Image courtesy of stu_spivack

While there are some great resources out there for this question  (Dotti’s Weight Loss Zone, Weight Watchers, Daily Burn, etc) , none of them have a clear answer on one of my favorites: Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup).  While I am elevating ShrinkGeek to the level of the oracle on Delphi, do any of you guys know? Or – how about just a Boolean: Is it healthy, or not? BTW: I’m talking about restaurant Pho, not the crap in the ramen noodle aisle.

I tried to take the easy way out of this question and defer the answer to Jaden Hair, Tampa Bay area food celebrity and author of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.  I follow her on Twitter and am constantly assaulted by posts about the amazing Asian recipes she talks about so I figured if anyone would know it was her.  Sure enough, she has a recipe for Pho on her site that sounds absolutely amazing.  Unfortunately for me when I asked her if she had ever figured out the nutrition information for the recipe she replied that she had not, and that we should all follow the advice of her Mother who so wisely said “Just eat!  It good for you!”

Which, I suppose, answers the second part of the question.  So much for this being an easy assignment.

In order to answer this question I took the ingredients that Jaden used in her recipe and looked up the individual nutrition information on NutritionData.com.  I then totaled all of those numbers and divided the result by 8 (the recommended serving size).   In other words, this is really just going to be a ball park estimate and shouldn’t be considered scientific by any means or stretch of the imagination.  The actual nutrition information is going to vary depending on whether or not you use the optional beef when you create your stock (I did) and what cuts of meat you use.  I also had to use “homemade beef stock” to estimate the calorie count for that portion as “bones that have been boiled until the yummy fatty bits come out” is, surprisingly, not listed on that site.  As they are garnishes I also did not include the calories for the Siracha or Hoisin.  If you wish to use those ingredients you’ll have the information available on the bottle and can calculate depending on your own tastes.

Now that I have a wall of disclaimers out of the way, here’s what I came up with.  One serving of this recipe would be approximately 711 calories, 6 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber and 96 carbohydrates (14 Weight Watchers POINTS).  While that may seem to be a bit hefty up front, let’s take a closer look at the second part of the question (with all due respect to Mamma, I prefer to back up sage advice with science).  I have several friends who, when they come down with a cold, immediately head out to their favorite Vietnamese restaurant for a steaming bowl of Pho in order to clear their sinuses.   They always claim that it helps them get over the cold faster, and it turns out that they may not be entirely off base about that.  According to this article, Pho is a “super bowl brimming with protein, vitamins and minerals such as A, B, C, E, calcium, iron, potassium and more.”  It goes on to point out that the soup is made without much oil or fat and has no creamy substances in it to add calories and fat.  It’s also full of vegetables and herbs that help prevent inflammation, reduce cholesterol, and aid digestion.  The spicy aspects of the dish additionally help you burn more calories!

Long story short?  Pho is a delicious, healthy dish that packs a few calories but is incredibly filling and, yes, good for you.  It’s also a fun party meal as everyone gets to customize their soup to their own individual tastes.  Now that you have the numbers and data to support it I hope we’re able to help you enjoy this meal with a little less guilt.

And, when in doubt, remember the words of @steamykitchen‘s Mamma…

Just eat!  It good for you!