Chinese Takeout to the Rescue

Appetizer
Q: How can I make healthy choices when ordering Chinese takeout?
A: Order MORE foods that you can actually recognize.

Sounds simple enough, right? One of the easiest ways to avoid hidden calories in Chinese food is to stay away from foods that are covered with lots of sauce or meats that are unidentifiable due to being breaded and fried. This means no more Sesame Chicken or Sweet & Sour Pork...both of these popular dishes are fried AND served in a rich, calorie-laden sauce.

Steamed dishes are healthy, but try to go for steamed chicken, shrimp or pork over steamed dumplings or white rice. White sauces are generally better than dark, but there are a few exceptions..Black-bean sauce, for instance, is great because of the added protein and nutrients.

If you're going to eat Chinese food, you should eat Chinese-style: a little of this, a little of that, lots of vegetables, spread out over a long time. Why? Because your tummy will let you know you've had enough before you've demolished the entire carton

Main Course
Here are some more general tips for you:
1) Sauces: Order the sauce on the side -- you won't put on as much as the restaurant will, so you'll cut your fat and sodium intakes.
2) Noodles: Noodle dishes are never a healthful alternative. They're made with lots of oil to keep the strands from sticking.
3) Fried rice: Don't confuse fried rice with more healthful brown rice. Fried rice is just white rice that's turned brown from soy sauce and oil. It's high in sodium and fat.
4) Mystery meat: If you can't recognize the meat, it means there's too much fat-soaked breading on it. Best bet: steamed entrees.
5) Fortune cookie: It's nutritionally harmless. In fact, skip the table noodles -- which are as healthful as french fries -- and ask for the cookie early if you need to nibble.
6) Soy sauce: Ask if they have low-sodium soy. Each tablespoon of the regular stuff has up to four times the recommended daily allowance of salt.

Source: Bonnie Taub-Dix, an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman and nutritionist in New York City

Dessert
OK, for those of you who know me, this will not come as any major surprise. I LOVE CHINESE FOOD! I actually really like any kind of Asian cuisine, but Chinese food is usually the most readily available for delivery, so that's what I usually go with. I like it so much because it's convenient (DELIVERY ROCKS!), inexpensive (I can get 3 meals out of a $10 order), tasty (mmmmmmm....), and healthy - for all of the reasons that I gave above.



My typical order is a quart of steamed chicken and mixed vegetables with white sauce and steamed rice on the side. If I'm in a pinch for time, I have a bit of the steamed rice with my meat and veggies, but usually I'll fix some steamed brown rice at home b/c the complex carbs are much more filling and better for us.

If you haven't jumped on the Chinese takeout bandwagon, please catch up soon! This is probably your best bet for "fast food" that won't leave you feeling guilt-ridden the next day.

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