Mexican food?

I get chicken or beef fajitas, so for you, the vegetable fajitas or fish tacos would likely be the best choice IMO.

yep, veggie fajitas are the way to go. and if you can skip the tortillas you'll be golden!

^ good point. if shrimp are allowed, lots of places do shrimp fajitas.

I agree with veggie fajitas - ask for light oil. I almost always get chicken and eat the meat and veggies and some of the beans that come on the side - but no tortillas/sour cream, etc. Last time I went, I had a delicious shrimp dish - it was marinated and grilled and came with a salad.

DeguelloTex wrote: »

theawill519 wrote: »

I have some chips and salsa, and then for my meal, I have 2 hard shell chicken tacos.

Stay away from anything fried, smothered in sauce, or covered in cheese dip.

And remember that Mexican food is packed with sodium, so you may see some water retention the next day.

You know why hard-shell taco shells are hard, right?

*Resisting the urge to make a dirty joke*

I usually get fajitas too because then I can control the toppings. But dang those chips & salsa....

sweetiepie781 wrote: »

Thanks everyone yes was thinking the vegetable fajitas was just wondering about the oil and since it is my treat day and will probably have the tortillas but limit myself to two:) anyone know if corn tortillas are better than the flour ones that come with it ?

"Better" - well they tend to be lower-cal. So if that's "better" then yeah.

DeguelloTex wrote: »

theawill519 wrote: »

I have some chips and salsa, and then for my meal, I have 2 hard shell chicken tacos.

Stay away from anything fried, smothered in sauce, or covered in cheese dip.

And remember that Mexican food is packed with sodium, so you may see some water retention the next day.

You know why hard-shell taco shells are hard, right?

Yes, I do. No need to be patronizing. They're better for you than flour tortillas.

sweetiepie781 wrote: »

Thanks everyone yes was thinking the vegetable fajitas was just wondering about the oil and since it is my treat day and will probably have the tortillas but limit myself to two:) anyone know if corn tortillas are better than the flour ones that come with it ?

Better tasting? Definitely.

Usually flour holds together better for fajitas and the difference probably isn't worth worrying about at that point.

ceoverturf wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

theawill519 wrote: »

I have some chips and salsa, and then for my meal, I have 2 hard shell chicken tacos.

Stay away from anything fried, smothered in sauce, or covered in cheese dip.

And remember that Mexican food is packed with sodium, so you may see some water retention the next day.

You know why hard-shell taco shells are hard, right?

*Resisting the urge to make a dirty joke*

I usually get fajitas too because then I can control the toppings. But dang those chips & salsa....

Depending on the server, our Tex-Mex place either leaves the pitcher with salsa in it or brings chip-bowls full of salsa rather than the smaller salsa bowls. They get tipped pretty well.

Eating Mexican food is a challenge. Eating Mexican food with friends is even bigger challenge because whatever you plan to do, someone else will likely will get the chips and salsa or a huge margarita and offer me some and that is torture to me.

But I love Mexican food and I refuse to live my life without it so I've developed a few strategies.

I'm not sure what you mean by cheat meal or what you allow yourself, but my best advice to you no matter what you decide to eat is to pre-log whatever you are likely to eat OR be tempted by. That is a good reality check. Chips, ugh. Margaritas, double ugh. Any kind of beans and rice, ugh. It adds up quick, but if you know ahead of time a half cup of this is worth this much and half cup of that is worth that much, you will be much less tempted to put those items on your plate.

I avoid those extra unwanted calories by always ordering alacarte so they won't add beans and rice and sour cream that I will tempted by. I usually grilled soft tacos (I eat chicken, but you can do fish, shrimp, or veggies usually) and if they give you two corn tortillas per taco, you can get away with eating just one, but corn tortillas are not too bad, IMO.

Another pretty good option at some restaurants is soup. Some places have pozole or another type of homemade soup. Mexican chicken soup with lime is the best, but I know you don't eat chicken. Just another idea.

Good luck!

