Healthier fast food at Asian chains

Healthier fast food at Asian chains

Asian fast food may sound healthier than your typical burger or fast food sandwich. After all, you can usually get a decent amount of veggies. But if you’re not careful, you can end up with a meal that’s much higher in calories, fat, sodium, and added sugar than you may realize. If you’re smart about what you order, you can minimize the diet-busting damage.

Tips for making smarter choices at Asian fast food restaurants:

• Go easy on the rice, which packs on carbs and calories. Pass on fried rice, which is high in fat, calories, and sodium. Steamed white rice is a much healthier choice, and brown rice even better.
• Limit the noodles. Fried Asian noodles add a lot of calories, carbs, and sodium, plus unhealthy fat. Stick to small portions of lo mein, chow mein, and chow fun, or avoid them altogether.
• Say no to pork dishes, which are more likely to be cooked in sweet sauces packed with hidden sugar than other meat options.
• Avoid sauce heavy dishes, such as orange chicken and Beijing beef. It’s also a good idea to pass on anything with General Tso’s, BBQ, or Sweet and Sour in the name. These sauces are high in calories and sugar.
• Skip the fatty, deep-fried sides, such as fried wontons, egg rolls, tempura, BBQ spareribs, and crab Rangoon.
• Use the chopsticks! You’ll eat more slowly, since you can’t grasp as much food with them at one time as you can with your normal fork and knife.

Healthier Asian fast food options
INSTEAD OF…	TRY…
Deep-fried starters (egg rolls, tempura, fried wontons, etc.)	Soup (good choices include egg drop, miso, wonton, or hot & sour soup)
Battered or deep-fried dishes (sweet and sour pork, General Tso’s chicken)	Stir-fried, steamed, roasted or broiled dishes (chow mein, chop suey)
Fried rice	Steamed rice (brown instead of white rice, if that’s an option)
Sweet and sour sauce or regular soy sauce	Hot chili sauce (a little goes a long ways) or low-sodium soy sauce

Best menu choices at top Asian fast food chains

• Manchu Wok Kung Pao Chicken: 180 calories, 12g fat, 2g sat fat, 8g protein, 540mg sodium, 5 grams sugar
• Panda Express Broccoli Beef: 150 calories, 6 grams fat (1.5 grams saturated fat), 720 mg sodium, 12 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 11 grams protein, 7 grams sugar
• Panda Express String Bean Chicken Breast: 170 calories, 7 grams fat (1.5 grams saturated fat), 720 mg sodium, 4 grams sugar
• Panda Express Steamed Ginger Fish with a side of mixed veggies: 145 calories, 12.5 g fat (2.5g saturated fat), 11 grams sugar
• Shophouse brown rice, grilled chicken satay, eggplant with Thai basil, tamarind vinaigrette, and herb salad: 505 calories

Worst menu choices at Asian fast food chains

• Manchu Wok Honey Garlic Chicken: 430 calories, 21 grams fat (3.5 grams saturated fat), 940 mg sodium, 31 grams sugar
• Panda Express Beijing Beef: 850 calories, 50 grams fat (9 grams saturated fat, 1 gram trans fat), 1,120 mg sodium, 24 grams sugar
• Panda Express Chow Mein: 510 calories, 22 grams fat (4 grams saturated fat), 980 mg sodium, 9 grams sugar
• Panda Express Panda Bowl with Sweetfire Chicken Breast and white rice: 820 calories, 15 grams fat (3 grams saturated fat), 320 mg sodium, 34 grams sugar
• Shophouse chilled rice noodles, grilled steak laab, green beans, green curry, green papaya slaw, crushed peanuts: 800 calories

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