How to Order Chinese Food Without Blowing Your Diet

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Some Chinese dishes that sound healthy are surprisingly fat-laden. These tips will help you avoid diet land mines.

To complete this How-To you will need:

Knowledge of Chinese menu items
Chopsticks
Restraint

Step 1: Get the spring roll

Order the spring roll over the egg roll; it's often half the calories.

Step 2: Use chopsticks

Use chopsticks if you normally eat with a fork and knife. It may take you longer to eat, giving your brain time to tell your tummy you're full before you clean your plate.

Tip: Put less sauce on your plate by using a fork or a chopstick to transfer food from a platter instead of the serving spoon.

Step 3: Order the shrimp

Consider a shrimp dish: They're usually the best bet because the dish is apt to be mostly vegetables. Just make sure the shrimp isn't breaded and deep-fried. Steamed chicken or whole fish is also a smart choice.

Step 4: Get sauce on the side

When ordering anything with sauce, ask for it on the side.

Step 5: Eschew the "combo" dishes

Avoid dishes with the word "combo" or "house" in the name, which are usually more caloric than a plate with one main ingredient in the title.

Step 6: Avoid lemons and oranges

Avoid entrees with "lemon" and "orange" in the names, like lemon chicken and orange beef. They may sound healthy, but the meat is usually breaded and deep-fried. The same goes for "sweet and sour" dishes.

Tip: Avoid General Tso's chicken and kung pao chicken; both are loaded with fat and calories. And chow fun is anything but when it comes to your waistline!

Step 7: Assume nothing

Don't assume the vegetarian plates are low-cal: Eggplant with garlic sauce and deep-fried tofu are loaded with fat and calories. To ensure a healthy vegetable entree, make sure it's steamed.

Step 8: Fill up on the rice

Dine like the Chinese, who eat one portion of the entree to three portions of steamed -- not fried -- rice. Take the leftovers home or order fewer dishes than the number of people you're dining with.

Tip: While brown rice has the same number of calories as white rice, it offers four times the fiber.

Step 9: Steer clear of noodles

Save your pasta fix for Italian night, when you can cover it in nutritious tomato sauce. Chinese restaurant dishes made with noodles, like lo mein, generally offer little but empty calories.

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Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• FoodDrink
• health
• nutrition
• dieting
• weight
• loss
• losing
• ordering
• restaurant
• eating
• out

[irilius]

wow ordering sauce on the side at a chinese restaurant is practically blasphemy. Truth of the matter is don't overeat, the chinese diet is alreaedy has far less meat in it than western diet. (The meat is sliced and diced, which usually means you end up eating far less).

Calories aren't everything! Just learn restraint and eat till you're satisfied. Plus leading an active lifestyle helps too.

[CodyPham98]

Ohhhh..... you know I always thought that AMERICAN CHINESE food tasted weird.

[ginsinsan]

Sorry, but Gwai Lo's don't know how to eat Chinese food. 

[ginsinsan]

Real Chinese food is healthier. Americanized Chinese food is CRAP.

[JoHnNyDePp2137]

next would be: how to order American food without blowing your diet... it's a pity that you can't

[Bloombaby99]

This food is American Chinese food, not actual, legit Chinese food! In Americanized Chinese restaurants, the food is cooked the Chinese way with Chinese names but is heavier in taste, appearance, and much more. Real Chinese food is not like this....if you're lucky, you'll catch a glimpse of the Chinese people eating the actual food from their country like noodles in a thick broth with steamed vegetables (no seasonings or sauce!) or pan fried egg with chives and etc...the food even looks strange.

[Bloombaby99]

@irilius: That's absolutely right. Asian diets along with the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean diets have the healthiest foods you can eat. Plus, as the video mentioned, eating with chopsticks is a process (whether you're a pro or not) and it takes longer for you to eat. American is the one where you should "order sauce on the side". They need to apply these "tips" for American cuisine, not foreign. Though on my end, the effort is greatly appreciated.

[SmartWaterAddictx]

No no no no do not eat that much rice! The rise and fall of your blood sugar is not gonna help you at all! I always ask for steamed veggies instead of rice.

[koreangirl891]

how come theres not a how to eat american food without blowing your diet? why? is american food healthy and other countries food unhealthy? indirect racism

[25dracoflame]

why are there so many "how to order (culture) without blowing your diet" videos?

[kadier]

Why cant i see a single chinese dish in this video?

[kiettram4869]

@Ladygagafan752 chinese food is fat because it's soo yummy that you eat a BEEPload