Mexican restaurant nutrition info

MBrothers22
MBrothers22 Posts: 323 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So the past week has been an onslaught on my "diet". My mother came to visit (mine, my mom's and my sisters birthdays are all within a week) and it's been nothing but eating out. Besides my birthday I've been able to stay under maintenance and I'm not worried about that really but tonight is my sisters birthday dinner and it's going to be Mexican food.

I'd like to be able to input something regardless if I go way over, which again, isn't going to bother me much because I've been good all week. I can't find anything reliable for mexican food nutrition.

I imagine dinner will consist of chips and salsa, probably a massive chicken burrito (cheese, no sour cream), rice and beans. I know it'll be over 1000 calories easily but I've been able to plan for that a couple times already.
But does anyone know of a typical mexican restaurant that has nutrition info available?

Replies

  • CitizenXVIII
    CitizenXVIII Posts: 117 Member
    So, you don't have a say in the restaurant, which is understandable, but why the 'massive chicken burrito'? Hardly any Mexican restaurants that I've seen have nutrition info, nor would you want to see it.

    My .02, skip the chips & salsa and order a couple of tacos. Skip the rice & beans as well.
  • MBrothers22
    MBrothers22 Posts: 323 Member
    Well I'm going to get whatever I want because I still managed to lose at my normal pace this week while still going out all the time with my family.
    I'm not concerned TOO much with my calories for today, I just want to input the most accurate thing I can.
  • CitizenXVIII
    CitizenXVIII Posts: 117 Member
    Probably 1300-1500 calories. The burrito, rice & beans should be near 1000. Chips depend on how many you eat, but I would expect 300-500.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    So the past week has been an onslaught on my "diet". My mother came to visit (mine, my mom's and my sisters birthdays are all within a week) and it's been nothing but eating out. Besides my birthday I've been able to stay under maintenance and I'm not worried about that really but tonight is my sisters birthday dinner and it's going to be Mexican food.

    I'd like to be able to input something regardless if I go way over, which again, isn't going to bother me much because I've been good all week. I can't find anything reliable for mexican food nutrition.

    I imagine dinner will consist of chips and salsa, probably a massive chicken burrito (cheese, no sour cream), rice and beans. I know it'll be over 1000 calories easily but I've been able to plan for that a couple times already.
    But does anyone know of a typical mexican restaurant that has nutrition info available?
    Easy fix.
    Fast until the meal.

    Eat and enjoy.

    Decent chance you still stay under. Win Win.
  • sw33tp3a11
    sw33tp3a11 Posts: 4,646 Member
    That's a hard one. Mexican restaurants don't usually care about nutritional values. What I usually do is look at what they put inside the burrito and kinda log it in my diary one ingredient at a time. You really have to guess. Skip the sour cream/ chips
  • djprice_69
    djprice_69 Posts: 115 Member
    Those chips & salsa will always get you. I'm assuming a typical visit to a Mexican restaurant for me will be 1200 calories at a bare minimum. As a member of the "Clean Plate Club", 1500 calories is probably more accurate. So long as you know how well you track everything else & don't mind going over (way over) for one day, more power to you. Personally, I don't do well with a hit like that. I think in terms of exercise - and it would take me hours of vigorous exercise to burn off that one excessive meal.
  • Stlarenas
    Stlarenas Posts: 90 Member
    Nutrition info is out there for a lot of the Mexican chains. Pick one (Chili's, El Pollo Loco, Qdoba, On the Border etc) and google their nutritional info. It won't be exact...but it will give you a good idea.

    Just make sure you don't pick any of the noted lighter or low-cal options. You likely won't have those at a small place
  • rondaj05
    rondaj05 Posts: 497 Member
    That's a hard one. Mexican restaurants don't usually care about nutritional values. What I usually do is look at what they put inside the burrito and kinda log it in my diary one ingredient at a time. You really have to guess. Skip the sour cream/ chips

    That's what I do when I can't find nutrition info.
  • mish26
    mish26 Posts: 60 Member
    That's a hard one. Mexican restaurants don't usually care about nutritional values. What I usually do is look at what they put inside the burrito and kinda log it in my diary one ingredient at a time. You really have to guess. Skip the sour cream/ chips

    This is what I do. Log what I think the ingredients are.

    Also, I find it helpful to ask for a to go box when my meal comes. Put half in the box. I don't miss the other half and still feel like I had a treat and cleaned my plate. If I tell myself I'll only eat half but don't put it in a box right away I find myself continuing to take "one more bite" while I chat with people.
  • mediamogulsteve
    mediamogulsteve Posts: 115 Member
    When we have Mexican food, I try to find comparable items from On The Border or other chain restaurants. It's approximate anyway. Smaller, mom-and-pop places (my preferred choice) won't have nutritional info. You could always build a recipe or my food if you're good at approximating amounts of ingredients.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I always just grab a reasonably high estimate from a generic Mexican restaurant entry in the database and hope for the best.
    For this reason, I only go out for Mexican about once a month.

