I dont think I ever thought General Tso's was healthy (DUH) but some of the other stuff, why not (I used to think)? After all I can make it at home and it tastes nearly identical and it is perfectly healthy. Why wouldnt my chicken with mixed vegetables in brown sauce be just as nutritious at a restaurant as at home? I never ordered the "bad stuff"

I was probably into my late 20's before I discovered that anything you get in a restaurant has an obscene amount of oil beyond what you would cook at home. Why? Because when I was young that information simply wasnt AVAILABLE anywhere. There was no internet. CSPI hadnt done their first report. And the first time they did they picked the WORST possible dish (General Tso's) and I remember thinking YEAH DUH, but how about something not deep fried.....

So yeah - while CSPI is a little bit of an alarmist organization, I think the vast majority of the people out there DONT have a clue and if a little media wakes them up hooray.

Really, when you first heard about it, did you really think movie popcorn was as bad as it is? Who knew before the report that they dumped THAT much oil in it and the bad kind? I figured it was like we made at home (before microwaves and air poppers) where you popped your corn in oil and a big homemade tub of corn (about the size of a large movie tub) used about 2 Tablespoons of corn oil plus the butter we added. Not low fat but not "HOLY CRAP" either.

Ennay,

I was just discussing with DH the other day movie popcorn. I remember going to the movies and seeing them have a butter pump where people could pump extra butter onto their popcorn. It is crazy. Whenever I did get movie popcorn, I always asked for no butter.

As for General Tso's chicken, I actually never saw that on a menu until I moved to the east coast. I'm still not sure exactly what it is, other than "chicken". My bad boy growing up was sweet and sour chicken/pork. Fried chicken/pork topped with a sweet sauce, lovely. Although I never cared much for the sweet sauce so I usually went fairly light on the sauce.

I still eat it. I just do so in extreme moderation. It's a rare treat for me. But Chinese food is one of my passions and, like everything else I love, I wasn't going to give it up. This is a lifestyle change for me, not a diet. I'm in this for life. And I certainly won't go the rest of my life without pizza and Chinese food! ;)

That doesn't sound silly at all. That's the way some people think. That's the way *I* used to think. Which is how I ended up weighing 220 pounds, LOL.

Although, like some of the others have said, I'm a little shocked at the media's reaction, I think awareness is a good thing and putting that information out there is important because there are still people out there that used to think the same way I did.


When my doctor told me my cholesterol and blood pressure were both high, for one thing. That and I had frequent chest pain. I was a walking time bomb. That and I just got tired of being fat. So I had to REALLY start doing research and finding out calorie contents and nutritional value of everything I was eating.

You'd be surprised at how many people do. Like Obsidian said, many people assume that just because it's from a Chinese restaurant that's run by all "skinny" people and because many Asians are known for always staying thin, it must be healthy. Heck, I used to think french fries were healthy! They were deep-fried, sure. But it was a vegetable, right?!?!?!

:rofl:

My weakness is Indian. I could eat it all day everyday. I was going maybe 2-3 times a week. Now it is maybe once or twice a month. Just started adding it back in. Someone mentioned what happens when ethnic restaurants change. I live in NY so usually get the really good stuff.

Indian was also my weakness and I've basically given it up. Now that is a place where if you go ethnic, it is still tons o calories (unless you go for non saucy dishes). Naan is crazy and I love bread!

For Chinese though, I eat chinese about once a week. The only thing I have to ensure is that I don't get the scallion pancakes because they are oh so good but they can't be good calorie wise :)

Yeah, after I started my weight loss journey, it took me about a year before I started adding those "sinful" favorites back in. Because up until then, I didn't trust myself to make healthy choices or exercise portion control, so I stayed completely away from fast food and Chinese food and food buffets. Now I can go to a buffet and walk away not feeling guilty.

I had to learn self-discipline first because it used to be anytime I would go to a buffet, I'd go straight for the deep-fried stuff and everything in heavy sauces. Now I can trust myself to stay away from that junk or, if I have some of it, I have a very tiny amount - just enough to satisfy that craving for it but not enough to make me kick myself in the seat for 2 days after.

Is life worth living without dahl and chana saag and gobi aloo?

I look at portion sizes and try to stay away from the rice and breads. Most of the complex carb-based dishes are calorie-intense but also very filling, so that even though you can't eat all that much for a reasonable amount of calories, you also don't need to to feel satisfied.

I always order saag paneer and tandoori chicken The saag is bad but yummy, the tandoori is good, together I am happy. I skip the rice and bread and fill up on sambar if they have it.

Saag Paneer is my weakness as well :)

Also, by basically giving it up, I mean I eat indian about twice a year now. It really depends on my mood and how well I've been eating. I always portion control myself but still :) I was eating it about once a week before I started slowing down on it.

I don't know what the formal name for this dish is, but I love lentils and rice.

Lentils is usually called daal.

Pho is one of my favorite foods. Mmmmmmm.....pho.

I looooove lentils!

Thank you :)

OK, what is Pho?