Make the right choices with tips from nutritionist Kohila Govindaraju.
1. I love stir-fried vegetables with oyster sauce or garlic sauce. But I am trying to cut down on my salt intake. Which one is healthier?
Unfortunately both are loaded with sodium. 1 tsp of oyster sauce contains 345mg sodium. And garlic sauce is made with oyster sauce, too! So, your best option when dining out is to ask for stir-fried veggies with fresh garlic and less salt (no sauce).
When cooking at home, make your own ginger-garlic sauce by mixing grated ginger and garlic with peanut oil/sesame oil and season lightly with salt. You can also stir in a tablespoon of chopped cilantro to add more flavour to the sauce.
2. I am trying to eat healthily. Can I have roasted meats?
The duck or chicken is dunked in hot water and marinated in salt, sugar and spices for a few hours. Later, they are glazed with honey and roasted for 2 hours.
Roast duck/per serving 21 g (with skin) has 36kcal, 2g fat and 72 mg sodium.
Roast duck /per serving 19g (without skin) has 24kcal, 1g fat and 31 mg sodium.
3. Sliced fish noodles or fish ball noodles?
Definitely go for the sliced fish noodles. Fish ball is high in sodium. For example 25g of fish ball contains 165mg of sodium. The fish slices are fresh and have no sodium. One serving of fish slice soup contains 1,413mg sodium (only from soup base) and fish ball noodles contain 2,913mg sodium. Your daily sodium intake should be less than 2,300mg, so you will be busting that in one bowl-full!
4. Should laksa be avoided?
Not at all, but make it an occasional treat.
There are two types of laksa – curry laksa (with coconut milk) and Penang (assam) laksa (without coconut milk). Both have high sodium content. Curry laksa has 1,588mg while Penang laksa has 2,287mg. It’s best to scoop up the ingredients and not drink the soup.
5. I have diabetes. What can I eat at a food court?
You need fiber-rich whole grain foods, beans/lean meat and fruits and vegetables and low glycaemic index foods to help control insulin spike. Choose dishes like yong tau foo, brown rice with vegetables, chicken salad with spaghetti, sliced fish soup, wonton noodle soup, popiah or whole meal tuna sandwich.
Make the following occasional treats - char kway teow, fried economic bee hoon, carrot cake, prata.
It is wise to share the dish (and the calories) with friends!
