HELP! Going to lunch with a friend and she chose Mexican!

AgidGirl

Any recs for a low calorie option? I'm an adventurous eater and will try just about anything. I would like this meal to be under 500 calories. They don't list any nutrition facts on the menu. Thanks!!

BlueSkyShoal

Hmm . . . I think in that situation I would just choose something and then eat half of it, save half for later.

cwolfman13

You're not really going to have much luck with 500 or less calories at any sit down restaurant unless you're ordering from a special "lite" menu or something.

For myself personally, I don't eat out all that often so I typically get whatever I feel like getting and enjoy the heck out of it. I went with an old friend of mine a couple of days ago for New Mexican...it was delicious...they did have a lunch menu with smaller portions than dinner, but I can guarantee it was still a heap of calories.

A little refeed now and then can actually be beneficial for hormone regulation.

JenHuedy

Most steak or chicken tacos run in the 200 cal each range as long as they aren't loaded with cheese, sour cream or guac. Shrimp or fish is a good option, also. My go-to at a local place is actually an appetizer - shrimp ceviche tostada. Their version is pretty much shrimp, avocado and onion dressed in a lime-cilatro vinagrette.

Now I want tacos.

AgidGirl

Here's the options I'm considering:

Burrito Vegetariano...
A flour tortilla filled with rice, beans lettuce and cheese. Covered with enchilada sauce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, guacamole and parmesan cheese.

Taco Salad....I'll skip the tortilla
Fresh lettuce, your choice of ground beef, chicken or shredded beef with cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and quacamole.

Taco Fajita Salad....I'll skip the tortilla
Strips of marinated chicken or beef sautéed with bell peppers, onions and served guacamole and sour cream.

enterdanger

AgidGirl wrote: »

Here's the options I'm considering:

Burrito Vegetariano...
A flour tortilla filled with rice, beans lettuce and cheese. Covered with enchilada sauce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, guacamole and parmesan cheese.

Taco Salad....I'll skip the tortilla
Fresh lettuce, your choice of ground beef, chicken or shredded beef with cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and quacamole.

Taco Fajita Salad....I'll skip the tortilla
Strips of marinated chicken or beef sautéed with bell peppers, onions and served guacamole and sour cream.

Out of those the fajita salad is probably your best bet. I eat mexican and stay around 500. I don't each the chips they put out...which makes me sad and tests my willpower. I got tilapia last time I went and ate half since the plate was ginormous. I tend to go with seafood since I don't like the taste of cheese with seafood. If I get tacos I must have cheese. Cheese is awesome.

Blubberbuster1

Anything moderately healthy at a restaurant I usually estimate at around 700-1000 calries, obviously depending on what it is. That's just my gage for planning out meals during the day and what I aim to have left at for dinner.
Had Mexican 2 weekends ago, chose the biggest burrito off the menu, I made sure I had lots of room calorie wise. Think I had about 1,200 calories left for the day. I had the Burrito and theatre popcorn after, I was my lowest weight 3 days after. Mind you, the very next day I was up 4lb because of water weight.

sheermomentum

fajitas. skip the cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and most (or all) of the bread. That will leave you with relatively lean meat, onions, peppers, and probably about 2 teaspoons of cooking oil.

Or just yum it all up in a moderate way and don't worry about it too much. Over the course of a week it will probably be unnoticable if you're hitting your goals otherwise.

TavistockToad

I'd eat a big lunch, ordering whatever I fancied, and not bother with tea.

Blubberbuster1

Go with the Burrito, my guess, 600-900 calories (if you have that many calories left). Sour cream, cheese, avocado, sauce, that probably alone will make up half the calories. Enjoy it, and don't worry about the weight fluctuation tomorrow, it will be water weight.

Ironandwine69

It's one time. Enjoy it and don't have dinner.
Problem solved.

AliceDark

The burrito is going to be in the 900-1200 calorie range.

Terrymichelle

I always go with the fajitas and just eat the veggies and meat. Normally around 500 calories!

lilawolf

The tortilla alone on that burrito will be 300 calories. Another 3-500 for the sour cream and guac (on any of your options). At least 1000 for the whole thing.

