govindas

NudeastheNews

hi hi, I got my lunch today from govindas, the vegetarian restaurant on abbey street, anyone know is this food, in general, high in calories and fat? I know obviosuly compared to like burger king it'd be lower, but they are big portions and with all the potatoes and different sauces its hard to tell! Any info would be well appreciated!!

EileenG

I tend to eat low carb, so Govinda is definitely out for me. But I used to be vegetarian and yes, in general veggie food as cooked in restaurants tends to be high cal, high carb, high fat and low protein.

Unless you can get the exact recipe out of them and then weigh your portions, you are unlikely ever to know how much you ate, but you can be pretty sure (especially with sauces) that it is high.

Sometimes places like Burger King can be low cal if you order carefully. The basic burger without the bun is usually ok, and most fast food places now have some version of a grilled chickens salad. If nothing else, they usually have calorie info available.

For what it's worth, all the time I was a veggie, I was definitely fat. And that was in spite of lifting hard and cycling 200 miles a week.

jam_mac_jam

There is also a huge difference between different Indian dishes, if you had a lentil tomato based sause its not going to be too high however if dishes are fryed in ghee they are lethal as this is worse than butter.

Its very hard to say in general as there can be a wide range of foods involved. If you even have a look at the difference between a naan and a bread that Indian people would be more likely to eat like a roti or chapati you are talking about 5 or 6 times more calories so its hard to say. Restaurants also serve huge portions of rice much more than you would eat at home. i wouldnt be one of the people who say you shouldnt eat rice at all but in moderation. If you are eating Indian stick to Tandori but of course this is not an option in a vege restaurant. In that case try and have dahl and either small portion of rice or a chapati, dahl is quite a healthy food and if cooked authenticaly should have a low amount of fat used in the cooking.

Piste

EileenG wrote: »

For what it's worth, all the time I was a veggie, I was definitely fat. And that was in spite of lifting hard and cycling 200 miles a week.

I'll second this about myself, since stopping being vegetarian I've shed a good bit of weight quickly, and my exercise habits (or lack thereof!) hadn't changed.

Laura Appleby

EileenG wrote: »

I tend to eat low carb, so Govinda is definitely out for me. But I used to be vegetarian and yes, in general veggie food as cooked in restaurants tends to be high cal, high carb, high fat and low protein.

Unless you can get the exact recipe out of them and then weigh your portions, you are unlikely ever to know how much you ate, but you can be pretty sure (especially with sauces) that it is high.

Sometimes places like Burger King can be low cal if you order carefully. The basic burger without the bun is usually ok, and most fast food places now have some version of a grilled chickens salad. If nothing else, they usually have calorie info available.

For what it's worth, all the time I was a veggie, I was definitely fat. And that was in spite of lifting hard and cycling 200 miles a week.

I'm not trying to be funny but maybe you were just like eating too much or whatever?

EileenG

Oh yeah, I'm sure I was. Nothing like a 50 mile cycle to give you a great appetite for those peanut butter and banana sandwiches, which I thought were healthy because they were high carb and made with multi-grain bread.

What I find is that even though I really really love my steak, there always comes a point where I say "That's enough, I'm full". I never really seem to reach that point when I'm eating carby food.

Dahl, if homemade, is excellent and works even on a low carb diet. But most times I've seen it in restaurants, it is literally swimming in oil or ghee.

Macha

EileenG wrote: »

Sometimes places like Burger King can be low cal if you order carefully. The basic burger without the bun is usually ok, and most fast food places now have some version of a grilled chickens salad. If nothing else, they usually have calorie info available.

If you're at all interested in your health I would recommend you seriously stay away from fast food joints like BK, McD, Pizza, Abra, etc. Studies have shown that standard chicken (as opposed to free range or organic) have three times the levels of saturated fat and 1/10th the amount of omega-3. There is a similar story for the poor quality beef they use. Plus their salad dressings are loaded with HFCS. It's just a disaster from beginning to end.

jam_mac_jam

EileenG wrote: »

Oh yeah, I'm sure I was. Nothing like a 50 mile cycle to give you a great appetite for those peanut butter and banana sandwiches, which I thought were healthy because they were high carb and made with multi-grain bread.

What I find is that even though I really really love my steak, there always comes a point where I say "That's enough, I'm full". I never really seem to reach that point when I'm eating carby food.

Dahl, if homemade, is excellent and works even on a low carb diet. But most times I've seen it in restaurants, it is literally swimming in oil or ghee.

