You too can survive the Chinese Buffet!

Yesterday I went to a Chinese Buffet at a mall and was a concerned if I would find anything that was both satisfying and healthy.  At $6.99 (lunch special) I was sure it would be filled with a lot of fried and high calorie foods.  However, much to my surprise, I was able to have a healthy and delicious plate of food: (my calculations are of course rough estimates)

• Skinless roasted chicken breast (2 oz)
• Steamed salmon (2 oz)
• Steamed broccoli (I mixed it with a few florets and onions from the top of the beef and broccoli) (3/4 cup)
• Brown rice(1/2 cup)
• Sauteed string beans I took from the top to avoid all the sauce (1/2 cup)
• A little bit rice noodles (1/4 cup)
• A glass of ice water (I'd rather use calories in food than beverages)

Then it was time for dessert - they had ice cream, cakes, pies, cookies and doughnuts.  I skipped all of that and had honeydew melon and cantaloupe (about a cupful,) with two cubes of strawberry gelatin (it was way too sweet) and overlaid the fruit with about a quarter cup of vanilla pudding.

I tried to calculate all of my calories, and I think I was somewhere between 400-500 depending on the sauce in the string beans and broccoli.  Nonetheless, I was full and satisfied, and able to enjoy a Chinese Buffet with my family!

The greatest thing about healthy food is that it's usually more expensive than regular food.  The fruit and veggies you ate probably are worth more than the more than the meats you could have eaten, so you probably more than likely got your money's worth than if you just went all-out on the junk food.

I WISH we had buffet items like that at "Chinese" buffets around here!  Pretty much no matter where you go, a cheap buffet is going to have nothing steamed or fresh (except the fresh fruit) so when I go, it's definitely "treat" time for me (which means "sesame chicken time" roughly translated from Rachel-ese lol).

Good job on the buffet success!

I always snag brown rice, shrimp, baked salmon, roasted chicken and some wonton soup.  It's not as bad as most people think, that is, if you do it right and in moderation.