Mexican restaurants

It sort of depends on the place. Sometimes you can order ala carte and sometimes you can't. If it's a chain restaurant there's usually somewhere online with calorie counts.

A good choice is generally grilled chicken and vegetables. Sometimes they serve exactly that, but fajitas are nearly the same thing with the addition of tortillas. Only use one tortilla because they can add to calorie count quickly without feeling satisfying. Avoid cheese, guacamole, creams, and sauces because that adds extra calories. Avoid items that are sauteed because that means cooked in oil/fat. Salsa has very little calories, but adds flavor.

Water.

JanetYellen wrote: »

Avoid re-fried beans.
A place I heard of mixes them with LARD to make them taste good.
* Restaurants do not give a **** about your health.

Don't be afraid of fats! Eating fat does not make you fat.

But I do agree that restaurants do not give 2 ****s about your health

I avoid them because I can make tasty things at home for less calories. But if I go, I like the salads, I just ask for salsa for dressing.

Also, skip the free chips and salsa. That can easily be 100s of calories.

Alternately, get nothing but free chips and salsa. And water. Tip well.

lucys1225 wrote: »

JanetYellen wrote: »

Avoid re-fried beans.
A place I heard of mixes them with LARD to make them taste good.
* Restaurants do not give a **** about your health.

That's how they are traditionally made...

I usually get some sort of fajita without tortillas, rice, beans or any cheese,sauce or cream, a side of roasted vegetables and mix it all together with salsa.

So basically get grilled chicken with peppers and onions. Live a little and cut back on your other meals for the day. I do agree with cutting out the tortilla but get the guac and cheese.

I am going to one tomorrow. I plan on getting a taco salad with no beans, sour cream or guac. Not eating shell. Maybe a few chips and salsa before hand.

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JoRocka wrote: »

JanetYellen wrote: »

Avoid re-fried beans.
A place I heard of mixes them with LARD to make them taste good.
* Restaurants do not give a **** about your health.

but lard is delicious. it's not bad for you. just gotta be careful with calories.

I typically go with fajitas and skip the tortillas- or get the fajita in the taco bowl and don't eat the bowl.

Those bowls, man. Some of them are not great, but the nice fried ones... gosh. Probably 300 calories just for the bowl but so tasty!

nosajjao wrote: »

Sometimes you can have your cake, but not eat it. Try making something Mexican at home, you won't find any health options at a Mexican restaurant.

Seriously... that's why I don't go to Mexican restaurants anymore. I can make that Americanized version of Mexican food at home easily (especially if I'm going to end up eating fajitas or a salad anyway), and I have complete control of the calories.

JanetYellen wrote: »

Avoid re-fried beans.
A place I heard of mixes them with LARD to make them taste good.
* Restaurants do not give a **** about your health.

A lot of Mexican food is made with lard. That's the traditional way to make flour tortillas and biscochitos, as well as beans and many many more dishes.

I agree with the suggestion to get fajitas. You can skip the tortillas since those tend to be fairly high calorie, as is the guacamole, cheese, and sour cream if those come on the side.

If you want to eat tortilla chips, salsa will be much lower calorie than guacamole or queso. Also, skip the margaritas

Of course now I want fajitas and margaritas....

Tydeclare44 wrote: »

JanetYellen wrote: »

Avoid re-fried beans.
A place I heard of mixes them with LARD to make them taste good.
* Restaurants do not give a **** about your health.

Don't be afraid of fats! Eating fat does not make you fat.

But I do agree that restaurants do not give 2 ****s about your health

As long as they aren't feeding you spoiled food or rat poison, it's not their responsibility. They are supposed to make good tasting food and make money.

The best way to keep things reasonable at a restaurant of any type is to watch your portion size. Don't eat it all, take half home, etc.

nicsflyingcircus wrote: »

I get steak fajitas, skip the beans, rice and tortillas but keep the cheese, sour cream and guacamole.

This is what I do also

annaskiski wrote: »

Second the carne asada, or some enchiladas!! Nom, Nom

And I would never skip the rice and beans........

Just watch your portions!

Let's be fair... One cup of beans and one cup of rice would pretty much be enough calories for a whole meal for most people with a 1600 calories diet. And I don't think it's such a crazy unreasonable portion either... But I suppose they could have one tablespoon of each and still have the calories for something else... but at some point 'watching your portions' is just ridiculous and you're just better off skipping it altogether, lol.

I only eat out at lunch nowadays, that way I can have 1400 calories if I want to and skip dinner.. because I have no interest of spending money eating out if I'm going to eat something I could make at home easily for 1) less money, 2) less calories.

So bottom line... make room for it and enjoy what you want.

annaskiski wrote: »

I don't know where you're getting your numbers...

From several sites I checked:
Sides
If you are ordering a “meal” you will probably have the option of several sides. Typical side items may include:
1 cup Mexican Rice 160-210 calories
½ cup refried beans 140 calories

That's extremely optimistic, lol. Even then, it's still 300 calories of sides. Even if your chicken fajitas are only 350 calories, that makes your meal 650 calories. I can fit that easily, mind you, but I'm sure most of the '1200 calories' MFPers can't.

amyrebeccah wrote: »

People really have been scared blind of LARD. It's kind of funny given how many of those people would happily snack on bacon and/or use bacon grease in cooking. As several people have pointed out above, lard is traditional for use in refrieds, tortillas, and plenty of other yummy Mexican foods. (get ready to have your mind blown--it's also often used in super-flaky pie crusts and biscuits).

OP, I would also consider albondigas soup, ceviche, and of course, portioning is king. I would rather have a single yummy taco in a good tortilla and a big salad, myself. I also will get a lunch portion (even if it's dinnertime) and split it in half, taking the other half home.

Lard is the bomb. Having said that, most restaurants that make homemade tortillas do not skimp on the lard at all, which makes tortillas a bad choice. I worked in a mexican restaurant for years and if we ran out of the homemade we could pull the sysco out of the back... diners always complained that they were stale, dry or hard. We'd laugh our *kitten* off in the back kitchen- they weren't stale, they just didn't have 2 tablespoons of lard in the dough + what we put on the press!