That's the problem there is very few restaurants which make it properly, it shouldnt be oily at all.

lizzyvera

Tofu dishes are usually quite low cal, because tofu is filling and 85% water. Govindas do a smaller plate, which I'd usually get.

Suaimhneach

Isnt the quality of the food in Govindas quite high though? All orangic and good for you...? I was under that impression.

Brian?

Jesjes wrote: »

Isnt the quality of the food in Govindas quite high though? All orangic and good for you...? I was under that impression.

I don't think the quality is in question. I have eaten there in the paste, very nice.

The problem is there are a lot of high carb foods on offer. Anytime I have been there its usually potatoes curry, somosas, dhal etc.

Good for you in very small amounts.

missmatty

A small special in Govindas is still huge imo! I usually eat half and take away half

Piste

EileenG wrote: »

it is literally swimming in oil or ghee.

Teehee

Tar.Aldarion

NudeastheNews wrote: »

hi hi, I got my lunch today from govindas, the vegetarian restaurant on abbey street, anyone know is this food, in general, high in calories and fat? I know obviosuly compared to like burger king it'd be lower, but they are big portions and with all the potatoes and different sauces its hard to tell! Any info would be well appreciated!!

First of all, what fantastic food govindas make(although their stall in galway is far better), I would try Cornucopia off grafton st if I were you too. If you want to find out about Govindas food there is a cookbook or you can go to one of the classes they teach, which my girlfriend has. There are updates about when they are on in the vegan/vegetarian forum.

As for you guys that were veggies being heavy, that's odd, they are on average lighter.

jam_mac_jam

Tara Le d'Arion wrote: »

First of all, what fantastic food govindas make(although their stall in galway is far better), I would try Cornucopia off grafton st if I were you too. If you want to find out about Govindas food there is a cookbook or you can go to one of the classes they teach, which my girlfriend has. There are updates about when they are on in the vegan/vegetarian forum.

As for you guys that were veggies being heavy, that's odd, they are on average lighter.

I have to agree with that, most veggies I know are much lighter and in general eat much better foods than most meat eaters I know.

Brian?

Thats Veggie propaganda.

Its like what scientoligists do to get you to join up, prey on your insecurities.;)

Tar.Aldarion

Be a vegetarian fatty. :pac:

Brian?

Given up on the mind games and going for the brute force approach?

Tar.Aldarion

No it is a joke. It's obvious that what that person said is not veggie propaganda as they are not one themselves.
If I wanted to convince you I would use better ways. :-p
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/10/21/sophiemonk_narrowweb__300x395,0.jpg

Beks

NudeastheNews wrote: »

hi hi, I got my lunch today from govindas, the vegetarian restaurant on abbey street, anyone know is this food, in general, high in calories and fat? I know obviosuly compared to like burger king it'd be lower, but they are big portions and with all the potatoes and different sauces its hard to tell! Any info would be well appreciated!!

You could always ask for the subji with no rice, I'm sure they would oblige. Or go for a samosa or something. I think the key to eating healthily when you are out is not stuffing down a huge portion (so many restaurants just shove way too much on your plate - Captain America's being a prime example!!) so just eat until you feel full and leave the rest or ask to take it home. Govindas' food is excellent and mostly vegan and is pretty healthy for you. I wouldn't worry about it.

JimiMac

Dahl, if homemade, is excellent and works even on a low carb diet. But most times I've seen it in restaurants, it is literally swimming in oil or ghee.

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

That's the problem there is very few restaurants which make it properly, it shouldnt be oily at all.

Does anybody have any (fairly simple and fairly healthy (yet tasty)) recipes for dahls (or any good links)?

Macha

Tara Le d'Arion wrote: »

No it is a joke. It's obvious that what that person said is not veggie propaganda as they are not one themselves.
If I wanted to convince you I would use better ways. :-p
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/10/21/sophiemonk_narrowweb__300x395,0.jpg

Great so lets ignore the social issue of the sexual objectification of women to pursue our own interests.This is exactly why I hate PETA.
(Not a rant against you Tara Le d'Arion)

JimiMac: even better, a video guiding you through it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d4CaV5W8JU

Tar.Aldarion

taconnol wrote: »

Great so lets ignore the social issue of the sexual objectification of women to pursue our own interests.This is exactly why I hate PETA.
(Not a rant against you Tara Le d'Arion)

JimiMac: even better, a video guiding you through it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d4CaV5W8JU

She volunteered! An there are men magazines too.

Macha

Ah I'm all for nudity as long as there's equality! I only ever see Pamela Anderson & Alicia Silverstone - where are all the males???