PHO vietnamese noodle soup, how bad is it?

[The Abdicator]

so i've been pretty clean the this week but my mom bought pho (vietnamese noodle soup) from the restaurant home. i gave in and ate a big bowl with all the fixins (beef, meatballs, tripe, tendon, etc.). it tasted soo good, made me sweat because it's been hot here the past few days. i know it's loaded w/ sodium and it's gotta be at least 1000 calories, which put me over my cals for the day. guess i'm gonna call it a cheat and return to my normal diet tomorrow.

[jimdab]

my gf is vietnamese so i eat pho sometimes

what I do is just not eat the *all* of noodles and eat everything else. i eat maybe 1/4th of the noodles though.

and i don't imagine it's 1000 calories, maybe 700-800 with all the noodles. soup is mostly water.

[jimlong5000]

Best food after a night of debauchery.

As for nutrition, the only concern would be the noodles. But if you don't have any problems with white rice, then you wouldn't have any prob with the noodles.

Personally, I can't stand brown rice.

[johnnie1983]

Here's to kicking an old thread. I love a big bowl of rare beef Pho and would preferably eat it with bowl and all, but I am slightly concerned about the sodium content. Anybody with some useful insights into that?

[TheB7]

I hope it's not 1000, because I eat it all the time

[DrumNum]

Google searches show around 700-800 cals. It really depends how much fat is in the broth.

[AlwaysTryin]

Here's to kicking an old thread. I love a big bowl of rare beef Pho and would preferably eat it with bowl and all, but I am slightly concerned about the sodium content. Anybody with some useful insights into that?

At least you acknowledged you bumped a 4 year old thread so I will withstand negging you.

Why are you worried about sodium? Do you have hypertension?

[astrostu]

soup is mostly water.

This is not true. Yes, it may be in this particular case. But you really have to be careful here. First off, sodium-wise, soups VERY frequently have tons of added salt. I've really not seen a soup recipe that does not call for adding salt in some form to the broth.

But besides this, my experience with many Asian soups is that they very often call for a thickener, often corn starch or flour in US-versioned recipes. This can be a significant amount of hidden calories. So yes, while "soup is mostly water" may be correct, you cannot use this in all cases, and I would check before assuming this is the case here.

[johnnie1983]

At least you acknowledged you bumped a 4 year old thread so I will withstand negging you.

Why are you worried about sodium? Do you have hypertension?

So you would prefer me to create a new thread on the exact same subject, thereby wasting bandwidth, memory and server capacity? I don't see anything wrong with it, since the thread title is relevant and the thread itself contains little discussion to speak of anyways.

Anyways, back on-topic. I am concerned about sodium because a high sodium diet will bloat you like f-ck with waterweight.

[Carlitom]

Is PHO really that good? Everyone tells me it's awesome but I haven't tried it yet.

[AntiBroscience]

Is PHO really that good? Everyone tells me it's awesome but I haven't tried it yet.

It really is.trust.

[BookMonkey]

I throw caution to the wind when it comes to pho. I just approximate calories and run with it since pho is always worth it. Well, the good pho anyways...

[peteyboy1015]

To those who haven't tried Pho, I highly suggest you go out and try it. I am Vietnamese so I'm a little biased but quite honestly, it is amazing.

[AlwaysTryin]

So you would prefer me to create a new thread on the exact same subject, thereby wasting bandwidth, memory and server capacity? I don't see anything wrong with it, since the thread title is relevant and the thread itself contains little discussion to speak of anyways.

what are you on about?

[OrcaLifter]

strong bump.

and pho is great stuff. especially on a cold day.

[johnnie1983]

Due to some reports of the stuff turning jelly and fatty when you put in the fridge, I've been doing some reading into it. Turns out that the reason the broth turns to jello if you put in the fridge, is NOT because of the fat content. It's the collagen, which is a PROTEIN, that gives the broth a silky texture and turns it jelly when chilled.

So, what you're basically getting is water, lean protein (thin slices of beef and the collagen) and some medium-quality complex carbs (rice noodles). All in a very tasty and heartwarming package that I wouldn't call a 'cheat meal'.

The only reason why you might want to limit your intake to once a week or so, is because the stuff is loaded with sodium and MSGs.

[phal]

I love flaunting my user title in these threads, even if it's old.

Don't mind me Johnnie.

[otterakl]

I love flaunting my user title in these threads, even if it's old.

Don't mind me Johnnie.

Had a feeling I'd see you in here.

[phal]

Had a feeling I'd see you in here.

Without a doubt.

EDIT:

Okies that's enough bumping.

[Jayarbie]

Here's to kicking an old thread. I love a big bowl of rare beef Pho and would preferably eat it with bowl and all, but I am slightly concerned about the sodium content. Anybody with some useful insights into that?

The sodium is only a concern if you are manic about weighing yourself every day (or if you have hypertension, of course...). The salt will cause you to retain water and gain weight, but this is just water weight, it is not either fat or lean mass, so it really doesn't matter. It will go away after a day or two of eating normal sodium levels again.

[Kamapuaa]

my experience with many Asian soups is that they very often call for a thickener, often corn starch or flour in US-versioned recipes.

If you don't know what pho is, why are you posting?

It's impossible to tell how many calories pho has. It's like saying, how many calories are in a sandwich? There are huge variations in how many noodles there are, how big the bowl is, how fatty the broth is, etc.

MSG is just sodium + glutamine, which is the most common amino acid in whey protein. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, or with salt, unless you are a fattie with high blood pressure.

[astrostu]

If you don't know what pho is, why are you posting?

It's impossible to tell how many calories pho has. It's like saying, how many calories are in a sandwich? There are huge variations in how many noodles there are, how big the bowl is, how fatty the broth is, etc.

MSG is just sodium + glutamine, which is the most common amino acid in whey protein. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, or with salt, unless you are a fattie with high blood pressure.

Why would you assume I don't know what pho is? I'm quite familiar with it. I also clearly stated that my family has a history of high BP and in case others who read this thread do, as well - and even if they don't - my post was quite relevant. You clearly state yourself that the broth might be "fatty." Hence the query about whether the broth was "just water" was answered by what I wrote.

[lvsteven]

lots of asian food contains MSG (mono sodium glutimate) which just does a number on me.
If it doesnt bother you, most of them use rice noodles as many here have pointed out is the worst of it.

[johnnie1983]

What's wrong with rice noodles. They're basically rice and rice is a complex carb.