuusmaria Posts: 182 Member
    This is a great link on how to survive Chinese food!!!

    http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/466

    I love her Crab Rangoonies!

    Really? I just made those a few days ago and they were the only thing by her that I've made and truly disliked. I have been thinking I did something wrong. Now I think I surely had to have. I am going to try a different cream cheese next time and less garlic.

    Ok, [/hijack] Sorry original poster!!
  • jenttifer
    jenttifer Posts: 90 Member
    I do my own veggie stir fry at home with just a little bit of bottled teriyaki sauce and brown rice. However, this is a lifestyle change for me, not a diet...so I do indulge every once in a while, (a long while!), and have the deep fried, calorie laden, sodium thick, brown sauce food that I love...then the craving goes away for a while and it's back to healthy! Just remember that the following couple days after eating it you may be up a little on the scale because of the salt, but it'll go back down. I also try really hard to eat very healthy the day I have it and work out extra hard so the calories aren't that big of a deal. I know seriously that I can't NEVER eat that food again...it's my favorite! I just can't eat it nearly as frequently as I used to if I want to be healthy.
  • januadiaboli
    januadiaboli Posts: 117 Member
    There are some excellent recipes for Chinese food at Tigers and Strawberries (http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/) ... I cook a number of these on a regular basis, especially the Singapore rice noodles, which both my preschooler and my toddler inhale with gusto!
  • RNewton4269
    RNewton4269 Posts: 663 Member
    Try Japanese or Thai instead...much healthier options.

    Good luck!
  • Iammelting
    Iammelting Posts: 64 Member
    Does anyone have any idea at all how many calories are in the vegetarian chinese meal broccoli with garlic and hoisen sauce ?
    its a huge plate of steamed broccoli with lots of garlic and the sauce is brown. I could see lots of oil on the plate so I asked for no oil and now the sauce on it is really watery when they bring it. The language barrier makes it hard to ask them many questions about whats in it . I do have a small bowl of brown rice with it.
  • Fochizzy
    Fochizzy Posts: 505 Member
    Broccoli in Garlic Sauce is not "healthy" but it certainly isn't that bad, and I am obsessed with it!
  • KickassYas
    KickassYas Posts: 397 Member
    my boss is chinese and she straight told me that if i cook it at home from original recipes its not bad at all. if i get takeout then i'm setting myself up to fail because its all flash fried that way.

    lol funny i just asked her this like a week ago too. then i asked for recipes in which she told me "are you nuts my grandma has nothing written down" lol
  • Iammelting
    Iammelting Posts: 64 Member
    so what part of it is bad ? the sauce ? Im having it made with no oil . whats a better option then ? I dont eat meat.
  • aflane
    aflane Posts: 625 Member
    sweet and sour shrimp or pork isn't too bad for fat and calories.

    Are you crazy??? Anything sweet and sour is battered and then deep fried. Then topped with a VERY high sugar sauce.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    Drink excess water when eating chinese to flush sodium. Ur suppose to drink half ur body weight in ounces of water a day...drink that plus an extra cup or two...

    Steamed rice instead of fried...and things like brocolli chicken and sub gum chow mein without the noodles...... egg flower soup is healthy but high sodium. Any chinese dish except fried items, is pretty much healthy minus the sodium and extra water cures that.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    sweet and sour shrimp or pork isn't too bad for fat and calories.

    Are you crazy??? Anything sweet and sour is battered and then deep fried. Then topped with a VERY high sugar sauce.

    Im glad sum1 said sumthin lol. Just one piece of sweet/sour chicken is like 70calories... u order a plate of it or even as just a side and u have multiple pieces (10 to 20 times 70calories each...that's alot!!) High fat cuz of oil that its deep fried in, and not to mention the sugar, etc..
  • pixiechick8321
    pixiechick8321 Posts: 284 Member
    I just skimmed the replies here, so if I'm repeating, sorry!

    I always get a kick out of "Chinese" food in the USA and other "Western" countries - people, that food they serve is not real Chinese food! It is covered in sugar, deep fried, and tons of meat is added.

    I usually look through the menu and pick out something like tofu, steamed veggies, and white (or brown) rice - super healthy AND more realistic! They will usually be accommodating you when you ask for no sauce, sauce on the side, steamed versus pan fried veggies, etc. My place loves it since they know I'm being more real and healthier! If your place can't do that, find a new one!

    And per some suggestions, you can also make it at home - try 5 shrimp, chopped up, with brown rice, steamed veggies, and a tiny bit of "sauce" made with honey, lemon, and a dash of soy.

    Or make your own wontons - in a food processor, add cooked shrimp, veggies like cabbage and julienned carrots, and grind up with spices. Then place a small spoonful onto a wonton wrapper and put in a bamboo steamer until finished. You can then put them under the broiler for a minute or two to "brown up". Wonton wrappers should be in your supermarket or in a special "Asian" store.

    Finally, realize that most people like "Chinese" food for the sugar, sauce, fried parts so if that's you, none of these will really satisfy the same so instead just save up for a splurge every few months, it won't kill you!

    Hope that helps!
  • mrzpeep
    mrzpeep Posts: 7
    I get egg drop soup and steamed chicken & broccoli and general tso sauce on side to dip in.
  • WildWayz
    WildWayz Posts: 68 Member
    Japanese food is very healthy - love it!
    As for Thai - it is deffo better than Chinese because of the lack of MSGs etc.
    Calorie-wise, it isnt great as coconut milk is really high in calories and fat - however, the ingredients are 'clean' - no artificial guff.

    I love Thai and Japanese and cant remember when I last had Chinese!
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