Healthy Choices
- Chicken chop suey or chicken with vegetables
- Beef with broccoli (but ask for half as much beef and more broccoli)
- Hot and sour soup
- Hunan chicken, shrimp or tofu
- Shrimp or chicken with garlic sauce
- Chicken in black bean sauce
- Szechuan chicken or shrimp
- Shrimp with snow peas
- Vegetable deluxe
- Family style bean curd (tofu & veggies)
- Steamed fish
- Steamed dim sum
- Steamed vegetable dumplings
- Steamed veggies
- Steamed Rice
- Lychee fruit
- Fortune cookies
- Low-fat cue words: Jum (poached), Chu (boiled), Kow (roasted)
Tips
- Most Chinese dishes are stir-fried. Request very little oil and focus on lean meats and the more veggies the better! Skip eggplant here, it absorbs a lot of oil.
- Order steamed rice instead of noodle dishes (lots of oil) or fried rice.
- Order one side of steamed veggies in addition to your favorite dish and mix at least half the veggies in with a small portion of your favorite.
- Ask how the meat or tofu is prepared; often it is breaded and fried in oil. Ask that it not come breaded or fried.
- Chinese dishes are typically high in sodium. Skip the extra soy sauce or hoisin sauce.
- If you are sensitive to MSG, ask for no MSG.
- Look for healthful alternatives such as brown rice or a “light or diet” menu.
- Save some for tomorrow’s lunch!
|