I live on Mexican take out! I get either: steak tacos with cheese and pico de gallo on corn tortillas or grilled fish tacos with purple cabbage slaw, no cheese, on corn tortillas. I split the beans and rice in half and take it to work the next day with the extra taco. I've never gone over 600 calories doing this. Usually they use skirt steak for the tacos and that's only 187cal per 3oz. Not bad, so don't be weary to get that instead of chicken.

Skip all the extra stuff like gauc and chips and order that margarita!

As someone who use to work for a large chain Mexican restaurant, they use ladles to put oil on the grill for cooking the fajita vegetables. So yeah, not too sure I'd count fajitas as being healthy there. You don't have to order a menu number at most places, when asked nicely they would be happy to grill chicken, fish, shrimp, beef etc. for you and steam or boil some vegetables. Just an idea.

theawill519 wrote: »

UltimateRBF wrote: »

theawill519 wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

theawill519 wrote: »

I have some chips and salsa, and then for my meal, I have 2 hard shell chicken tacos.

Stay away from anything fried, smothered in sauce, or covered in cheese dip.

And remember that Mexican food is packed with sodium, so you may see some water retention the next day.

You know why hard-shell taco shells are hard, right?

Yes, I do. No need to be patronizing. They're better for you than flour tortillas.

I don't get it. How are they better for you?

Less cals, less carbs, way less sodium. That makes them better, just my opinion

Edited to add this lovely infographic: http://www.prevention.com/content/which-healthier-corn-tortillas-vs-flour-tortillas

Isn't that comparing unfried corn tortillas to flour tortillas? A hard shell taco shell would have different stats, particularly for fat. According to a search I just did, a single hard shell taco shell has 120 calories and 6 grams of fat -- way different than the stats presented in your infographic.

theawill519 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

theawill519 wrote: »

UltimateRBF wrote: »

theawill519 wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

theawill519 wrote: »

I have some chips and salsa, and then for my meal, I have 2 hard shell chicken tacos.

Stay away from anything fried, smothered in sauce, or covered in cheese dip.

And remember that Mexican food is packed with sodium, so you may see some water retention the next day.

You know why hard-shell taco shells are hard, right?

Yes, I do. No need to be patronizing. They're better for you than flour tortillas.

I don't get it. How are they better for you?

Less cals, less carbs, way less sodium. That makes them better, just my opinion

Edited to add this lovely infographic: http://www.prevention.com/content/which-healthier-corn-tortillas-vs-flour-tortillas

Isn't that comparing unfried corn tortillas to flour tortillas? A hard shell taco shell would have different stats, particularly for fat. According to a search I just did, a single hard shell taco shell has 120 calories and 6 grams of fat -- way different than the stats presented in your infographic.

Maybe, I've just always heard that corn tortillas were the better option. Also, I was originally just sharing what I order when I eat at a Mexican restaurant. I'm definitely not an expert on flour vs corn tortillas.

I think the people telling you that are comparing both types unfried. That said, I think you can fit any type of tortilla (flour, corn, fried) into a weight loss plan as long as you account for the calories. Just be aware that a fried corn shell is going to have more fat than an unfried one and it isn't necessarily a better choice than an unfried flour tortilla (again, depends on what your plan is and what you are eating it with). If you wanted some protein, iron, and calcium, the flour may be a better choice -- it's all about what you're eating them with and the rest of your meals for the day.

Much of the food that has been discussed isn't even Mexican cuisine; it's Southwestern aka. Tex-Mex.

Some examples of fine-dining style authentic Mexican cuisine, which would hardly be considered cheat meals...

















https://us.v-cdn.net/5021879/uploads/editor/6p/cq16yjguy1uk.png



As you can see, full of fresh organic produce, grilled meats, braised meats, seafood, flavorful low-calorie sauces, and overall the dishes are inherently "low-carb" aside from rice and tortillas.

Try not to think of "Mexican food" as one lumped category; and certainly don't lump it with Tex-Mex. There are several Mexican states where the food is nothing alike from its neighboring state. A dish from Oaxaca will be dramatically different than a dish from the Yucatan or Baja.