Mexican Restaurant help please

dorthymcconnel

I hope this is the right board to place this on, forgive me if its the wrong one. My wedding anniversary was Sunday and we're celebrating today. I'm planning on going to a local Mexican restaurant so I doubt they have nutrition info for me. I know already that I'm staying away from the queso dip and the tortilla chips they place on the table. I also know that in a lot of cases the food portion is going to be huge, even for lunch. What I have no idea of is how to log local restaurant food . Any tips about that, and maybe some tips in general to pay attention to?

RickInHouston

Ahhh, I'm from Houston - TexMex Utopia!

First of all, I like to give myself a 'free' day and it's usually Friday night when the family goes to Chuy's for Mexican food. There are more nutritional options then the usual Mexican fare. Tortilla soap (usually with chicken), fish tacos with corn tortilla instead of flour tortilla is an option. Sometimes there is actually a 'lite' couple of options.

Don't sweat the one night to indulge. It helps if you go out and walk / jog the afternoon of so you can add to your intake calories!

hfester

You could just decide to indulge and enjoy. Congrats on your anniversary!

If that doesn't work for you, you could go with the fajitas. I get them and ignore the tortilla and load up on salsa and veggies. They might not drown it in oil if you ask them.

MinnieInMaine

Another good option I like is to order a taco salad (with shredded chicken) without the shell. Just be careful of the dressing, toppings and/or sides sides as with any restaurant salad. I'd either go with the dressing on the side or just take little scoops of quac and/or salsa as a way to flavor the bites.

All mexican restaurants are different but you may also get something that's basically sauteed veggies and meat. Usually it comes with rice and beans so just keep your portions of that low.

And you could always share a dish with your Hubs if you both like something.

Or as others have said, don't worry about it and enjoy your splurge. As long as you're not doing it often, a little calorie excess shouldn't hold back your progress much. The worst part of going out to eat is usually the sodium levels. Make sure you drink tons of water today and for the next couple days and that should help even things out.

Mcgrawhaha

yeah, i get chicken fajitas and ask them to use minimal oil. chicken is not much cals, veggies are basically nothing, really your only cals are coming from the oil. without the beans and tortillas, your looking at less than 500 cals for the fajitas. i also like chicken tostada salads, no dressing, no sour cream, cheese on the side, use black beans, and smother it in salsa for the dressing. dont eat the shell.

aakaakaak

If you haven't nailed down the specific mexican restaurant do a quick google search for "Tienda" in your area. They'll usually have more reasonably sized portions and the experience is normally more authentic. Real mexicans don't eat a gallon of refried beans for lunch.

dorthymcconnel

Thank you all. I think this is one meal at least where I'm going to allow myself to enjoy --and drink lots of water as one of you suggested. Time to just relax a little bit and get back on track tonight or tomorrow.