What to order at a Mexican restaurant
jbrooks3645
Posts: 76 Member
So we are goin out to eat Mexican this weekend does anyone know of something I could order that won't blow all my calories on that one meal?
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Replies
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Fajitas are usually a lower-calorie option. Even more so if you skip the tortillas. If you do want tortillas, corn generally are lower calorie than flour.
The stuff that will generally drain your calorie budget at Mexican restaurants is the chips, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and rice.
And margaritas....but you should have one of those anyways.
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Pretty everything on the menu is going to be tough. Street style tacos or fish tacos might be ok, and fajitas as mentioned. Watch out for those flour tortillas and guac. But maybe you should just consider being a fat kid for one night, just log everything so you know what you did. I was once married to a Mexican that's how I got fat. Good Luck!
edit : Tostada's might not be too bad1 -
I was in a nutrition class recently where they suggested that you request carrots and cucumbers, rather than chips. Please do this, as I have never seen carrots nor cucumbers at a Mexican restaurant and am dying to know if this is really a thing!4
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If it were me, I'd just get whatever it was that I wanted. I live in New Mexico and we might go out for New Mexican food maybe once every 2-3 months, so it's a treat and I'm going to get whatever it is that I'm wanting to get.3
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I had Mexican last night. I had shrimp tacos and a salad. It was great. Shrimp cocktail, tacos, and fajitas are good options. I substituted my rice and beans for a salad.3
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Be careful with the fajitas. Some Mexican restaurants use a ton of oil. I know, I experienced this very recently.1
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Ensalada Camarones.3
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If they have ceviche, that would be a nice option.3
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salad with dressing on the side. with grilled chicken may be a good option-may
fish tacos
soup
of course, this is not knowing their recipes but it's a good bet0 -
If you get something with tortillas make sure they are corn. Try not to order anything with tortillas, don't eat the chips. I usually get a fiesta bowl which is black beans, chicken, pico, little shredded cheese and salsa.
If you are really worried then only eat half of whatever they bring out to the table.1 -
mmmm mexican
chips and queso!
enchiladas!
Fajitas!
I will happily blow all my calories for MEXICAN!7 -
Shrimp or fish tacos can have a ton of calories as they typically add some sauce to them too. Fajitas can actually be really high calorie because of the oil, as people mentioned. Honestly, plain corn tacos are usually your best bet, it's hard to stuff more than 300 calories of things in one.
Taco salads are not bad as long as you don't have the fried tortilla bowl with it (and it's low on cheese/guacamole and you don't use dressing).0 -
Where are you? Tex-mex is very different from Cali-mex is very different from genuine Mexican food.2
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Lately I get 2 tamales a la carte and a side of avocado. Not low cal really but very delicious!
Sometimes I go for chile rellenos with red sauce and beans.
Or this dish with fajita chicken and steamed veggies on a bed of rice...it's supposed to come with queso on top but I have them hold the queso and don't finish the rice. So good.
Spinach enchiladas, red or green sauce instead of cheese sauce.
I personally don't love chips so I just don't START with the chips and salsa...helps cut the calories of my meal more than you may think!0 -
I wouldn't say fajitas as an option unless you are skipping a sizable amount of the meal. My prelogged meal for a generic mexican restaurant if you subtract out the margarita is ~ 800 calories and that is with no sour cream, no cheese, no tortillas. Then again I eat round ~400 calories for dinner typically
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My nutrition teacher said the chips and salsa are the biggest thing to watch out for at a Mexican restaurant. She recommended us go into it with a limit of how many chips to eat such as 8 and stop yourself after that. I usually look for grilled fish or shrimp at Mexican restaurants. You can also order tacos and just eat the filling with a fork and avoid the tortillas. Cheese is great but if you want to make sure you stay within your calories goals I'd recommend avoiding it for that meal and loading up on pico de gallo instead.
