What's Really In Your Favorite Chinese Dish?

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends.

This week, I'm keeping it short, sweet (& spicy) and to the point. I've come across a nice resource I want to share with you, called Restaurant Confidential: Chinese Restaurant Food - Wok Carefully. This guide from Nutrition Action Healthletter breaks down the nutritional profile of "a few dozen popular dinner-size dishes from a typical Chinese restaurant menu." Find out the calories, saturated fat and sodium content of some of your favorite Chinese menu items so you can make an informed meal-time decision the next time you go for Chinese food.

This informative piece by Jane Hurley and Bonnie Liebman also provides some useful tips, like this one:


"Use a fork or chopsticks, not a spoon, to get the food from the serving platter to your plate. That keeps the salty (or sugary or fatty) sauce on the platter, not soaked up by your rice and, eventually, your waist."

The guide also advises to focus on vegetables and avoid deep-fried items. My husband and I tend to avoid fast food Chinese but often dine at a traditional Chinese restaurant and even there we tend to go heavy on veggies and steamed or sauteed seafood versus heavier, oilier, saucier items.

In general, I typically advise ordering a steamed dish with sauce on the side. For example: steamed chicken, broccoli & brown rice with garlic sauce on the side.

Check out the Nutrition Action piece before the next time you order in or take out Chinese.

Cheers!

Diane


Image: Nutrition Action Healthletter

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends.

This week, I'm keeping it short, sweet (& spicy) and to the point. I've come across a nice resource I want to share with you, called Restaurant Confidential: Chinese Restaurant Food - Wok Carefully. This guide from Nutrition Action Healthletter breaks down the nutritional profile of "a few dozen popular dinner-size dishes from a typical Chinese restaurant menu." Find out the calories, saturated fat and sodium content of some of your favorite Chinese menu items so you can make an informed meal-time decision the next time you go for Chinese food.

This informative piece by Jane Hurley and Bonnie Liebman also provides some useful tips, like this one:


"Use a fork or chopsticks, not a spoon, to get the food from the serving platter to your plate. That keeps the salty (or sugary or fatty) sauce on the platter, not soaked up by your rice and, eventually, your waist."

The guide also advises to focus on vegetables and avoid deep-fried items. My husband and I tend to avoid fast food Chinese but often dine at a traditional Chinese restaurant and even there we tend to go heavy on veggies and steamed or sauteed seafood versus heavier, oilier, saucier items.

In general, I typically advise ordering a steamed dish with sauce on the side. For example: steamed chicken, broccoli & brown rice with garlic sauce on the side.

Check out the Nutrition Action piece before the next time you order in or take out Chinese.

Cheers!

Diane


Image: Nutrition Action Healthletter