What is a low calorie Thai Food dish?

[kinmaew]

ไกผัดกระเทียม is great

Seriously though, what is healthy to you? A lot of posters seem to subscribe to the bar bullshit school of nutritional science.

You missed the mai ek in Gai it should be ไก่

[asdecas]

ไกผัดกระเทียม is great

Seriously though, what is healthy to you? A lot of posters seem to subscribe to the bar bullshit school of nutritional science.

You missed your mai aek on the first gor gai. No education visa extension for you!

[asdecas]

ไกผัดกระเทียม is great

Seriously though, what is healthy to you? A lot of posters seem to subscribe to the bar bullshit school of nutritional science.

.

Edited October 30, 2014 by asdecas

[ChangMaiSausage]

Keep it simple light the BBQ and cook away, serve with some nice fiery dipping sauces.

If your feeling adventurous serve up with a nice salad (olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing)

go on be a devil......

[koochie]

Are calories really the issue? How many fat people do you see in Thailand? I have been coming here for 20 years and I am seeing an increase in the number of overweight Thais - in fact I just returned here after being away for four years and can see an increase even since then! It happens very quickly. I watched it happen in the UK too. I moved from the US to the UK in 1990 and at that time everyone in the UK was still very trim and used to say 'oh, you come from the fat country, dont you?'. Well now, in fact in less than 20 years, nearly two thirds of Brits are obese or overweight!!

see this article - http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/may/29/how-obese-is-the-uk-obesity-rates-compare-other-countries

why was the regular fare in Britain, or in Thailand, or in India, etc etc etc not making people overweight 20 years ago?

I blame it on the introduction of all the processed foods, the fast foods, the crisps, etc etc etc

ps - much of Thai / Asia food is made with coconut oil which up until recently 'experts' claimed was the most 'fattening' item one could consume. Now they have changed their minds and in fact think that it in fact boosts the metabolic rate and helps one lost weight!!

see article - http://authoritynutrition.com/coconut-oil-and-weight-loss/

[Jingthing]

Calories are just part of it because the human body PROCESSES different kinds of calories different ways.

For example, some high calorie foods like nuts and avocados are associated with healthier body weights and plain white rice which isn't very high calories converts quickly into SUGAR and tends to encourage the body to STORE FAT.

The old simple minded calorie math model of obesity is very passe!

[slipperylobster]

Like they said...eat it raw...or next best thing...go to the "S" BBQ.

You cook it yourself at the table. Nothing healthier...east or west. All the fresh vegetables you can shake a stick at....and unmarinated meats/seafood (sliced thin). No greasy gravies/food additives that you get at western restaurants. These are highly popular throughout Thailand...and very reasonable. Never saw one in western countries. Our bbqs are full of MSG, salt, unhealthy marinades...etc. Go natural.

Other than that...go natural, as they do on the Isaan farm. Coconuts, home raised pond fish (Tilapia), fresh, fresh papaya salad, mangoes....

I think you know. lol

[slipperylobster]

slipperylobster, on 30 Oct 2014 - 12:24, said:

Most of it is low calorie. Vegetables and meat. Keep it basic. Plain rice, some vegetables and light on the pork/chicken/fish.

Unlike our super high fat/calorie western diet of gravy, butter, fatty red meat, biscuits, pies, etc !!!!

Look up a western meatloaf dinner with gravy and potato (smothered in butter) and slices of bread, compared to a light meal of fish, rice, fresh vegetables.

not rocket science.

All that "bad" western food, yet we still, on average, live longer that Thais... go figure. Makes you wonder just how "bad" that western diet is.

Line up ten random farangs, over the age of forty, and then do the same with ten random thais.

Then tell me who is fatter...in General. LOL Should be quite obvious.

We may live longer due to better medical care, genetics, or simply by not driving in the same bus/van as Thais do.

[Mudcrab]

Calories need to be looked as input and output. If they are equal - all good. If more goes in than out the weight increases. If more goes out than in then weight will decrease.

An excess of input calories can be balanced by an appropriate an amount of exercise after eating.

Tell your good lady this and adjust the horizontal dessert post dinner accordingly if you get my drift. Have a great night.

[MrY]

Thais are very slim compared to westerners, so the food can't be that bad

In a parallel universe, maybe.

In Asia, only Malaysia is more obese than Thailand and it's getting worse fast. Good data is hard to come by, but in 20 years Thailand has gone from (approximately) 10% to 35-45% obesity (depending on who you listen to).

