Healthy Thai Food, Does It Exis?

[eeeya]

What do you eat thats healthy, if im on a health kick i stay away from thai food for a few days eating grill chicken and vegetables i cook at home.

i find myself eating western food cause i dont know local food thats healthy.

this really hit home when i saw a thai guy put atleast 15 teaspoons of sugar on his pad thai

suggestionsใ

[AyG]

Curries that don't use coconut milk such as kaeng paa and kaeng som.

Som tam and most yam.

Grilled meat and fish Isaan-style.

Plenty of choice if you look for it.

[eeeya]

Good thinking with the fish.

Pla neung manao would be one that fits the criteria.

Som tum would only really work if you ask for it without sugar as normally its loaded.

[JimmyTheMook]

Curries that don't use coconut milk such as kaeng paa and kaeng som.

Som tam and most yam.

Grilled meat and fish Isaan-style.

Plenty of choice if you look for it.

Loaded with salt and MSG

not healthy

[notmyself]

Minced ginger, dark soy (more flavour and less salt than light), tamarind pulp to taste (half teaspoon) and a dash of fish sauce. Cover a filet of snapper with the paste and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours before steaming with in season vegetables over rice. Cheap, healthy, easy and little washing up too boot.

1-2 limes sliced. Spread half the slices over large piece of foil and place a whole small fish on top. Stuff the fish with brused lemon grass, crushed garlic cloves and the larger, sweeter chillis cut lengthways, some sprigs of fresh corriander before adding the remainder of the sliced lime to the top. Wrap the goodies up in the foil making sure it's sealed and place on the BBQ or preheated oven for 10-12 minutes turning once with care. You could also throw in some sliced long green beans and apple aubergines to cook with the fish, eat with the rice you made this morning.

Use home made chicken stock with most of the fat removed instead of water when making rice.

[eeeya]

Nice one. I'll have to get a benchtop oven/toaster quick.

Just as a side note, I love thai food and not having a winge, but eating out daily must be subjecting me with massive amounts of salt, msg and oils.

Would be the same if I was eating every day at the pub in australia. Msg less common.

[notmyself]

Nice one. I'll have to get a benchtop oven/toaster quick.

Latest news on grills and ovens via the TV western food section

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/568236-mini-oven/

Just as a side note, I love thai food and not having a winge, but eating out daily must be subjecting me with massive amounts of salt, msg and oils.

Would be the same if I was eating every day at the pub in australia. Msg less common.

Hard to say not knowing what you eat. The further back you can take the precooked/premade process the better so try to make as much as you can from scratch.

[HerbalEd]

Thai cuisine is probably the most healthy in the world. It's not rocket science to eat healthily in Thailand ... esp. with all the seafood available. Just stay away from the highly-refined western foods, eat lots of veggies and fruit, eliminate or moderate consumption of red meats, stay away from sugary beverages, and eliminate or moderate dairy products (which is not traditional Thai food anyway). Also, don't believe the myth that coconut is unhealthy ... it's actually a great source of vegetable fat, and is cholesterol free.

Also, watch out for added sugar which the Thais use way too much. Unfortunately highly-refined white cane sugar (99.99% sucrose) has mostly replaced the traditional unrefined coconut-flower sugar. Ironically as this traditional unrefined coconut sugar is becoming very popular in US and European health foods stores, it's being eliminated as a sweetner throughout Asia. This, plus overconsumption of industrialized western foods (Coke, candy, white bread, etc.), is the key factor that's creating a generation of obese children (a sign of wealth in Asia), and a fast-growing epidemic of childhood diabetes. Personally I think raising fat kids is a form of child abuse that dooms the child to a shorter lifespan plagued with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Fat ain't healthy!

Edited July 22, 2012 by HerbalEd

[mrdome]

Preferably organic stuff but that represents a tiny portion of the market.

[eeeya]

Preferably organic stuff but that represents a tiny portion of the market.

my mother in law tells me she washes the vegetables she buys at the market in a water/vinegar solution to help remove the pesticides.

