I am back from the buffet and checking in.
They had several deep fried things, which I completely avoided. For the first time in my life, I had NO rice, none, nada. I love curries and thought I needed the rice to dilute the heat, but I found a better solution for the little bit of curry I had.
I drank water.
My first trip to the buffet, my plate was full of:
about half the plate: stir fried veggies (broccoli, cabbage, onions, mushrooms, carrots)
1/4 the plate: whole green beans from some kind of green bean/chicken dish in a light sauce
the other 1/4 plate: a bite of pineapple and chicken from the red sweet n sour chicken, a tiny bite of pork, a few pieces of chicken fished out of a dish with a thin sauce
I saw they had very thick and rich looking curries... one red and one green. I love that stuff. So I decided if I ate all my veggies and still wanted it I would have a little. I also had a small salad plate with a few cold fresh cucmber chunks, lettuce and a drizzle of sweet/sour sauce, maybe a T.
My second plate, I got a few more green beans, and a bunch more broccoli and cabbage. I fished the bamboo shoots out of the green curry (just a few) and I took 2 chicken bites and 5 pineapple chunks out of the red curry. I didnt take sauce.,.. just what was on the stuff I picked out. I mixed the curry items with the vegetables instead of rice. I had about 1/4c of curry items total.
Then also for the first time in my life, I skipped the dessert. I figured, I never have dessert after lunch at home, so why do it when out?
I was pretty darn full when I got done, and since I finished with the curries, I felt satisfied with just a little bit.
I added up the calories the best I could, counting all the vegetables, sauces, and adding in 1/4 c coconut milk and some oil just to be sure, and I came up with about 650 calories for that meal.
Which means I have plenty of room left in my day for a snack and a healthy dinner.
THANKS everyone