Know the calories of what you eat

One of my weekly columns in Rankin Ledger…

Behind the veil of delicious General Tso Chicken or lo mein pasta are the ingredients for getting fat, and fast.

I love Chinese food almost as much as I love all-you-can-eat buffets. Last week, I did both and went to a local Chinese buffet and ate until I couldn’t move.

And from the moment I thought I would have to crawl up the stairs up to the office, I decided I would have to ration my Chinese food intake, big time.

I’m not picking on Chinese food. I ration how much fried fish I eat or passes I make through the Whataburger line. But the conundrum with Chinese food is for some reason I am often fooled into thinking it’s healthier than it is.

Let’s talk about lemon chicken. Sweet, innocent lemon chicken, coated in that delicious yellow sauce, is 1,400 calories a serving (which is equal to three McChicken sandwiches), says the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

On top of that, it has 3,800 milligrams of sodium. The average adult is only supposed to have 2,300 milligrams.

Chinese food, like the majority of cuisines in the U.S., is served in huge portions, or worse, all-that-you-can-fit-in-your-stomach portions.

And on a side note: American portions are tremendous. I lived in South America, and at first, was a little hungry after every meal. Well, then I grew accustomed to eating a little bit less and I found my appetite was not quite as whopping.

If you’re going to eat Chinese food, select the white rice and the entrees that aren’t breaded (and then deep fried), the CSPI says. The soups aren’t too calorie-filled either. Also, unlike I do, eat only one plate, not two or three.

A book published last year by a New York Times reporter, called “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles,” traces the origins of Chinese food, and not to tremendous surprise, but American Chinese food is pretty, well, American.

Our taste buds love fried chicken bathed in sauces and some carbs on the side. And well, it sounds to me like your average take-out plate from a Chinese food eatery.

Maybe it’s America’s destiny to be fat. Or to consume large amounts of horrible food.

During the rein of George W. Bush, punk rock band Greenday released an album called American Idiot. Although maybe partially true, I think one of those annoying bands needs to release a new song, maybe titled American Fatty.

That’s at least how I feel sometimes.