[MigrationMark]

I like to eat "suki nam" - a medley of vegetables and meat of choice (I normally go shrimp) in a soup broth. The broth might already contain MSG, but you can always ask them not to include extra MSG. It's a dish I order when I need something non-greasy.

[Taggart]

I'm an outsider who only visits Thailand once in a while with my Thai wife (since 86). I'm not a health nut, but I always try and look for what I think are healthier options. Only problem is, I never find enough healthy foods over there to keep hunger at bay. In Isaan or the north, if I could eat only Som Tam (no chillies please) and Guy Yang along with the occasional chicken satay, I guess the visit would be wonderful, but alas, it never is. Oh I guess one beer in the evening and some unsalted cashews or almonds could also be classed as "healthy", but I'm at a loss to think of much else.

[troysantos]

If you are eating out and can get yourself to a Santi Asoke restaurant, you'll find plenty there that you might call healthful food. Of course you can also take the food out. The food is all vegetarian, and mostly everything at every Asoke restaurant is vegan.

There are some things about vegetarian food here in LOS that I myself find a bad health choice. Lots of mushrooms, fake meat, and tofu. I'm also not a big fan of bamboo shoots. Unfortunately, these things are in just about all the dishes at the Asoke restaurants.

Though it's probably more healthful than most of what you'll get in Thailand the cooks make food mostly for the average person who wants a "good" meal. So, you can get very salty food, very spicy food, and very fatty food (and I agree that coconut oil and palm oil have gotten a probably undue bad rap for many years). I've known incredibly fat people in this group, and it's pretty obvious why just seeing what's going into their mouths. Also, some restaurants emphasize organic ingredients.

They all have brown rice, which I think is organic at every restaurant. There are various "healthful" things to eat and buy in all the Asoke restaurants.

I have lived with the group for several years, currently in Ubon, and I'm pretty up on what's in the pots and trays. Having said this, I don't eat much of the food - I believe that a raw food diet is a much more healthful way to eat. So, though rice is the staple here in most of Asia, for me the banana is my main food most days. And having said this, I DO eat some of the rice and everything. Especially pumpkin .... I could probably happily eat it every day.

[jpinx]

Thai food is not healthy at all. Loaded with msg, colourings, flavourings, refined cane sugar, etc. One Issan fish has more salt than I would eat in a month! All the deep fried stuff is terrible. Even the charcoal grilled stuff is laden with oils before grilling - what's that about? The problem is the oil is disgusting.

Go to Sizzlers and load up from the salad bar - all fresh and unprocessed. They also have fish in oregano which is yummy. Japanese restaurants appear to be not so heavy on the msg, etc. Failing that - go to the market and experiment with any of the fresh veg and fruit. Fruit/veg that needs peeling doesn't need washing. I agree with the tip about washing in vinegar-water. No reason not to buy fish, meat, etc in the markets. Choose good-looking pieces and wash with vinegar-water, same as the veg. Grill with your favourite thai herbs and spices bought fresh also.

I have spent some time educating a few of the ladies who I know can actually cook in my soi to not give me any "extras", but that took a lot of time

[Taggart]

I have spent some time educating a few of the ladies who I know can actually cook in my soi to not give me any "extras", but that took a lot of time

I bet you get a few weird looks with that request. Certainly that's what my wife gets when she asks for no MSG. She seems to be sensitive to it and gets ill when there's too much MSG in the food.

[brit1984]

Lettuce is ok in moderation

[jpinx]

I have spent some time educating a few of the ladies who I know can actually cook in my soi to not give me any "extras", but that took a lot of time

I bet you get a few weird looks with that request. Certainly that's what my wife gets when she asks for no MSG. She seems to be sensitive to it and gets ill when there's too much MSG in the food.

Lots of people are sensitive to msg, sugar, salt, etc in varying doses. Ask any parent about kids getting a sugar-hit ! msg is famous for making people ill, but it's take more than a gorernment health warning to stop Madam Soi from spooning into the soup.

I get lots of weird looks anyway, but the ladies in question actually seem to like to pander to my eccentricities.

