Healthy Chinese?? >.>

theatregoddess
theatregoddess Posts: 76
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
Ok, so this is the second Chinese food related question I've asked on MFP. Point being: I love it. Nuff said.

SO! My boss is taking me and my other two coworkers out to lunch for my last day of work, and we are going to nice Chinese restaurant in town. And although I would rather stuff my face with everything in the kitchen, I cannot.

In your opinion, and based on whatever nutritional knowledge you might have on the subject, what do you think is the healthiest food to order at a Chinese restaurant? I know I should stay away from breaded foods (*cries a little on the inside*), but HOW bad are they? (i.e. Sweet&Sour Pork, General Tso Chicken, etc.) What about noodles (i.e. Chicken Lo Mein)? I'm looking at the menu online, but don't know what some of it is since I've never had it. Has anyone ever had Almond Chicken, or Chicken with Cashew Nut? They sound kindof intriguing. Or the Sesame Chicken/Shrimp?

Also, is one meat better than another (i.e. beef VS pork VS Chicken), or is Shrimp better than all of them?

If you know any calorie estimates that would be cool to have to; I've already looked at some other restaurants to get the jist of it, but all of them are different.

Thanks!

~Nicole

Replies

  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
    When I do chinese food, I get a chicken / beef combo (steamed meat) and steamed brocolli.

    There are a lot of sugar, sodium, starches in the sauces...........

    And noodles :noway: :noway:

    Fried sweet and sour chicken (syrupy sauce???) and General Tso chicken (again, fried and sugary sauce)
  • MTGirl
    MTGirl Posts: 1,490 Member
    All I can say is what I do - still results in a temporary gain of a couple of lbs from sodium though! I try to stay away from breaded stuff - but at the Chinese buffet I will have a piece or two or sweet & sour pork and a little Gen. Tso's. (can't help myself!) I usually only have 1 eggroll, then stick to dishes with meat and vegetables or just vegetables. I usually skip the rice and noodles all together - but if you really wanted maybe you could sub some for the breaded meats. Just what I try to do - then don't weigh for a couple of days, unless you want to know how eating that much sodium effects your body temporarily. Just don't freak over it! :flowerforyou:
  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
    beef and broccoli may be loaded with calories, i dont know, depending on what they cook the beef in, but it is soooo good. try to get more veggies than anything to play it on the safe side.
  • LivyJo
    LivyJo Posts: 355 Member
    I dont know about it being THE healthiest...but its yummy, not fried, and lower in carbs. Moo Shu Chicken. If you have not had it, its like stir fried chicken and veggies and egge, that you put in a little crepe like a burrito. Its always the envy of the table...so yummy and i found these nutrition facts. Probably better to hold the crepes, but they are good!

    http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-moo-shu-chicken-i111993
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    I like the beef & broccoli, if you leave most of the gravy on the plate it's not too bad. White rice. Salad stuff. Portion control is key.

    Most of those buffets will have scads of fresh melon and cantaloupe and stuff like that,,, I fill up on that and nibble-taste the rest.
  • rtmama
    rtmama Posts: 403 Member
    Ask them to go light on the sauce. I just ordered chicken & broccoli recently, (bummer, cos I adore chinese food too) and they didn't smother it in sauce.
  • mrd232
    mrd232 Posts: 331
    I love the places that have Mongolian BBQ - the choice of food is up to you :)

    We have a takeout place near the firehouse I'm part of. The owner knows us by name :happy: Usually I stick with the chicken or beef with broccoli. I've also had the chicken with eggplant, but it seemed a little too sweet the last time. Mu Shu is also good, just skip the pancake / crepe.

    Hmm...if we go to the upscale joint in town they have a full sushi bar and sushi chef. I like sashimi and calamari salad. Sometimes a cup of miso is good, too.
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
    :love: drool
  • pniana
    pniana Posts: 254 Member
    Try looking in the food database for some items you want to try and see what it comes back with.
  • theatregoddess
    theatregoddess Posts: 76
    As much as I want to eat healthy, I really am not a huge fan of brocoli. T-T I figure if I'm going to go and splurge, I should get something I'll really enjoy, and not waste this joyous occasion.

    What about Sesame Chicken? I looked it up and it looks pretty delicious, and not too many cals. What do you guys think?
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    I think you said it best- get something you're going to enjoy. My plan of attack would be to get what I want, but I only do chinese once or twice a year, so it would be a planned splurge. I would suggest having a little of your faves.

    If you want to go healthier, avoid anything deep-fried, and choose stir-fried, broiled, roasted or steamed. Avoid white rice, and have brown.

    Here's a link with some suggestions: http://helpguide.org/life/fast_food_nutrition.htm
  • margaretthedevil
    margaretthedevil Posts: 215
    Why not have fish? o.O... Fresh fish (fresh out of the fish tank seriously) that is steamed and seasoned in the traditional Chinese style is amazing and good for you. Some fish are also good pan-fried. :smile: Any decent Chinese restaurant will serve fish. Any seafood option would be better, and I mean ANY seafood option. Just do over do it on the portions. And of course a order of any vegetable(s) of your desire.

    Sodium, oil, and sugar bloat from ANY meat that they will serve there is definitely NOT worth the trouble.
  • 11kimberly11
    11kimberly11 Posts: 65 Member
    As much as I want to eat healthy, I really am not a huge fan of brocoli. T-T I figure if I'm going to go and splurge, I should get something I'll really enjoy, and not waste this joyous occasion.