If you've been here long enough you will probably have noticed it. 20 years ago, when I thought I wasn't overweight (BMI 25), Thais would sometimes call me 'pumpui', but now it never happens anymore even though I'm heavier now (BMI 28). They've got a pumpui problem of their own now.

These days when we go out to eat, we order many of the dishes 'mai waan' or 'heng' for less sugar or oil. Processed and fast food industries have arrived in force, the standard fare has gotten sweeter and oilier, and the lithe [by design] Thai physique is not good at coping with it. Exercise is rare and diabetes is rampant. If you look at the Thai kids you will realize it will get much worse before it all goes to s***.

Reminder to myself: Don't wait until the whole nation is fatter than you, lose 10 kilos now.

[koochie]

and then i am intrigued with the fact that if rice is so bad then why have the biggest rice-consuming countries on the planet become obese the latest on this planet? the thais, the japanese, the chinese, the indians, etc. - they have been eating tons of rice for ions but never had a problem with obesity until the last 10-20 years - and still no where close to the problem we have in the West - except for one notable figure who i will not refer to specifically in case you can get arrested for it (hint - you often see figures of him sitting cross legged and meditating). quite frankly, look at old photos and films from the States that go back to the 40s and the 50s - even the Americans were not that fat back then.

Check this article about history of obesity in UK and USA - http://www.theobesityepidemic.org/introduction/

actually i agree with the statement someone made about sedentary lifestyles these days being an important factor too.

[slipperylobster]

Truth be told...

It was the introduction of Western cuisine that bastardized the Asian diet. Nothing wrong with the food they served here in Thailand, until the fat farang came with his sleezy diet of fatty dishes, craving for sugar and chocolate eclairs.

It is just totally absurd that we should blame them. Our unhealthy crap is addicting as all get out. Clogging arteries and fattening up children, before the age of 6. I know kids with stubs of black teeth from the sugary western crap the parents give them.

Why blame them?????

[Jingthing]

It's a good question about rice and obesity in Asian cultures. First of all, there is the issue of portion sizes and also the processing of the rice. Then there is what is eaten in addition to the rice in a rice based diet. Rice of course converts into sugar and too much sugar promotes obesity related diseases, but then again, back to portion. Some sugar is perfectly OK for most people. Also of course there are much worse foods to eat than white rice ... such as processed Mama noodles.

http://blog.euromonitor.com/2014/08/white-rice-exacerbates-diabetes-threat-in-asia-pacific.html

White Rice Fuels Diabetes Crisis

In an interview for FoodNavigator-Asia in July 2014, the President of the Malaysian Endocrine and Metabolic Society, Professor Dr Nor Azmi Kamaruddin, stated that white rice, rather than the array of “junk foods” popular in the West, was one of the major culprits responsible for Malaysia’s soaring obesity rates. He cited several studies backing up his conclusion, adding the widely-known fact that white rice scores almost as highly on the glycaemic index scale as sucrose.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Jingthing

[slipperylobster]

The point is, the western alternatives are far worse. A cup of rice is not as bad as mashed potatoes containing milk and butter, and smothered with gravy made from pad drippings (pure,unadulterated fat).

Meat Pies and mashed potatoes (with gravy)

Mince and mashed potatoes (with gravy)

Bangers and mashed potatoes

fish and chips (deep fried in fatty oil) and served with mayonnaise

Cheeseburgers and fries with (the lot) Aussie style adds eggs?

....you get the idea....

Now compare that to a scoop of rice, vegetables (usually fresh not canned..like our stuff)
,served with a bbq tilapia or some bbq pork

The western alternatives are, albeit, more satisfying but far more fattening and overloaded with calories

Edited October 30, 2014 by slipperylobster

[curtklay]

Mmmmm...Now you've got my mouth watering.

[craigt3365]

Most of it is low calorie. Vegetables and meat. Keep it basic. Plain rice, some vegetables and light on the pork/chicken/fish.

Unlike our super high fat/calorie western diet of gravy, butter, fatty red meat, biscuits, pies, etc !!!!

Look up a western meatloaf dinner with gravy and potato (smothered in butter) and slices of bread, compared to a light meal of fish, rice, fresh vegetables.

not rocket science.

Many Thai dishes are super high fat/calorie ones also. Deep fried, coconut oil, lots of sugar, etc, etc, etc. combined with lots of sugary drinks. Interesting reading on the growing obesity problem here:

http://www.burning-bison.com/obesity.htm

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Childhood-Obesity-A-Weighty-Problem-30198882.html

http://www.thailand-business-news.com/asean/49065-thailand-ranks-second-asean-prevalence-obesity-mcot-net.html

As for the ranking of obesity in the ASEAN region, Thailand came second after Malaysia, with the highest number of people with the disease.