[Kim25]

Thai dishes is probably the most healthy in the world. It's not too difficult to eat sensibly in Thailand ... esp. with all the fish available. Just keep away from the highly-refined european foods, eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, remove or average consumption of red animal meat, keep away from sweet drinks, and remove or average milk products.

[endure]

Lettuce is ok in moderation

Mixed with watercress it's even better.

[bdw]

Lettuce is ok in moderation

I don't think there's any need for moderation eating lettuce, LOL

Maybe moderation would need to be for the other ingredients most people add, like bacon bits, salad dressings, etc.

[bdw]

Thai food is not healthy at all.

Thai dishes is probably the most healthy in the world.

seems not everyone agrees on the healthiness of Thai food, but just like any nation's cuisine there's a huge variety to choose from.

I remember sitting at work watching the young TGs cutting up green mangoes & thinking how great it was going to be to get some fresh fruit as a snack.

When they finally finished and brought it around to share it was covered in some icky sugary sauce with dried chilli flakes.

I would instead go straight to the vendor's cart & buy just sliced mango with a bag of dried chillies & use the mango slices to scoop chillies into my gob, good eatin', but man would it make for a serious bout of constipation sometimes.

You can get steamed fish in many restaurants. The taste isn't much compared to fried fish, but it's obviously healthier.

Edited September 11, 2012 by bdw

[eeeya]

"Healthiest food in the world" has got to be the biggest misconception ever spoken, thats why i made up this thread.

Steamed fish is an option but often its harder to find in a lunch time food court than one would think. fresh vegetables are mostly fried up with a gravy which takes it out of the "healthy" category.

most dishes have so much sugar leading to 1 in 10 thais getting diabetes.

...wheres my tuna and salad

[Taggart]

Again, it depends on what part of Thailand you stay in. I certainly don't notice an abundance of fish in Isaan, and believe me, I look. As for the chickens, back in the late 80's, it was easy to get a plump, juicy free range bbq type chicken in a restaurant. Now it's always some thin, scrawny factory produced bird. Let's face it. Most people just like cheap, junky food. The big thing I've seen, is trying to find the vendor who sells the tastiest Isaan sausage or sticky rice in bamboo. Hardly healthy food options.

[templemonkey]

Try these dishes.

Som tam without the femented fish.

Pad pak ruam mit mix stir fried vegetables.order with less oil.

Pad bung fai dang stir fried morning glory with red chillies.

Nam prik a variety of different dipping sauces that are served along with boiled and steamed vegetables and sometimes fried fish.

Yam talay mixed seafood salad.

[Nuna]

Western food is healthy? want to laugh out loud

[TheSpade]

In an effort to get more vegetables into me I've been loading up a tub full of salad at the salad bars in Tops supermarket then I just buy some grilled chicken or pork to eat with it.

Can get a tub packed full of onion, pumpkin, sweetcorn, green pepper, various salad leaves, kidney beans, potato and more for under 100B. Does me 3-4 meals.

[templemonkey]

Western food is healthy? want to laugh out loud

Eating KFC, McDonald's & The Pizza all the time is probably not all that good for you

[Somchai Mao]

I'm confused, Thai food is very healthy. If you stay away from the coconut milk type curries you'll also cut down on calories. My current favourite is moo manao, a simple marinated warm pork salad with lime juice coriander etc. Absolutely delicious and as healthy as it gets if you aren't a veggie. Sometimes have it with khaoneow sticky rice to mop up the lime juice. Yum yum.

[ThaiCookingChiangmai]

For Thai people when we concerned about healthy we eat

- vegetable

- fruits

- fish

- avoid deep-fried

- reduce sugar and salty taste

These are some menu I recommended. Let try if you like it or not

น้ำพริก Nam Prig (Chili paste with fresh or boiled vegetable) Chili Peppers May Come With Blood Pressure Benefits http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100803132734.htm

ก๋วยเตี๋ยวลุยสวน Gouy Teaw Lui Suan (Thai spring roll with spicy dipping sauce)

แกงเลียง Gang Liang (Mixed vegetable in lemon basil soup)

cosolidated by www.chiangmaithaicooking.com

Edited September 8, 2013 by ThaiCookingChiangmai

[poanoi]

raw bugs