Eating Out? Order Fewer Vegetable Dishes
"We've had enough meat, let's order some vegetable dishes." When dining out, we want to satisfy our taste buds and stay healthy, right? "I'll order the 'Di San Xian' (Three Fresh Stir-fry)," "I'll get the dry-fried green beans"... But is this seemingly balanced and delicious meal actually nutritious?
"Even the healthiest vegetable dishes become unhealthy after a deep-fry bath." A nutrition expert explains that while dishes like Di San Xian, dry-fried green beans, and oil-braised eggplant are vegetarian, their calorie count can exceed that of meat dishes after being fried.
The main ingredients of Di San Xian are potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers. When potatoes are deep-fried at high temperatures, they can produce carcinogens like acrylamide. Eggplant is rich in vitamin P and rutin, which can help lower blood lipids, but it has an incredible ability to absorb oil.
Fried eggplant practically turns into little oil packets. When green peppers are "baptized" in hot oil, their vitamin C content is almost completely depleted.
As for dry-fried green beans, the name might suggest they aren't fried, but in reality, they often are. These fried beans not only exceed recommended calorie limits but also pose a safety risk. If beans aren't cooked thoroughly, they can cause food poisoning. During deep-frying, the beans can end up burnt on the outside and raw on the inside.
A nutrition expert advises following a "two less, two more" principle when ordering vegetable dishes: "less oil, less salt." The "two more" are: choose more seasonal vegetables, and opt for more cold salads, steamed, or braised dishes. For example, right now, chives and spinach are exceptionally nutritious seasonal vegetables.