Craving Chinese takeout at the end of a long day or week is common. The flavors are super tempting, but did you know that some dishes could derail your health goals. Before you place that order, let’s uncover which popular choices might be best left off your list. Here are 10 of them.
General Tso’s Chicken
This crunchy, sauce-slathered dish is heavy on the calorie scale. Due to deep-frying and a sugary glaze, one serving can top 469 calories, with high sodium (691.7mg). Add in a hefty sodium count, and it quickly becomes more of a dietary setback than a satisfying meal.
Beef And Broccoli
Is beef and broccoli the smart pick it pretends to be? Each serving contains nearly 1,000mg of sodium—close to half your daily limit. While the vegetables give it a healthy halo, that sauce does the damage. Maybe ask the takeout joint to cut down on that sauce.
Egg Rolls
Go for steamed dumplings or spring rolls if you still want a hand-held starter without the oil slick. These golden cylinders seem harmless, but each one is a deep-fried trap. They offer little nutritional value, around 223 calories per roll, plus high sodium and fat (up to 17g).
Sweet And Sour Pork
It’s basically meat in syrup. Sugar-heavy sauces coat deep-fried pork chunks, turning this into a calorie-dense indulgence. A typical cup clocks in around 230 calories, but more significant portions can push that close to 500. Before you even touch the rice, you’re already deep into sugar overload.
Fried Rice
Deceptively comforting, fried rice ranges from 218 to 400 calories per cup, depending on how it’s made. It’s often cooked in heavy fats and tossed with sneaky extras that stack on more. Combine that with refined grains, and a lighter veggie-packed option starts looking much better.
Lo Mein
Craving noodles but not the grease? Lo mein is a mild option, but it’s usually stir-fried in a heavy oil pour. A typical serving (1 cup) has 241 calories, though large orders can reach 900, mostly from stripped-down carbs and fats. Ask for tweaks to cut the excess.
Barbecue Spare Ribs
If you’re aiming for balance, your best bet is grilled meat with sauce on the side. Spare ribs bring built-in fat, not just flavor. They’re bold and smoky, sure—but that modest serving still clocks in at 300 calories, loaded with saturated fat and a generous dose of sodium.
Crab Rangoon
Each one carries about 65 calories, and most of that’s fat. Knock back a few, and you’ve already racked up the equivalent of a full entree before the main event even hits the table. Sure, it’s cream cheese in a deep-fried wrapper, but that novelty wears off fast.
Orange Chicken
This dish sneaks dessert onto your dinner plate at 660 calories and more than 30 grams of sugar. That sticky glaze? It’s a sugar-starch mix. If you’re craving something citrusy, orange slices will do the trick without turning your meal into a nutritional sideshow.
Chow Fun
One cup has over 200 calories, and that’s without any beef or sauce to bulk it up. Tossed with oil in the pan, these wide noodles soak up more than just flavor. Want something lighter? Try veggie-packed rice noodles, but ask for them to be steamed to keep things in check.
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