Healthier or Not?
Hello!
This week I'm going to be talking about the differences I have noticed between American food and Thai food. For starters, before coming to Thailand, I always joked with my family and friends that I would gain "so much weight," over in Thailand because of how much I love to eat. When I happened to check my weight maybe two months into my study abroad experience, however, I was shocked and obviously happy that my weight had stayed the same.
"It's probably because the food here is so healthy," I remember my friend saying. Hmmm is it though? After living and eating in Bangkok for the past four months, I can say that I'm not sure if the food is healthier, or just more fresh (which could be considered "healthier" I guess). When you walk down any street, the food stalls there are always bursting with fresh vegetables ready to be used. The vegetables used in some of the food are hand-grown by farmers and then sent to these food stalls, which make the vegetables very fresh.
The reason I'm not sure if Thai food is healthier is because, in all the night markets and street stalls that I've seen, they love to sell fried stuff. Fried chicken, for example, is a must everywhere. Thai people also love their desserts, such as doughnuts, and crepes, and crepe cakes. They also have "healthier" desserts though, like for example coconut ice cream.
Not to mention that Thailand has been influenced too much by the U.S...in night markets now they sell french fries and burgers in addition to traditional Thai food. Because of these reasons, so the fried food and desserts, I wouldn't necessarily consider Thailand healthier than the U.S. Because of this considerably negative influence, I can find almost every Western food here in Thailand, so I don't really miss any American food.
It can be argued, however, that these foods don't count because they are not Thai food, but western foods. Even so, Thai people still love their fried food, and also their meat, which can be considered unhealthy. Thai's absolutely love meat, and that can be seen anywhere and everywhere. In every street, there is at least a couple of food stands that are selling either pork, chicken, duck, or fish.
For the sake of adding actual Thai food to this list, now I'm going to add pad thai. In general, I have always considered pad thai (or Thai food in general), healthier than Western food, however, now I am not too sure. While noodles do sound healthier than a burger, for example, you have to keep in mind that pad thai noodles are just rehydrated dried rice noodles. I don't know about you but that doesn't sound too healthy to me, it's never a good idea to strip the nutrients off of food, and then "add" them back on. Not to mention that pad thai is basically just all carbohydrates.
The only reason I would argue that Thai food is healthier than Western food is that the portion sizes are a lot more realistic here in Thailand. Instead of huge plates of food that you can't finish, Thai restaurants actually give you a good amount of food which fills you up. When I first came to Thailand I was definitely disappointed with the sizes of the meals, however, soon I realized that the size was actually enough to leave me satisfied.
For example, there is this pork place that I always go to, that just serves you a bit of pork, rice, and then a light soup/broth. At first, I thought that I would have to order two plates in order to fill me up, however, I was pleasantly surprised when this simple meal filled me up. In general, I have come to the conclusion that the reason why I haven't gained weight (or as much weight as I could've) is not because I have been eating healthy food, but because I have just been eating controlled and fair portions.
Another thing that I have realized that is good about Thailand is that they add vegetables for everything. This makes almost everything a balanced meal. For example, the plate of pork I described earlier also comes with a side of cucumbers. Cucumbers for some reason are the vegetable that they add to the side of almost everything.
See you next week!
This week I'm going to be talking about the differences I have noticed between American food and Thai food. For starters, before coming to Thailand, I always joked with my family and friends that I would gain "so much weight," over in Thailand because of how much I love to eat. When I happened to check my weight maybe two months into my study abroad experience, however, I was shocked and obviously happy that my weight had stayed the same.
"It's probably because the food here is so healthy," I remember my friend saying. Hmmm is it though? After living and eating in Bangkok for the past four months, I can say that I'm not sure if the food is healthier, or just more fresh (which could be considered "healthier" I guess). When you walk down any street, the food stalls there are always bursting with fresh vegetables ready to be used. The vegetables used in some of the food are hand-grown by farmers and then sent to these food stalls, which make the vegetables very fresh.
The reason I'm not sure if Thai food is healthier is because, in all the night markets and street stalls that I've seen, they love to sell fried stuff. Fried chicken, for example, is a must everywhere. Thai people also love their desserts, such as doughnuts, and crepes, and crepe cakes. They also have "healthier" desserts though, like for example coconut ice cream.
Not to mention that Thailand has been influenced too much by the U.S...in night markets now they sell french fries and burgers in addition to traditional Thai food. Because of these reasons, so the fried food and desserts, I wouldn't necessarily consider Thailand healthier than the U.S. Because of this considerably negative influence, I can find almost every Western food here in Thailand, so I don't really miss any American food.
It can be argued, however, that these foods don't count because they are not Thai food, but western foods. Even so, Thai people still love their fried food, and also their meat, which can be considered unhealthy. Thai's absolutely love meat, and that can be seen anywhere and everywhere. In every street, there is at least a couple of food stands that are selling either pork, chicken, duck, or fish.
For the sake of adding actual Thai food to this list, now I'm going to add pad thai. In general, I have always considered pad thai (or Thai food in general), healthier than Western food, however, now I am not too sure. While noodles do sound healthier than a burger, for example, you have to keep in mind that pad thai noodles are just rehydrated dried rice noodles. I don't know about you but that doesn't sound too healthy to me, it's never a good idea to strip the nutrients off of food, and then "add" them back on. Not to mention that pad thai is basically just all carbohydrates.
The only reason I would argue that Thai food is healthier than Western food is that the portion sizes are a lot more realistic here in Thailand. Instead of huge plates of food that you can't finish, Thai restaurants actually give you a good amount of food which fills you up. When I first came to Thailand I was definitely disappointed with the sizes of the meals, however, soon I realized that the size was actually enough to leave me satisfied.
For example, there is this pork place that I always go to, that just serves you a bit of pork, rice, and then a light soup/broth. At first, I thought that I would have to order two plates in order to fill me up, however, I was pleasantly surprised when this simple meal filled me up. In general, I have come to the conclusion that the reason why I haven't gained weight (or as much weight as I could've) is not because I have been eating healthy food, but because I have just been eating controlled and fair portions.
Another thing that I have realized that is good about Thailand is that they add vegetables for everything. This makes almost everything a balanced meal. For example, the plate of pork I described earlier also comes with a side of cucumbers. Cucumbers for some reason are the vegetable that they add to the side of almost everything.
See you next week!
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