Avoid obesity by eating hotpot: three steps

The weather is chilly, and whether you are eating alone or with a group, you always want to have a hot pot. However, hot pot is high in calories, and if you are not careful, it will cause fat to rise and form a fat belly on the abdomen. Therefore, Hou Wenyi, director of the Nutrition Department of Chiayi St. Martin's Hospital, reminds that when eating hot pot, you should grasp the three steps: drink less soup, replace processed hot pot ingredients with fresh vegetables, and use less sauce, etc., to reduce the burden on the body.

【Three Steps to Eating Hot Pot】

Part 1: How much fat should you drink in soup?

Whether it is mutton hotpot, shochu chicken, ginger duck or broth made from bones, the soup base will absorb the essence and fat of hot pot ingredients and meat slices. Not only will the soup surface be greasy, but the calories are also frighteningly high. Therefore, it is recommended to use clear soup and fresh vegetables as the base of the soup to avoid making it thicker as it cooks. Even if you drink the soup, it is better to just taste it lightly.

Part 2: Hot pot ingredients are high in calories, fresh vegetables are less burdensome

Commercially available processed hot pot ingredients such as fish dumplings, bird dumplings, Xinxin sausage or meatballs are added with a lot of animal fats and seasonings to make them delicious. They are high in calories and sodium. Eating too much can easily increase the burden on the body. It is recommended to replace them with fresh vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, fish fillets or low-fat meat. In addition, people can also replace meat with seafood, which is lower in calories.

As for gout patients, they should avoid throwing meat and other ingredients into the hot pot. It is recommended to cook them in a shabu-shabu way to avoid absorbing the high purine in the soup base, which will lead to increased uric acid and trigger acute gout.

Part 3: A small spoonful of shacha sauce 150 calories

The dipping sauces that most people eat hot pot with are high in calories. A small spoonful of shacha sauce has about 150 calories. In addition, dipping sauces such as bean paste and chili sauce are high in sodium. If you accidentally eat too much, your sodium intake may exceed the daily requirement, increasing the burden on kidney metabolism. It is recommended to use soy sauce with natural spices such as chopped green onion and minced garlic for dipping. You can also make your own pureed white radish or fresh tomato puree.