Many people haven't mastered the art of eating hot pot. You can place a pot of tea next to you while you eat, drinking tea alongside the hot pot. Tea not only helps to balance internal heat but can also help you cut the grease (which teas are good for weight loss). Secondly, when ordering, try to focus on vegetables, but avoid leafy greens, as they easily absorb oil and can lead to weight gain. Opt for vegetables that don't absorb much oil, such as winter melon, bamboo shoots, potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, lotus root, kelp, and tofu. For meats, choose low-fat options like fish, skinless chicken, beef, and eel. When eating, use chopsticks to hold the food and let the excess oil drip off before putting it in your mouth.
Here are some tips for those not afraid of gaining weight
1. Try making your own dipping sauce
Many people who eat hot pot, for convenience, like to buy pre-made sauces. However, store-bought sauces are often high in calories and contain unhealthy ingredients. We can learn how to make sauces online and create our own delicious, low-calorie combinations.
2. Choose a light broth
Popular broths these days include spicy numbing, clear, and seafood broths. Among them, the spicy hot pot has the highest calories, mostly from the oil in the broth. Therefore, choosing a lighter broth can also help with weight loss.
3. Pay attention to ingredient selection
As for fatty beef and lamb, the key is to control the portion size. For side dishes, choose more fungi, such as mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, black fungus, and kelp. Frozen tofu, yuba (tofu skin), potato slices, sweet potato slices, winter melon slices, and various green vegetables are also good choices. Try to avoid offal, and all kinds of meatballs, fish balls, shrimp balls, and crab sticks, as they often hide a lot of saturated fat and cholesterol.
4. Try not to drink sugary beverages
If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Even for beer, don't exceed two bottles. As for sugary drinks like sour plum soup or ginger cola, their sugar content is also quite high even if they don't taste very sweet. Also, avoid deceptive freshly squeezed juices. It's best to choose unsweetened tea, such as chrysanthemum tea, barley tea, or even plain boiled water.
5. Pay attention to the order of eating
It's best to eat vegetables before meat. Start by boiling bean products and fungi for over 10 minutes; this makes them safer to eat and enhances the broth's flavor. Then, add green vegetables, followed by meat. Eating vegetables first can "fill you up" and reduce your meat intake.