As the lifestyle in Thailand rapidly changes, Thais are confronted with a new kind of plague: obesity. Thailand is among top five Asia-Pacific nations with the highest numbers of obese people, and by 2015 Thailand will have a whopping 21 million members of a “fat tummy network,” according to the Ministry of Public Health.

Can't blame the west for everything...

[craigt3365]

It's a good question about rice and obesity in Asian cultures. First of all, there is the issue of portion sizes and also the processing of the rice. Then there is what is eaten in addition to the rice in a rice based diet. Rice of course converts into sugar and too much sugar promotes obesity related diseases, but then again, back to portion. Some sugar is perfectly OK for most people. Also of course there are much worse foods to eat than white rice ... such as processed Mama noodles.

http://blog.euromonitor.com/2014/08/white-rice-exacerbates-diabetes-threat-in-asia-pacific.html

White Rice Fuels Diabetes Crisis

In an interview for FoodNavigator-Asia in July 2014, the President of the Malaysian Endocrine and Metabolic Society, Professor Dr Nor Azmi Kamaruddin, stated that white rice, rather than the array of “junk foods” popular in the West, was one of the major culprits responsible for Malaysia’s soaring obesity rates. He cited several studies backing up his conclusion, adding the widely-known fact that white rice scores almost as highly on the glycaemic index scale as sucrose.

I use to love Mama noodles until my friend told me about it's problems. Read the label on the cup. Pretty bad.

[mrfaroukh]

Whatever you order tell them without sugger, salt, and oil. They will still put enough of all but will be more healthy.

[Jingthing]

Whatever you order tell them without sugger, salt, and oil. They will still put enough of all but will be more healthy.

Not necessarily. Once I asked for a little bit of sugar on my som tum and they put in nothing. That was disgusting. It needs SOME.

[Lokie]

Excuse my spelling; whats the low down on Cow Man Gai, how many Cals you reckon?

One of my favourite meals on way home with the clear soup and spicy bag of nam prik or what ever it is, a few sprigs of sping onions, small chillies and fresh garlic Mmm...

( Got to be better than a tray of Donner meat, smothered in Hot chilli sauce and Cheesy chips lol... after 8 pints of Holsten draft)

[NamKAheng]

The first rule for calorie intake, eat less!

[AyG]

Excuse my spelling; whats the low down on Cow Man Gai, how many Cals you reckon?

According to one source it's 597 calories, but there are so many variables: skin on/skin off, including liver or not; portion size.

http://fit-d.com/Food/food-view-advance.aspx?FoodID=qYlk7lFIgRo%3d&FoodName=%E0%B8%82%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%81%E0%B9%88

The fried version according to the same source has a staggering 693 calories.

Once thing that's very clear, though, is that it's pretty unhealthy because the rice is cooked in chicken fat.

[ExPratt]

Cut out Rice , noodles , Bread and Sugar and you can pretty much eat as much fat and protein as you like

[smokie36]

Save yourself the bother and just get sushi.

[champa]

noodle soup without noodle (kao lao) beef or fish ball.

all of clear soup such as kang chead, Tom Yam, Tom Som, Tom Klong, Kang som, Kang leang (yellow curry).

Kang Leng (แกงเลียง) variety of vegetable.

Kang Hed (แกงเห็ด) (Mushroom soup).

Kanom Jeen (ขนมจีน) with a lot of vegetable.

Yam nea (Beef sour and spicy salad).

Pad thai woonsen (Glass noodle pad thai)

[Smurkster]

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Excuse my spelling; whats the low down on Cow Man Gai, how many Cals you reckon?

One of my favourite meals on way home with the clear soup and spicy bag of nam prik or what ever it is, a few sprigs of sping onions, small chillies and fresh garlic Mmm...

( Got to be better than a tray of Donner meat, smothered in Hot chilli sauce and Cheesy chips lol... after 8 pints of Holsten draft)

i find kao man gai to be one of the more disgusting foods i have ever eaten on this planet...Skinless chicken, cooked topped over boring white rice that has essentially been soaked in chicken fat, the only good part about it is the ginger based dipping sauce

[BKKBobby]

Raw prawns with sliced garlic and seafood sauce. Unhealthy is sugar in my book which pretty much puts all thai food in the unhealthy list.