Chinese From A Restaurant

[Mfit4me]

Are we allowed Chinese food on induction? I know we are not allowed rice but thinking Chicken and brocolli or chicken with mixed veggies?

[jcapulet]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

Dr. Atkins said egg foo young and egg drop soup are good choices from a Chinese food restaurant.

Be careful with other things like chicken or veggie dishes...there will likely be sauces on them that have sugar or other stuff you wouldn't want.

[mission to lose]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

Hi M,

It is best not to eat anything that

you do not know what the ingredients are. They could contain terrible,

awful secret sugars and carbs.

[Desertthorn]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

Chinese food, while yummy is just like Mission said, full of surprises. Be very careful, they use corn starch to thicken and sweet stuff, and sauces. It's just hard to find anything you can eat.

[not2late]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

There is typically very little to eat at a Chinese restaurant during Atkins. Many meats and seafoods are coated with corn starch to keep the meat from drying out during the high heat cooking.

the sauces are loaded with either cornstarch or added sugars.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

If you have the book, Atkins Essentials, there's a section in the back of the book on what to eat at various ethnic and fast food restaurants.

Made the price of the book quite worthwhile!

[Mfit4me]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

Thanks for the respones. I do not have the book.

[not2late]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

Thanks for the respones. I do not have the book.

you should at least read Dr. ATkins New Diet Revolution 2002 ed. This will help you understand why certain things are done on this diet and that will help you do the diet correctly.

Besides as the Forum description states:

14 Day Induction
For all beginners of the Atkins Diet. This forum will help you along your first 14 days of the Induction Phase. Note: We are strictly by the book in this forum (DANDR - 2002).

You won't regret reading the book. There is no substitute for it.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

Then here's some ideas for you:

Choose ... Instead of ...

egg-drop soup (beyond Induction phase) -- egg rolls

sizzling shrimp platter -- shrimp fried rice

steamed tofu (bean curd) with vegetables -- any chow fun (wide noodle) dish

stir-fried pork with garlic sauce -- sweet-and-sour pork

beef with Chinese mushrooms -- beef lo mein

steamed whole fish -- shrimp with black bean bauce

chicken with walnuts -- chicken with cashews

sautéed spinach with garlic -- moo shu vegetables (with four pancakes)

As you're in the Induction phase of Atkins, stick to dishes that are stir-fried, steamed or broiled, and ask for sauces to be served on the side. Because so many Chinese sauces are prepared with cornstarch or sugar, it is best to avoid sauced dishes.

Certain restaurants will prepare dishes without cornstarch and sugar upon request.

[not2late]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

egg-drop soup (beyond Induction phase) -- egg rolls

Make sure the soup isn't thickened with corn starch.

sizzling shrimp platter -- shrimp fried rice

Make sure the shrimp is not coated with cornstarch prior to being cooked using high heat and that any sauce used does not have sugar.

steamed tofu (bean curd) with vegetables -- any chow fun (wide noodle) dish

Maybe be okay, just don't use the sauce. And don't eat the non-Induction vegetables like carrots.

stir-fried pork with garlic sauce -- sweet-and-sour pork

Garlic sauce typically uses hoisin sauce as a base and is thickened with corn starch. hoisin sauce is loaded with sugar.

beef with Chinese mushrooms -- beef lo mein

Again, the sauce is the problem.

steamed whole fish -- shrimp with black bean bauce

Speak of the Devil! The Washington Post Food Section just published a recipe for steamed fish fillets. Steamed Fish Fillets Recipe Details | Recipe database | washingtonpost.com

Too bad it isn't Induction friendly.

chicken with walnuts -- chicken with cashews

Sauce is the problem and the walnuts.

sautéed spinach with garlic -- moo shu vegetables (with four pancakes)

Possibly acceptable for Induction----if the ingredients are only spinach, garlic and oil.

Be very careful when ordering at restaurants. I remember when I was a newbie someone posted that they went to a chinese restaurant, told the server she didn't want her food prepared with any sugar or flour/starch, etc. When she tasted it, it was rather sweet. It turns out they used hoisin sauce: and the server didn't know that.

[Georgiana]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

Good point about sauces, Megs! See, Mfit4me, that's why it's a good idea to ask for sauces to be served on a side, as it was suggested above.

Personally, I wouldn't worry much about walnuts. Maybe there's 1/2 oz per serving... and it's true that walnuts are not allowed in the first two weeks of Induction... but when eating out, I've always tried to make the best choices instead of agonizing over 1/2 oz of walnuts or 1/2 oz of shredded carrot.

Do you like cooking, Mfit4me? I think we had a thread somewhere around here with Chinese recipes you can make at home?

[Georgiana]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

Oh, it was Asian Recipes. Here you go:

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/food-cooking-chat/81973-asian-recipes.html

[Alaskansonya]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

My husband loves to eat out at restaurants....I am finding it difficult because he especially loves the chinese/japanese/mexican/etc etc type restaurants. I finally figured out that I can have fajita's at the mexican restaurants (no tortilla's) but am still searching for good choices from the other's...

Like chinese...I can't find a place that will do egg foo young without the extra carbs.
Japanese...can only find miso soup to be okay there.
thai...not sure about this one.
Greek...I just order a greek or gyro salad. would love more options.
italian...salad?...not sure what else.

Hubby is getting tired of plain old American foods at restaurants but I am sort of nervous about venturing out cause I am not sure of what I can order.

[brightstar7801]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

I love Chinese food, and I really miss it. So I have taken to making the recipes at home. I know it's not the same as eating out, but a lot of Asian people have told me the food they serve at Chinese foods have been Americanized and a lot of authentic dishes don't have cornstarch or lots of sugar (sugar depending on the area of Chinese or Asian cooking).

[not2late]

Re: Chinese From A Restaurant

Unfortunately, not even miso soup is Induction friendly. Miso is a fermented soybean paste. Soybeans are legumes and are, therefore, not allowed during Induction.

Thai food, often contains, added sugars or ingredients that are not on the Induction acceptable foods list, like tamarind. This is how they achieve the flavor characteristics of sweet, salty, bitter and sour within a single dish.

Greek food: if you get solid chunks of lamb or some other meat. But things like gyro meat---beware. Sometimes gyro meat is a lamb meatloaf with added grain/starch fillers. If you can get authentic gyro meat, which is just chunks of lamb skewered onto a large skewer and roasted, that's great. But if you get "gyro" meat (the lamb meatloaf), best to avoid it.

Italian food: same as Greek---you have to watch it because occasionally the meats are coated in flour before sauteeing or stuffings/fillings have bread crumbs.

French cuisine: same as Italian: flour coated meats, flour added to give extra stability to sauces (in particular hollandaise and bearnaise---an inexperienced kitchen will cheat and add a starch thickener because they aren't proficient in making it the real way), etc. Even the onion soup isn't safe because the more modern recipes "speed up" the caramelization process of the onions by adding sugar. Traditionally, the onions are slowly cooked. But that is time consuming.

The bottomline is to be knowledgeable about the foods you are eating and to ask questions.

I know I sound like a curmudgeon with this post, but this thread IS in the 14 Day Induction Forum. As the forum description reads:
For all beginners of the Atkins Diet. This forum will help you along your first 14 days of the Induction Phase. Note: We are strictly by the book in this forum (DANDR - 2002). I don't want to endanger anyone's Induction by giving advice that has the potential to sabotage their weight loss.