If thats what you want then get it, but don't think it'll be light...

Lighter options: soups like pozole, mexican style tacos (sometimes called street) since they have corn tortillas no cheese guac or sour cream, etc

I'd just get what you want, log it, and move a bit more/eat a bit less for the rest of the week.

AgidGirl

OK! I think I'm just going to eat a burrito and enjoy. I skipped breakfast this AM in anticipation of this meal (I've only consumed 30 calories from coffee today). I'll eat veggies for dinner

stealthq

sheermomentum wrote: »

fajitas. skip the cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and most (or all) of the bread. That will leave you with relatively lean meat, onions, peppers, and probably about 2 teaspoons of cooking oil.

Or just yum it all up in a moderate way and don't worry about it too much. Over the course of a week it will probably be unnoticable if you're hitting your goals otherwise.

That's my go-to, though at the place I usually go I can do the guac for the lunch portion.

I will also do one chicken enchilada of any type, ask for no cheese or remove it at the table. Most places drown the thing in sauce, so I push most of that aside as well. I don't like soggy food and did that long before I had any thought of calories.

Another one I like but probably not a good choice at other restaurants (never seen it made this way anywhere else) is chile relleno. The place I go stuffs the chiles with a ground beef mixture and grills them. There's no breading, no cheese topping, no frying, no sauce.

__TMac__

For me, the trouble starts before I even get to the entree. It's the chips that do me in. So I eat light the rest of the day, get some cardio in, order the shrimp tacos, and just accept that I'm probably going to go over.

And prepare for the inevitable water-weight gain two days after.

mewzikgal2012

enterdanger wrote: »

AgidGirl wrote: »

Here's the options I'm considering:

Burrito Vegetariano...
A flour tortilla filled with rice, beans lettuce and cheese. Covered with enchilada sauce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, guacamole and parmesan cheese.

Taco Salad....I'll skip the tortilla
Fresh lettuce, your choice of ground beef, chicken or shredded beef with cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and quacamole.

Taco Fajita Salad....I'll skip the tortilla
Strips of marinated chicken or beef sautéed with bell peppers, onions and served guacamole and sour cream.

Out of those the fajita salad is probably your best bet. I eat mexican and stay around 500. I don't each the chips they put out...which makes me sad and tests my willpower. I got tilapia last time I went and ate half since the plate was ginormous. I tend to go with seafood since I don't like the taste of cheese with seafood. If I get tacos I must have cheese. Cheese is awesome.

mewzikgal2012

I always ask for a grilled chicken breast salad - all of the Mexican places around me have it on the menu.

wellthenwhat

I usually get shrimp fajitas, and divide them into 2 or three meals depending on the size of the portions. Watch out for all you can eat chips and salsa, because those get high fast. If they do have those, I normally eat only that at the restaurant, maybe dip them in beans, too, and save my meal for later.

Noreenmarie1234

mewzikgal2012 wrote: »

I always ask for a grilled chicken breast salad - all of the Mexican places around me have it on the menu.

me too or get nice salad with meat salsa etc and skip ccheese sour cream and guac. Easily under 400 calories.

sarahbetherck

My go to at Mexican restaurants is always fajitas. I skip the rice, beans and tortillas and just eat the meat and veggies with salsa.

brittnichol

AgidGirl wrote: »

Here's the options I'm considering:

Burrito Vegetariano...
A flour tortilla filled with rice, beans lettuce and cheese. Covered with enchilada sauce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, guacamole and parmesan cheese.

Taco Salad....I'll skip the tortilla
Fresh lettuce, your choice of ground beef, chicken or shredded beef with cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and quacamole.

Taco Fajita Salad....I'll skip the tortilla
Strips of marinated chicken or beef sautéed with bell peppers, onions and served guacamole and sour cream.

Taco fajita salad without the tortilla is a great option ask for cheese, sour cream, guacamole on the side (if your really worried out staying at 500 cals.this will also help you have an idea of the amount going in your meal) (Also guac will be higher calorie but it is a healthy addition)