Mexcian food?

SraArroz

My hubby wants to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner and I just joined MFP on Sunday. How in the world do I account for the nutritional information for a dinner at a Mexican restaurant? I usually eat 1 cheese enchilada and a half order of beans with about 5 chips.... I don't want to ruin my progress but I'd like to know how to count what I eat when I go out. It's an "authentic" restaurant so I didn't see anything in the food database. Thank you so much for any help you can provide!!!

Oompa_Loompa

Im with ya! I'm going to a small mexican restaurant on friday for a frineds birthday. They don't even have a website so I cant look up the nutritional value. It sucks so im interested if there is a way.

kris2600

I was recently in the same situation. I just tried to avoid everything I knew would be high in fat and calories (ex. I orderd a salad and took the cheese off, used salsa for dressing, and didnt eat the fried tortilla bowl) and only ate 10 chips with salsa. When I got home I typed in "Taco Sala" in the food database and added the one with the most calories I could find to be safe. I think that if you do a search for the foods you want to eat (like the enchilada) before you go and find out how many calories are averaged in the foods listed, you will get a good idea about how many calories you will be eating. Hope this helps

RedHotRunner

I would just estimate using the calories from El Torito or Acapulco. You won't be right on, but it'll be close enough to scare you away from the refried beans.

I suggest shrimp fajitas and hold the tortillas.

jmarie9

depends on what you are eating, i've seen "restaurant style refried beans" in the database and for the enchilada, its pretty much the same anywhere you go, i would just use Chevy's, On the Border, Rubios or another Mexican restaurant you recognize.

hmiott

Ha, Ha - It must be Mexican food week.

You were reading my mind, I am going out tomorrow night and have been wondering what I will eat. I know to stay away from the fried stuff and cream based dishes but from there, I am lost. Fajitas???

I am so interested to see some suggestions!

mworld

it shouldn't be too hard to find a substitute on here. You do want to find one that says Restaraunt in the food style because with mexican food restaraunts add tons more fat and calories.

The big ticket item to stay away from at an authentic mexican restaraunt is the Refried Beans. They use a LOT of lard to cook those and make them tastes so good that a cup of them can be as high as 500 calories with tons from saturated fat ---- but, that's why they taste so good!

carrieberrie

I always get Tacos Al Carbon, it is carne asada steak with onions and cilanto, there is no cheese on them and they are awesome!!! (Only 180 calories!) DONT eat the beans, as they are cooked in lard. Eat 1/2 cup of rice.

lzam

TORTILLA SOUP! ITS LOW ON CALORIES... IF THEY HAVE A CHOICE BETWEEN CUP AND BOWL.. CHOOSE CUP. IT ACTUALLY FILLS U UP. WELL IT FILLS ME UP... GOOD LUCK

maurierose

Wellllllll................. here's what I've learned so far.... :laugh:

Steamed corn tortillas are typically a better choice than flour ones

Soft tacos are better than crunchy shell versions.

Chicken items generally have less calories than beef, pork, "carnitas", or deep fried, battered fish versions

You can order sauteed veggies at most places instead of rice and beans - even if they sautee them in a little butter, they're about 1/3 or 1/4 the calories of the spanish rice or refried beans; you can also substitute fresh fruit in a lot of places!

Black beans or pinto beans can typically be better choices than refried beans

Don't assume veggie-only versions of fajitas are lower calories than meat ones.... at Acapulco, the veggie fajitas have 1380 calories; the chicken fajitas have 950 (neither include the tortillas).

Salsa or pico de gallo is a better choice than guacamole calorie-wise, but the guacamole has "healthy fats" :devil:

Chicken Tortilla soup is usually pretty low-cal; start with a cup or bowl of that, leave off the tortilla strips, and it will help fill you up before your meal! Albondigas (mexican meatball soup, of sorts) can be even lower cal than Chicken Tortilla soup.... if they have it. I love it, and no, it isn't like menudo or anything *wierd*. :laugh:

Salad with salsa and a dollop of sour cream instead of traditional fatty/high calorie salad dressings is really yummy!!!!

Many mexican food places offer grilled fish - YUMMO!!!!!

And, last but not least..... avoid the deep-fried icecream (1450 cals), and drink water with a slice of orange or lemon in it, or iced tea!

(Can you tell we eat out at a lot of mexican food places? :bigsmile: :blushing: :laugh: :laugh: )

Good luck, and bon apetit! :flowerforyou:

SraArroz

Thanks everybody!! We didn't go last night but will probably go tonight. I'll probably get a guacamole salad with some chicken fajita meat on top of it. The guac has lots of flavor and the fat is healthy fat from avocados. So yummy.... either that or the fish tacos without the tortillas (basically the grilled tilapia) with a side salad. Thanks for the reminder that the beans are so bad for me, while so yummy! LOL