Best Low Calorie Mexican

Marcie9278

Have to go to a birthday dinner Sunday at a Mexican restaurant.... What's good to get? I never know....I thought chicken fajitas without the tortillas or sides was good but then found that some totals could be way more than what's listed in MFP. Is there anything I can get besides one taco?

Poisonedpawn78

Have a smaller breakfast and lunch that day and enjoy the dinner.

Davidsdottir

I'd do the fajitas without the tortilla.

LongevityRob

Go with a chicken or steak fajita with lots and lots of vegetables.

blueheartrisen

Another option might be a "naked" taco salad.

Most of the time I shoot for 700-800 calories for a half meal at a restaurant, and plan the rest of my day accordingly. Try to skimp too much and I just feel grumpy.

fitoverfortymom

Smaller breakfast and lunch. Enjoy dinner. Table chips always get me. I usually go for a hard shell taco and skip the beams and rice.

spiriteagle99

A lot of Mexican restaurants have grilled items: steak, chicken, fish, shrimp, etc. Ask them to hold the beans and tortillas. Ours also has grilled chicken or shrimp salad.

Cbean08

Look for camarrones, which are shrimp. A lot of restaurants usually have shrimp cooked in a red sauce that isn't too spicy. 6 shrimp is a reasonable portion. If it is served with rice and beans, ask if it can be served with side salad or grilled veggies instead. If not, just eat half of the rice OR beans.

Other good options- shrimp cocktail, ceviche (go easy on the avocado) , fajitas (watch your portion though), caldo de pollo (chicken and veggies soup), albondigas (meatball soup)

missh1967

Mexican food is my all-time favorite. I usually have to splurge.

cramerbeth

Mexican food is one of my favorites but it’s very hard on keto diet,,,usually have fajitas no tortillas

cthakkar1985

Step 1 - Save yourself about 1,000 calories for the dinner.
Step 2 - Get a burrito with grilled chicken/no guac/no sour cream/no rice.
Step 3 - Feel free to add veggies, beans, cheese, and salsa.
Step 4 - Enjoy

midlomel1971

I usually order shrimp or chicken fajitas with corn tortillas on the side instead of flour. I will have one fajita in a corn tortilla and then another fajita without the tortilla. Then save the rest and take it home.

gogetemrogue

If it were me I would try to budget 900-1000 calories for dinner so I can eat what I want.

jasondjulian

Don't make it painful for yourself- the bet option is to allow yourself to eat the meal, as others suggested. Even if you go over your daily cals, it's OK, just adjust throughout the rest of the week to compensate.

I worry more about the high sodium in Mexican food than I do the calories. I just had a lunch with my 6yr old at our fav Mexican place yesterday.. got the steak taco salad bowl- ate half of it and was full. I SO WANTED to eat the rest, it tasted so good.. but I stopped.. it worked out well, I was actually under my calorie goal for the day. This was thanks to a very small breakfast and a sensible light lunch.

rainbowbow

I'd fast that day and then eat what i wanted for dinner (i'd still avoid chips/salsa cause you and i both know nobody can have just a few). Get back on track Monday.

If you're determined to make something work while eating the rest of the day, i'd get anything that's not smothered in sauce/cheese/refried beans and stick to "fresh" options that include salsas/pico/lettuce/chicken/etc. Another option is to order what you want and then get them to bring you a to-go box right away and portion it out before you even start eating (like eat half there and take the other half home).

maybe1pe

I would skip breakfast which I do most days anyways and have a small snack if I got hungry before dinner. Then eat what I wanted within reason and enjoy the meal.

jjpptt2

I like fajitas because I can assemble them how I want based on my calorie/macro goals. If I need to keep things tight, I'd go really light on calorie-dense stuff (beans, sour cream, cheese, etc). If I have more wiggle room, I'll add in a bit more of those things.

Build-your-own options offer a lot of flexibility, assuming you have the discipline to build them to fit your needs.

YOLO145

Tequila

Muana1005

Street food type stuff all the way for me.

murp4069

I am also in the camp of either fasting or eating very lightly during the day and not worrying too much while I'm out at dinner. Life goes on even when we are on these journeys and you don't want to miss out on fun activities or deprive yourself of things you really enjoy while you are with friends and family. I'm sure you can find some sort of grilled protein on the menu and sub rice/beans for veg or salad (if you want to, or stick with the rice/beans if that's what you like and eat half). Tacos may also not be so bad depending on their size, what's in them and how many there are in an order. If you can avoid the chips and salsa/guac, great. If not, try to moderate without making yourself miserable

Remember even if you go way over, it's just one meal. You move on the next day and that bump in the scale (if any) from one meal will be gone in no time. Have fun!

cwolfman13

IMO, and living in New Mexico, there is no such thing. Going out for New Mexican food is a treat for me and I enjoy every bit of it. I typically just eat smaller during the day.

One night out for some delicious food here and there isn't going to be particularly relevant to the bigger picture.

Nery_Tay

I always do this: Eat something small, Workout. Then By the time dinner comes eat a vegetarian burrito. I've read a study saying your body will burn calories from your initial workout throughout the day. Now I say stay away from the cheese because there is no telling how much salt there is.

janejellyroll

Kidzfun wrote: »

I always do this: Eat something small, Workout. Then By the time dinner comes eat a vegetarian burrito. I've read a study saying your body will burn calories from your initial workout throughout the day. Now I say stay away from the cheese because there is no telling how much salt there is.

At a Mexican restaurant, they're likely to be liberally salting all the components of a vegetarian burrito (beans, rice, vegetables, etc). Avoiding the cheese for sodium purposes seems like shutting the barn door after the horse has left.

jjpptt2

cwolfman13 wrote: »

One night out for some delicious food here and there isn't going to be particularly relevant to the bigger picture.

While this is true, I don't want people to misconstrue the significance of that statement. "here and there" and "bigger picture" is a relative term. Depending on the deficit you're able to maintain and how many calories there are in your "delicious food", some people might be able to enjoy a free meal like that once a week, while others might have to limit it to once a month.

0305bp

Ceviche is typically a good bet, since it tends to be fish or shrimp with an acid based dressing. Our local place does a ceviche salad that is amazing and skips a lot of the higher calorie adds (sour cream) with a lot of flavor and a full plate. My biggest challenge is avoiding the bowl of chips and salsa.

150poundsofme

I wonder if you got the chicken fajitas, if they could give you extra peppers and onions instead of the taco shell.
Enjoy!