Q:What are some healthier bets for Chinese food?

A: Many people have the notion that it's easy to eat a healthy Chinese restaurant meal because plenty of vegetables are served up. That's not necessarily so. Meals in Chinese restaurant can quickly become unhealthy and loaded with calories. Consider starting with spare ribs or eggroll, moving on to Sweet and Sour pork or Shrimp with Fried Rice and finishing off with Fried Bananas. Healthy? Not so!

It is, however, with skills and strategies in hand, possible to eat healthy Chinese restaurant meals. The watchwords are pick and choose your dishes carefully, enjoy a bowl of soup to fill you up, and share dishes with your dining partners to put portion control into action. Chinese food can be high in sodium - choose dishes with lighter sauces, request light soy-sauce be use (when food is cooked to order), order brown rice rather than fried rice and control your portions. Less food = less sodium.

Here are a few healthier items you'll find on most Chinese menus whether the restaurant lines a mall or airport food court or is your neighborhood favorite independent restaurant. Find many more healthier suggestions and tips to eat healthy Chinese meals in my books Eat Out, Eat Right and What to Eat When You're Eating Out.  

Appetizers: Teriyaki Chicken or Beef, Steamed Peking Dumplings (raviolis), Vegetarian Dumpling (raviolis) or Roast Pork Strips

Soups: Hot and Sour, Wonton, Egg Drop and Chicken and Corn (all Chinese soups are broth based, order a bowl to fill you up especially if others are dining on high fat fried appetizers)

Entrees: Moo Goo Gai Pan, Moo Shi (with vegetables, pork, chicken or shrimp), Shrimp, pork or chicken with Chinese vegetables, Velvet Chicken, Tofu (request that it not be fried) with Chinese vegetables, Szechuan green beans, Lo-Mein (with vegetables, pork, chicken or shrimp), Chow Mein or Chop Suey