    What about Sesame Chicken? I looked it up and it looks pretty delicious, and not too many cals. What do you guys think?


    My motto is moderation not deprivation! So unless you have joyus occasions more then twice a month my advice is indulge a little, sure skimp a bit during the day, enjoy your dinner guilt free and get right back on track after that. That's my opinion:bigsmile:
  • acrylicrocks
    acrylicrocks Posts: 33
    The sesame chicken is pretty kick *kitten*. I always get that or the sweet and sour chicken. Either way I run like hell before I make any decisions!

    :tongue:
  • JoyousMaximus
    JoyousMaximus Posts: 9,285 Member
    Generally, I get the steamed dumplings and some egg drop soup because they are both really low in calories. I like the cashew chicken when I want an entree but then I don't get the dumplings.
  • RecliningFigure
    RecliningFigure Posts: 214 Member
    Anything steamed is good. For example, if you 're going during dim sum (means little bit of heart) time which is brunch, then there are lots of steamed dumplings to choose from. Siew Mai (I think it's pork and shrimp stuffed in a very thin pasta) is high in protein, and very low in carbs (because there so little pasta). Then there's haw gow which is shrimp stuffed pasta. Also good for same reasons above. But these two little dishes will not be enough. Steamed fish (which is usually shared) is very healthy. Will you be doing American style (every body gets their own) or family style (which is how Chinese people order usually).

    I'd say stay away from things with heavy sauces. Look for stir frys.

    Good Chinese restaurants will not use MSG. But that depends on where you live. So request No MSG in your food. And look at the dishes when you walk in. If they are drowned in sauce, ask them to cut the sauce in half.

    When I go to a good Chinese restaurant, I don't worry about my calories. I make sure I have lots of calories from exercising so I can eat my favorite yummy foods: Spicy Egg plant (somewhat oily but if it's made right, the flavors are amazing all melded together: pork, and eggplant and a slew of sauces), Hong Kong style (some places call it Peking style) spare ribs (so yummy, but bad, bad, bad, this one is finished off by being deep fried) and probably a shrimp and bok choy stir fry. Then there's this dish that's always found at banquets: shrimp in a mayo dressing with candied walnuts (OMG, it's soooo good - but it'smade with mayo, need I say more?). Some don't know about War Ba soup, which is a chicken and vegetable soup with roasted rice (they pour the rice in your soup at the table, and it makes this sizzling sound). You know I can go on and on and on, but now I want some Chinese food.
  • hungrybear
    hungrybear Posts: 45
    Try to stay away from all those sweet & sour, orange, lemon, general chicken or pork. They usually lightly bread those stuff with flour or corn starch, fry them and then put sugar-loaded sauce with it. Most food in Chinese restaurants are loaded with sugar, oil and salt. That's why the food taste so good. I think the healthiest Chinese food are the ones you make yourself. But if you eat out, I think the best choice is something that's loaded with veggies and tofu (non-fried), beef & broccoli is better choice compared to others. Dim sum is not much better either. Even though it's steamed, a lot of them are made with lots of fat. Like for siu mai, majority of it is smashed pork with fat. Sometimes depending on restaurant, they may put some lard in it too.

    I have the same problem once, having to eat out at work to celebrate someone's birthday. I found this link, hopefully it'll help! It has some nutrition info on some Chinese food. http://www.cspinet.org/nah/chinese.html

    Goodluck!
  • PinkDog
    PinkDog Posts: 68 Member
    Also -- be sure to drink lots of water so you flush out the salt!

    Good luck!

    --Pink
  • gemiwing
    gemiwing Posts: 1,525 Member
    When I go out for Chinese food I try to avoid the 'American' dishes. Eat like a Chinese person would. Fresh veggies, fresh fish and a tiny bit of sauce. Get some soup.

    I only go to one place here locally because most of the Chinese restaurants only have greasy, fried and drowned food. I don't want to eat 'crab' with six tbsp of cream cheese in a fried wrapper that's been dredged in red-dyed liquid sugar! Eeeek!

    You can get some squid and octopus soup, I like rice noodles a whole lot, sweet bean paste buns, steamed salmon, yummy sushi and loquats! Deeeelish! Oh and you can always go for the steamed seafood.

    Dang, now I want Chinese! lol
  • firedragon064
    firedragon064 Posts: 1,082 Member
    The sauce is full of calorie. Go for white sauce.
    No double cook food (orange chicken, general tsao chicken).
    I love pot clay food.. they are very tasty....
  • charliesgold
    charliesgold Posts: 235 Member
    Unless you are eating at an authentic Chinese restaurant (believe me the food is MUCH different and NEVER sweet) you are going to be laden with calories in all of the dishes unless you stick with steamed chicken and veggies type dishes. "Chinese restaurants" in this country are catered towards the desire for sugary, fatty foods which are always calorie laden and never actual Chinese recipes. That being said, if you can find an authentic Chinese restaurant (we have one locally inside our Asian market) the food is amazing but you'd be amazed at the difference between what we eat over here and what they really eat over there!

    As for calorie estimates, for most entrees you're looking at at LEAST 400 cals for a SMALL portion of something the average person would order...that doesn't include your rice, egg roll or soup etc
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