Cutting Calories in
Chinese Food

Article by Diet Bites

Chinese cuisine can be very Diet Friendly.

Fresh stir-fried vegetables popped with familiar seasonings and marinades served over a bed of fluffy rice equal larger portions for fewer calories when the food is prepared in a healthy fashion.

Proteins should always be from the leanest source - and a lean strip of chicken tastes so much more appetizing to most individuals than one that has a wad of fat.

Have you ever had that experience? If so, it's something that you'll be very unlikely to ever forget.

Some years back I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich from a popular fast food restaurant; the sandwich was very tiny - but that was fine because I prefer the smaller size.

When I bit into the sandwich, it was really good for those first few bites. And then I hit a vein - and it wasn't pure gold. Or fool's gold. However, it was yellow - a bit fat wad of fat. And I haven't been able to revisit that restaurant since because of that single 'fowl' experience.

So keeping the proteins lean should be at the top of all good cook's Quality List of check off's. As a side note, fat does add flavor and moistness to meat so some can be left on the food during the cooking process, then removed before serving.

A good many dishes that are served in the Chinese culture are based on fish rather than other proteins. Next, lean pork arrives at the table along with beef. It would be rare to find venison on the table served by a Chinese chef.

Here are a few more hot spots when it comes to Chinese cuisine calories:

Time to Hide From Fried

Many popular Chinese foods are fried which of course, adds fat and calories to foods that were originally ultra low in caloric values. But frying is just one method in which fat is added to recipes.

 Outside of the frying pan or wok, when butter is added to rice this also has the potential to pack pounds on the body.

 Too many noodles translates to additional pounds.

 Sauces and marinades which are often used in excess, pile up more Kcals.

 Chinese foods tend to be high in sodium (salt) content which can contribute to bloating, water retention and swelling. Retained water reflects on the bathroom scales as false pounds.

The solutions for lower calorie Chinese cuisine very simple and take minimal time.

 When using marinades, seasonings and sauces - don't reach for the salt shaker until tasting the food first.

 Opt for foods that don't hit the deep fat fryer.

 Most Chinese sauces contain far less calories than butter or margarine, so consider using those on rice instead.

To determine your best sauce options, you have to check the nutrition labels on the product, ideally before purchasing.

Because most tend to pack a lot of punch where bold flavor is concerned, it only takes a bit to flavor the serving size - so that's definitely a plus.

 Noodles weigh in at about 200 calories per cup - on average.

Calories in Pasta

Calories based on cooked food unless otherwise noted & 1 Cup Serving Size.

All of the following pastas are rich in iron.

Macaroni contains about 200 kcals, is low in fat and contains zero cholesterol.

Chinese Cellophane Noodles hold almost 500 calories. Although pricey in energy values, they contain zero cholesterol.

Egg Noodles, Spinach Noodles, Fresh Pasta & Spaghetti: All are good iron sources. Fresh pasta contains healthy notes of Thiamine, Niacin, Riboflavin and Vitamin B-12, as does Spaghetti due to the use of enriched flour. All of these pastas contain about 210 calories per one cup serving excepting Fresh Pasta which contains about 180 kcals.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti contains about 175 kcals per one cup serving.