Before I go out, I usually look up the menu beforehand and look up the average calories for that dish on myfitnesspal or the internet.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »If it were me, I'd just get whatever it was that I wanted. I live in New Mexico and we might go out for New Mexican food maybe once every 2-3 months, so it's a treat and I'm going to get whatever it is that I'm wanting to get.
Lucky you ... just came back from my first trip to NM - it will NOT be my last, adored the food and fell in
with green chile sauce. 2 -
I just returned from Mexican lunch. Supreme steak burrito, mole on the side, chips, salsa verde, two margaritas (from scratch, not a mix, and not too bad calorie-wise), and an accidental tequila shot (gift from the server).
As you can see, I am not skilled at choosing wisely, so I make it more about “context” than “dosage.” I skipped breakfast and will have a light dinner. And will run tomorrow. Totally worth it.1 -
OP, I have a "meal" logged of individual components on mfp for my local mex chicken enchiladas which I order with no cheese no sour cream, and it dings me about 500 cals - completely survivable and my go to.
Alternatively, enjoy and log as best you may
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In that situation I tend to just eat what I enjoy and log to the best of my ability. And the rest of the week I'm back to strict logging and calorie counting. I've lost weight this way too! I personally enjoy enchiladas or a quesadilla. Yum!
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My plan for next time- bring a large container of radishes, celery, sliced green pepper, baby carrots, zucchini coins.. and a single serve hummus to eat before food arrives. I did okay except for the chips yesterday...2
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MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »My plan for next time- bring a large container of radishes, celery, sliced green pepper, baby carrots, zucchini coins.. and a single serve hummus to eat before food arrives. I did okay except for the chips yesterday...
I'm not sure if this is what you meant, but you are aware that you can't bring your own food into a restaurant?3 -
MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »My plan for next time- bring a large container of radishes, celery, sliced green pepper, baby carrots, zucchini coins.. and a single serve hummus to eat before food arrives. I did okay except for the chips yesterday...
I'm not sure if this is what you meant, but you are aware that you can't bring your own food into a restaurant?
Yeah that would skeeve me out if a friend/family member brought their own food to the restaurant, even if the restaurant allowed it! I can see where for some with SEVERE allergies it might be a good plan but seriously not on board with that for someone who's just trying to cut calories. lol
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Agree. Leave your food at home. I don't like the word cheating with regards to dieting but that is cheating. You have to learn how to fit restaurants into your normal diet. It is a necessary skill for success.4
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concordancia wrote: »I was in a nutrition class recently where they suggested that you request carrots and cucumbers, rather than chips. Please do this, as I have never seen carrots nor cucumbers at a Mexican restaurant and am dying to know if this is really a thing!
Our favorite Mexican restaurant has zanahorias (pickled carrots) and cucumber slices at their salsa bar. We load up a plate of those to share (not that I skip the tortilla chips, though - lol).
As far as what to order - Carne asada is usually a decent choice. The meat is reasonably lean and it's grilled, not fried. Most Mexican restaurants will also have some kind of chicken dishes. As already mentioned, ceviche is a good choice if they offer seafood, or some sort of camarón (shrimp) dish.1 -
I usually get pork carnitas with rice and beans, they bring small flour tortillas and I fill maybe one of those but then just eat the pork with rice and beans by itself. We also get one basket of chips but split as a family and not refilled that’s less than 200 cals usually. I estimate my typical meal at a Mexican restaurant at about 700 cals if I don’t do beer or a margarita. Fits in my day pretty easily.0
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concordancia wrote: »Where are you? Tex-mex is very different from Cali-mex is very different from genuine Mexican food.
Have you ever been to Mexico? Every town / every county has its own thing going on. There is literally no such thing as genuine Mexican food. Also Detroit- Mex> Tex-Mex > Cali-Mex!1 -
concordancia wrote: »Where are you? Tex-mex is very different from Cali-mex is very different from genuine Mexican food.
Mississippi we usually go to one called el charros0
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