There are some foods I just can't live without -- Italian food, Chinese food, Turkish food (OMG so good if you've never had it!) and Indian food; I don't think I could realistically live for the rest of my life barely eating that stuff and I don't really like to cook, so I will never come up with my own lo mein recipe so I can make Chinese food at home or anything.
I try to make the best choices available to me (like at a Chinese place, I will usually have some bean curd and veggie dish with brown rice, if I get any rice at all). I don't weigh myself very often (bc it's discouraging and doesn't reflect inches I'm losing, muscles I'm toning, etc.), but I usually wake up feeling okay after I have Chinese food -- I don't feel particularly bloated or gross. I *DO* feel pretty bad and tremendous the next morning if I have a lot of rice/noodles though. And if I have anything dessert-like a sugary, I feel TERRIBLE in the morning and sometimes for days afterwards too; I feel incredibly bloated with a mild stomach ache.
In terms of ethnic foods, I too agree that if you're gonna eat out, it's better to go to an ethnic restaurant; imo they tend to use fresher ingredients, less frying, etc. than chain places or American places.
Well, I didn't say ethnic food places were necessarily any CLEANER or more up to code than chains or American places. But, by and large, foreign cuisines do tend to be more vegetable-based than the classic American fare, so there may be more healthy options at an ethnic restaurant than at an American one.
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Originally Posted by txsqlchick
Hehehe, there was an Indian restaurant in York that was cited for using banned dyes in their food. They weren't the only one in the UK; there was a show on the BBC about the filthy underbelly of city life, can't remember what it was called, but they visited plenty of "ethnic" restaurants that had shocking numbers of health code violations.
Ethnic is no guarantee of freshness or cleanliness. I check health inspection scores and refuse to visit any establishment that scores less than a 95.
IChinese foods--they are all sugar and oil and salt. Of course, many traditional Chinese dishes are not like that, but the foods made for Western consumption usually are...
Jay
That's so true, and kind of sad. We've gooped up our taste buds so badly we (think we) need to pile on so much unhealthy glop.
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Originally Posted by Sidheag
The other thing...I can feel it. My hands feel that yucky tight way they do when I'm retaining badly. Ok, that's all sorry for the randomness but I was waaaaay creeped out this morning.
my hands started feeling "stiff" just thinking about it Thanks for reminding me I don't miss ordering out
Doggone it, txsqlchick, now you've got me wanting Indian food!
Ghee is actually not a bad oil--as oils go--and it can be stored at room temperature indefinitely in a closed container. I make it myself sometimes (note that unsalted butter must be used). However, it truly is high in calories. And I love those terrible, fattening curries... Sigh...
And what's worse, you've got me wanting a good steak!
Global generations don't work well for choosing in a restaurant, you've got to know what's in a dish and how it's prepared. Even if a culture is known for healthy, low fat food, and almost everything on their menu is perfect for you, if you don't know what you're picking you could pick the one diet-nightmare on the menu.
You've got to become savvy so that you can recognize the best and worst dishes on any menu. Sometimes the menu can give a clue, but there's no substitute for talking to the restaurant staff, and using your own senses.
my hands started feeling "stiff" just thinking about it 
