Salad

• When you’re going for lunch or dinner at a Thai restaurant and want a low carb option, order a spicy beef salad. This salad combines beef tenderloin with fresh vegetables, lemon grass and mint. This Bangkok classic is seasoned with lime juice and cilantro. Another carb-friendly option at most Thai restaurants is a Northern Thai Seafood salad, combining shrimp with calamari and fresh vegetables. You can also look for Yum Neau which is grilled tenderloin marinated in Thai spices and served alongside cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and scallions. To keep your salad completely low-carb, ask what dressings or sauces are on the salad you’re ordering and keep dressings on the side. And ask for any noodles or fruit to be left off the salad.

Meat

• Order a meat or chicken dish from a Thai restaurant. Since many of these dishes are served with rice, substitute rice for soup, salad or fresh vegetables. Also, look for Pra Raam which is a chicken dish featuring spinach in a red peanut sauce, or Rendang Chicken which is served in a coconut onion sauce with lemon grass and chilies. You can also look for Beef Basil which is served with fresh chilies, garlic, onions and bell peppers -- or Beef Rendang, which is the same as the Chicken Rendang only served with beef.

Seafood

• Other low carb options at a Thai restaurant include dishes that feature seafood. These meals might include lobster tail stir fried and served with fresh garlic sauce and a vegetable such as asparagus. Order a bowl of soup as an appetizer like Tom Yum Goong which combines mushrooms, lime juice, lemon grass and hot peppers. Another seafood dish called Pad Talay combines shrimp with scallions, squid and mixed vegetables. If your dish comes with noodles and sauce ask for the entree without noodles or rice -- and have the sauce on the side. Avoid dishes that contain fruit, stick with meat and vegetable meals.