    Sometimes it's after a nice hike or bike ride and I go for various enchiladas and/or a taco with a bit of guacamole and a few chips. Other times I order something with mostly meat and veggies and leave 2/3 of the rice and/or beans on my plate.

    A lot of people go for fajitas and eat less or none of the accompanying tortillas. I prefer to steer completely clear of the chips & salsa because I don't really LOVE them. I also skip the margarita these days.

    There is a great place near me that does something they call Emely Special (no idea if that's specific to them or something well known) it has a thin layer of rice, some queso, and then a ton of seasoned sautéed chicken and steamed broccoli, cauliflower & carrots. It is perfect to me because I still get the yummy gooey cheesy rice but on top is reasonable, high protein and nutritious food!
  • kjm_723
    kjm_723 Posts: 66 Member
    Don Pablo's actually has their nutrition info listed in the menu. I wish I lived near one, it would be my go to Mexican place for that reason alone.
  • sargessexyone
    sargessexyone Posts: 494 Member
    When we have Mexican food, I try to find comparable items from On The Border or other chain restaurants. It's approximate anyway. Smaller, mom-and-pop places (my preferred choice) won't have nutritional info. You could always build a recipe or my food if you're good at approximating amounts of ingredients.

    This is what I do especially if you're not worried to much about going over.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    The rice and beans have an insane amount of calories. I was pissed when I discovered this.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    I tend to use the generic "Mexican Restaurant" entries in the database. I know it's probably not entirely accurate, but I haven't had a problem doing it, so I don't plan on changing. Last time I had Mexican food, I ate half of the chips and salsa (I was there with my husband only) and an order of 4 chicken taquitos with rice and beans. I counted it as a little over 1000 calories, I believe, and it fit into my weekly goals. I still lost weight that next week, so it worked out fine.

    If I had to skip chips and salsa and order "a couple of tacos" with no rice and beans, I'd rather stay home. If I'm going out to a restaurant, I'm ordering what I want. It almost always works into my weekly goal but, if not, it's not the end of the world. I don't eat out every day, so who cares?
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Nutrition info is out there for a lot of the Mexican chains. Pick one (Chili's, El Pollo Loco, Qdoba, On the Border etc) and google their nutritional info. It won't be exact...but it will give you a good idea.

    Just make sure you don't pick any of the noted lighter or low-cal options. You likely won't have those at a small place

    ...since when is Chili's a "Mexican chain"?
  • Stlarenas
    Stlarenas Posts: 90 Member
    Nutrition info is out there for a lot of the Mexican chains. Pick one (Chili's, El Pollo Loco, Qdoba, On the Border etc) and google their nutritional info. It won't be exact...but it will give you a good idea.

    Just make sure you don't pick any of the noted lighter or low-cal options. You likely won't have those at a small place

    ...since when is Chili's a "Mexican chain"?

    Well they aren't really....but they have quite a bit of Mexican items on their menu. Fajitas, enchiladas, rice and beans etc.
  • gentlebreeze2
    gentlebreeze2 Posts: 450 Member
    I understand you're not that concerned about calories, but here's something you might consider. I love Mexican, and I don't want to make consessions either. So I get whatever I want, and visually divide it in half and only eat half. I take the rest home for another meal... so I get to enjoy it twice.
  • beccadaniixox
    beccadaniixox Posts: 542 Member
    Well I'm going to get whatever I want because I still managed to lose at my normal pace this week while still going out all the time with my family.
    I'm not concerned TOO much with my calories for today, I just want to input the most accurate thing I can.

    I like you!! You eat that burrito!!

    How fresh is the place? What's in a burrito?
    Could always use the 'build your own' calculator on the Chipolte website! :)

    ETA:
    http://www.chipotle.com/en-us/menu/nutrition_calculator/nutrition_calculator.aspx
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I tend to use the generic "Mexican Restaurant" entries in the database. I know it's probably not entirely accurate, but I haven't had a problem doing it, so I don't plan on changing. Last time I had Mexican food, I ate half of the chips and salsa (I was there with my husband only) and an order of 4 chicken taquitos with rice and beans. I counted it as a little over 1000 calories, I believe, and it fit into my weekly goals. I still lost weight that next week, so it worked out fine.

    If I had to skip chips and salsa and order "a couple of tacos" with no rice and beans, I'd rather stay home. If I'm going out to a restaurant, I'm ordering what I want. It almost always works into my weekly goal but, if not, it's not the end of the world. I don't eat out every day, so who cares?

    Even though I skip the chips & salsa, I like this attitude and tend to agree with it...for example I had the best lunch the other day at a Vietnamese place...banh mi, squid salad, and delicious boba tea. I could have had squid salad and a nice cup of green tea. But no. I wanna LIVE :-)

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