Healthy Tips For Nantucket Take-out

We cannot give the nutritional information on many of the restaurants since they are local eateries and offer local foods. The following tips will however give you an idea on what to order and what to avoid in the three major restaurant categories.

Chinese Restaurants:

1. Go for steamed rice, especially brown if they have it. Brown rice is rich in fiber. Avoid fried rice.

2. Go for steamed dishes instead of fried ones. If you are taking beef and broccoli, request for some extra broccoli. Show the rest

Healthy Tips For Nantucket Take-out

We cannot give the nutritional information on many of the restaurants since they are local eateries and offer local foods. The following tips will however give you an idea on what to order and what to avoid in the three major restaurant categories.

Chinese Restaurants:

1. Go for steamed rice, especially brown if they have it. Brown rice is rich in fiber. Avoid fried rice.

2. Go for steamed dishes instead of fried ones. If you are taking beef and broccoli, request for some extra broccoli.

3. Find out if you can have a healthier substitute for the normal items in a dinner combo. I usually ask for steamed vegetables at the Panda Express that I frequent instead of fried rice, which is the usual accompaniment of the dinner combo.

4. Sauces made with oil or corn syrup should be avoided. A kung pao chicken may seem healthy but it contains a lot of oil (it can even have 76g more fat than what is needed in a day!)If you can, ask how the chicken is prepared and ask for little or no sauce to accompany it.

5. Bring along your own low-sodium soy sauce or request for low-salt options. Avoid the full-sodium soy sauce packets which are brought with your dish. Moreover, ensure the restaurant does not use MSG (monosodium glutamate) in making their food.

6. Avoid dishes that are deep-fried like crispy orange chicken, egg rolls, sweet-and-sour pork, General Tso’s chicken, etc. Such dishes will add your calorie intake to more than the daily requirement.

7. Order hot-and-sour soups, wontons and egg-drops since they contain low fat and low calories. You will have to do without extra soy sauce because these dishes have a lot of sodium.

8. Treat yourself for some good news or affirm to yourself daily with a fortune cookie. This is a healthy one; it contains no fat and only 30 calories.

Pizza Restaurants:

1. Pizzas are created differently and their crusts are also different. Ask for low-calorie pizza.

2. Increase the vegetable toppings like onions, fresh garlic, peppers, jalapeños, mushrooms, etc.

3. Fatty meat toppings like sausages, pepperoni, and meatballs should be avoided. Try chicken, Canadian bacon, and shrimps- these are lean meat.

4. Request low-fat cheese or ask for half the normal cheese.

Thai Restaurants:

1. Most of the tips we outlined for Chinese food will also apply to Thai food. Avoid dishes with high sodium and heavy sauces. Go for brown rice that has been steamed and lot of veggies.

2. Coconut milk is delicious but has a lot of fat, watch out. Instead, request for foods flavored with curry, ginger, citrus or chilies as an alternative. If you want your food prepared with coconut milk, ask it to be done with low-fat coconut milk.

3. Although Satay is good, using it too much can start building your calories. Be careful not to overuse it.

4. There are many low-fat soups offered in Thai restaurants. Avoid the high-fat soups made with coconut milk and order soups which do not have it.

5. There are many dishes that feature seafood and tofu in Thai restaurants. In fact, the dishes are more than those offered in Chinese restaurants. Try them out. If you are not into seafood and tofu, there are a lot of spices that will help you enjoy the meals.

6. Pla Goong (grilled shrimp salad), Yum Nuah (beef salad), etc are some Thai cuisines which are salads and meals in themselves. They are mostly dressed with limejuice, which has very low fat. However, it is always good to ask what the dressing is.