Mexican Food- HELP!

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Sheseeksstrength
Sheseeksstrength Posts: 138 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm going to Chuy's for dinner tomorrow. Its a TEX-MEX place. Any low calorie suggestions?

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  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    Do they have an online menu? If so, I'd start there since the menu might have calories listed.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    I always think fajitas are a good option. Mostly meat & veggies. Tortilla soup is usually pretty decent calorie wise or the grilled chicken salad sounds good.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    Can you go for a run first so that you don't have to worry about the calories as much?

    If I'm eating out I normally do a run on the morning so that I have enough calories to order what I want from the menu.
  • pita7317
    pita7317 Posts: 1,437 Member
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    I just order what I want BUT only eat half of it when I go out for Mexican food.
  • mygnsac
    mygnsac Posts: 13,413 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Never been there, but here's nutritional info for Chuy's on MFP.

    Personally, I would just eat light during the day and not worry too much at dinner. A single splurgy meal should not affect your overall trend.
  • Emily3907
    Emily3907 Posts: 1,461 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Oh man. Chuy's is soooo good! I would probably get fajitas with no tortilla. And try to avoid the chips and salsa.

    But, in all reality a dinner at chuy's, for me, is an occasional treat and I just don't bother counting. ;)
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Love chuy's. I'll do the taco salad with salsa instead of creamy jalapeno or fajitas with no tortillas. Biggest problem is staying away from the margaritas and the chips and creamy jalapeno.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
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    Chuy's doesn't put their nutrition info online, unfortunately. Bad chain, no churro!

    But, there are a number of Chuy's entries in the MFP database. They're probably not too accurate, but maybe in the ballpark.

    @Azexas created a handy guide for going out to eat. Lots of great tips there that apply to any type of restaurant.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10213155/a-guide-to-going-out-to-eat/p1
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    I usually stick with meat/veggie and ask for plain corn tortillas instead of flour or fried. I love Tex-Mex because you can load up on the jalapenos, lime, salsa, and cilantro with such few calories.
  • crosbylee
    crosbylee Posts: 3,454 Member
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    Sheseeksstrength wrote: »
    I'm going to Chuy's for dinner tomorrow. Its a TEX-MEX place. Any low calorie suggestions?

    All I can say is good luck. If you like Mexican food half as much as I do, the best laid plans may fly out the window at the smell of cooking fajita meat. Plan what you can but don't beat yourself up if you don't stick to it. It is hard to keep out of the chip basket, so just keep it out of reach or have them leave it off all together.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Enjoy! My family loves TexMex restaurants. We go a lot. It took me a long time, but somewhere along the line I realized that 3 chips with salsa are every bit as satisfying as eating the whole bowl. More satisfying, in fact, because you don't gorge yourself before your dinner arrives. Drives me crazy when the kids don't eat their dinners because they're too full from chips. I swear they expand in your stomach like those little sponge grow-monster toys.

    Anyway, 3 chips is enough get a good taste of the salsa. It's hard to count more than that if you're having a fun chat with friends (or a margarita) anyway. Log it as a corn tortilla+2g oil. About the margaritas, I'm very picky so I usually only enjoy them at home. You can ask for equal parts lime juice, Cointreau & tequila, but no telling what you'll actually get. I've had waiters out-and-out lie about what is in the margarita. I can taste that agave nectar *&^% a mile away, and it ruins a perfectly good drink. For me. Obviously, other people like that agave *&^% because most places use it. If you like a HFCS margarita, have one, enjoy it, and log it accordingly.

    I agree with ordering what you really like best but moderating the portion. I love grilled chicken on salads and fajitas, though, so I'd be totally un-deprived with that. Some fajitas are pretty oily, so you might not be saving yourself any calories there. Hence, order what you like. !Buen provecho!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    mygnsac wrote: »
    Never been there, but here's nutritional info for Chuy's on MFP.

    Personally, I would just eat light during the day and not worry too much at dinner. A single splurgy meal should not affect your overall trend.

    Ok I have my doubts... 2 tacos for 250 calories? Not happening...makes you wonder where all those people got the nutrition info from.

    OP, I'd ask the waiter for nutrition information in case they have it. But personally I love taco salads but it's typically around 900 calories if you eat the bowl. Tacos are typically around 250 calories for one though, but it's the rice and bean on the side that get the calories up.

    I never trust fajitas because of the oil the stuff is cooked in...but it's an option if you don't mind skipping the tortillas.

    But anyway, I usually look up another Mexican restaurant and find an equivalent in the database (On the Border, Chevy's etc).

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    You know what typically low calories things are, right? Look for stuff like that on the menu.
  • MorganMoreaux
    MorganMoreaux Posts: 691 Member
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    Not the best system, but when I'm confronted with eating out and can't get the nutrition info I enter all the ingredients seperately and guess at the weight (I try to over estimate a little). It's not accurate but it's better than nothing. I hesitate to use generic entries for similar items because I am not certain of the ratio of ingredients (ie 1 taco from some random Mexican restaurant).
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
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    I don't remember the menu because I hate Chuys and never want to eat there, but if it's anything like other Tex-Mex places, you could see if they serve grilled quail.

    I typically order two or three of them, use the offical entry for quail, cooked, edible and add a tablespoon or more of oil and marinade. You can also try asking them not to use oil or butter to lower the overall cal count.
  • krishnap1104
    krishnap1104 Posts: 53 Member
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    I always get the southwestern enchilidas with no cheese. and I never eat the rice or beans. Its around 670 calories.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    mygnsac wrote: »
    Never been there, but here's nutritional info for Chuy's on MFP.

    Personally, I would just eat light during the day and not worry too much at dinner. A single splurgy meal should not affect your overall trend.
    I like this. Enjoy your meal.

  • RobD520
    RobD520 Posts: 420 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    mygnsac wrote: »
    Never been there, but here's nutritional info for Chuy's on MFP.

    Personally, I would just eat light during the day and not worry too much at dinner. A single splurgy meal should not affect your overall trend.

    Ok I have my doubts... 2 tacos for 250 calories? Not happening...makes you wonder where all those people got the nutrition info from.

    OP, I'd ask the waiter for nutrition information in case they have it. But personally I love taco salads but it's typically around 900 calories if you eat the bowl. Tacos are typically around 250 calories for one though, but it's the rice and bean on the side that get the calories up.

    I never trust fajitas because of the oil the stuff is cooked in...but it's an option if you don't mind skipping the tortillas.

    But anyway, I usually look up another Mexican restaurant and find an equivalent in the database (On the Border, Chevy's etc).

    I think 250 for EACH taco is closer to the truth and how I would log it.
  • michaeltermini
    michaeltermini Posts: 17 Member
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    Queenmunchy wrote: »
    I usually stick with meat/veggie and ask for plain corn tortillas instead of flour or fried. I love Tex-Mex because you can load up on the jalapenos, lime, salsa, and cilantro with such few calories.

    I agree concerning the tortillas. Corn is definitively the best choice. I'd also say away from refried beans and go heavy on chicken or shrimp as meat of choice.

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