Today, while preparing for my Alli plan (I start in the morning) I went to Mongolian BBQ with co-workers for our friday lunch. I got my meal bowl made with 90% veggies (celery, onions, green onions, water chestnuts) LOTS of hunan sauce (looks just like soy sauce but other spices in it) 10% little chicken pieces, Little bit more soy sauce, and chili oil. Oh my it was absolutely tasty and amazing. My only worry was even though I saw them make it do I really know they did not add oil. If they only used what was in my bowl (as far as I could tell, they did) I am golden, however my booklet said oil based sauces were bad. I looked up nutritionals on the web and it appears soy sauce-ish kind of sauces are in the clear. I certainly hope so! If this will be great to eat on plan, I will be learning how to cook up a good stir-fry IMMEDIATELY!

I suppose if any extra oil is used in the future (maybe they only have that in case the customer doesnt add enough of their own sauces) I wonder how much would be added and should I worry about it. I would assume it is vegetable oil.

Since I am a tad new, if this sounds off-plan or not a good idea I would love it if you let me know. Otherwise I am gonna really love vegetables more than ever especially on Friday lunch day!. P.S. How do I buy hunan sauce ;)

 I just Googled "Mongolian Barbeque" and got a number of listings of restaurants around the country -- some are a franchise operation.  Either way, I suggest you call the restaurant you visited and ask if they have the nutrition info.  Many do -- if you ask.

Stir-frying is a great nutritious and low-cal (if you don't add too much oil) way to cook.  You'll find lots of stir-fry cookbooks in the library, bookstores; and recipes online.  Many have the nutrition information with each recipe.

Many supermarkets carry hunan, hoisin, soy sauce (even low-sdium) either in the international food section, or in the condiment section (mustard, ketchup, etc.).

Keep us posted!

Pat Baird, MA, RD, registered dietitian