mexican food

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oklahoma_cowgirl_51
oklahoma_cowgirl_51 Posts: 87
in Food and Nutrition
there is a local mexican restaurant here in town that i just love to go to but it is so hard to estimate calorie intake there... i ordered a salad, with fajita chicken grilled with onions and bell peppers, served over lettuce, with tomatoes, jalapenos and pico de gallo. no cheese, no dressing. and about 12 or 15 tortilla chips with salsa, and very little queso sauce... i didn't feel like it was outrageous or too unhealthy considering it was the only decent thing on the menu... i tried to estimate calories on here, and it wasn't too bad. but do any of you guys have any guesses on how many calories that may have been? and some other options when eating mexican food? thank you!

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  • KarenBorter
    KarenBorter Posts: 1,157 Member
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    My second day here my mom wanted to go to mexican food and I freaked. I know that it's full of calories and sodium. I ordered a salad too ... What I did was write down (literally on a pad) everything in the salad with my guess on how much of everything was in the salad. I didn't finish the entire salad and I came home and entered the stuff into my journal 1 by 1 ... I ate the rest for dinner so it was a full portion ... I think that's the safest way to do it.

    Also stay away from the chips ... those are killer calories.
  • oklahoma_cowgirl_51
    oklahoma_cowgirl_51 Posts: 87
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    i know! it's so hard to stay out of the chips when they put them right in front of you!!!! so easy to eat them! especially when everyone else at the table is! i did count the chips though. i figured i shouldn't totally deprive myself, because i don't eat like that very often at all....
  • greendirl
    greendirl Posts: 4
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    mexican food is beyond evil. i cannot even goto one right now. i looked up what the calories and nutritional info was on a carne asada burrito and almost keeled over!!! no joke.. had el pollo loco instead just two pieces of chicken and the steamed veggies.and two corn tortillas.. never again either. too mucho sodium.. i gained 4lbs back over the last two days and honestly.. it gets tasteless after about a week-subway and a sub of the day 6inch is the only way you know how much is in things and what you can trust yourself with when the temptation is sooo huge to eat like everyone else is....i don't know how jared the subway guy did it.. my tastebuds are numb....
    and im craving meats of anykind even worse than b4-BUT, it filled the belly...sorry thats the best i got here for now:)smiles.
    michelle
  • oklahoma_cowgirl_51
    oklahoma_cowgirl_51 Posts: 87
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    i know mexican food is evil! lol, and it's one of my favorites.... i feel like i'm going to have to learn to avoid this for the most part... and drink a lot of water tomorrow!
  • allie7383
    allie7383 Posts: 865 Member
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    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/beef-taco-salad-with-chunky-tomato-dressing-recipe/index.html

    i love mexican as well, and this sounds delicious. (though i'd use ground turkey since i don't eat beef.) it was on the meal makeovers section, so i'm sure if you really search you can find other such things.
  • sherrilewis
    sherrilewis Posts: 16
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    Seriously, you should just enjoy your mexican food every now and then and don't stress over it. Eat reasonably and don't forbid yourself from foods. Listen to your body and eat till your full remembering what your goals and priorities are. Whether that is to lose weight or to just enjoy good food and friends is up to you. Be reasonable in what you pick out as in don't get the most cheese smothered thing on the menu, but I think what you got is awesome and sounds decent enough. One meal won't kill you unless you gorge yourself which you may find yourself doing if you forbid yourself from eating your favorite foods.
  • KimSchnizleinWECHANGED
    KimSchnizleinWECHANGED Posts: 189
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    My second day here my mom wanted to go to mexican food and I freaked. I know that it's full of calories and sodium. I ordered a salad too ... What I did was write down (literally on a pad) everything in the salad with my guess on how much of everything was in the salad. I didn't finish the entire salad and I came home and entered the stuff into my journal 1 by 1 ... I ate the rest for dinner so it was a full portion ... I think that's the safest way to do it.

    Also stay away from the chips ... those are killer calories.

    That's a great idea!! I had the same problem with Mexican a couple weeks ago. I think I did ok, but your idea would definitely have more accuracy to it.
  • Bermudabarbie
    Bermudabarbie Posts: 568 Member
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    You might want to compare it to the new Wendy's Premium Baja Salad. Wendy's has a huge salad that I believe is about 600 or 700 calories complete.
  • lpkitty
    lpkitty Posts: 45
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    I always get something with chicken, like fajitas or chicken carnitas. Skip the cheese, sour cream and the rice. Get black beans instead of refried and corn instead of flour tortillas. Try to limit the tortilla chips and only eat half the entree, leftovers make a tasty lunch at work the next day. Mexican is a weakness of mine, I could eat it every day. Also, I try not to worry too much about it when I'm eating because that takes away the enjoyment, instead I go home and do extra exercise to make up for it.
  • oklahoma_cowgirl_51
    oklahoma_cowgirl_51 Posts: 87
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    thank you all for your great advice! i was feeling pretty guilty about going and eating mexican last night, and yall made me feel a lot better!
  • itisnot_me
    itisnot_me Posts: 11
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    i just get bean and cheese burritos. they are filling and only around 300 calories

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