Mexican Restaurant Hacks

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  • byoung8433
    byoung8433 Posts: 27 Member
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    AlisonH729 wrote: »
    When you say Mexican restaurant are we talking a chain restaurant like Chevy's or One the Border? Or are we talking authentic/family owned? Because if that's the case I refuse to restrain myself.

    Not a chain
  • byoung8433
    byoung8433 Posts: 27 Member
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    Thanks everyone this insight is great!
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    1. veggie or chick en fajitas NO CHEESE, and EXTRA LETTUCE instead of the rice and beans;
    2. I order ONE margarita (I love them so!) and an extra shot of tequila on the side, which I dump into the margarita. Twice the happy; half the mixer calories.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    edited September 2016
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    ^^ Agree

    My favorite place right now serves is a hole-in-the-wall taco joint. You can get things like veal brain, cow cheek, tongue and tripe if you want (and I have done the lingua and tripa), but I usually get their pollo adobado with sauteed nopales and onion. No cheese, no guac, though you can pay extra for it if you want. Yum.

    And then there's their completely non-traditional tres leches cake. Totally worth it every now and again.
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    edited September 2016
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    My best advice is to order ala carte so you're not tempted to eat the rice and beans. I always order soft chicken tacos with corn tortillas. Ask if they double up on the tortillas, and if so you can get half as many as you're hungry for and just and split up the protein. Onion, salsa, and cilantro are low in calories and lots of flavor.

    If I have the calories and they have good chips (warm and not too greasy) that are worth the calories I will eat 5 chips with some salsa, but some days that just feels like a tease to me so I'd rather skip it than feel deprived.

    + to the skinny margarita idea if they offer one.
  • AlisonH729
    AlisonH729 Posts: 558 Member
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    byoung8433 wrote: »
    AlisonH729 wrote: »
    When you say Mexican restaurant are we talking a chain restaurant like Chevy's or One the Border? Or are we talking authentic/family owned? Because if that's the case I refuse to restrain myself.

    Not a chain

    Mmm. You should have plenty of options then.


    You see I, I happen to be a sucker for chimichangas. :smile:
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
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    I usually order a spinach enchilada, a shrimp enchilada, and a Corona Light. The enchiladas have very little cheese sprinkled on top, none in the filling, and grilled vegetables. While I'm waiting, I enjoy a FEW tortilla chips and salsa (all home made at our local Mexican restaurant). Normally 500-600 calories, as best as I can estimate.
  • jadorade91
    jadorade91 Posts: 119 Member
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    Oh my god this is making me so hungry. I love the idea of taking 3-5 chips and breaking them into fourths...I couldn't give up chips and salsa cold turkey lol...But fajitas are DELICIOUS--good call on the oil-free request though. I hadn't thought about how much they cook with it.
  • wishfuljune
    wishfuljune Posts: 2,571 Member
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    I'm glad I came across this thread, because my boyfriend really wants to try a new brunch place tomorrow and I already have browsed their menu. This was my method:

    1. I looked at the menu online and tried to find something that didn't seem too heavy/big (I settled on huevos rancheros for brunch)
    2. Looked at the drinks and see if I could squeeze in a cocktail, and if so, could I modify it (i.e., no agave, or diet soda water)
    3. I then entered in everything into MFP to the best of my knowledge (it's a small restaurant, no chain) and picked everything they listed was in my item and entered into MFP. I purposely over-estimated my calories just to give myself some buffer room.
  • b3achy
    b3achy Posts: 2,007 Member
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    This is a great list of recommendations. Mexican is one of my weaknesses, and I went to a new place last weekend and I think my dinner was about 1200 calories, so you don't necessarily want to take recommendations from me. I will say I had about 700+ calories from paddleboarding and other cardio earlier, so the full 1200 was less traumatic than if I hadn't worked out, so it was only 500 or so net calories that day.

    I honestly hadn't considered the benefits of fajitas, so will have to try that next time I go (I'm a sucker for a good enchilada and rice and beans). I usually count my chips to keep it at a typical serving of around 7 or so, but I was ravenous, so I blew a lot of calories there and had to estimate a double serving (which was like 300 of the 1200 calories).

    I did do a Corona Light instead of a Margarita since it's only 95 calories, but I like the tip to either order a skinny Margarita or order one Margarita with a tequilla shot on the side. Will have to remember that for next time.
  • Aquawave
    Aquawave Posts: 260 Member
    edited September 2016
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    Fajitas, with shrimp, mexican pork sausage, beef, no chips, no beans, no wrappers. Water or unsweetened ice tea. Awe, I should not have read this discussion, now I want some!
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    byoung8433 wrote: »
    Mexican Restaurant Hacks

    Pretend to go to the restroom and then sneak out the back door.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
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    Dang it, now I want tacos
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Ceviche is best hack in my opinion. It can be really low calorie. And it's delicious/leaves room for a drink.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,052 Member
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    OP, how did it go? what did you have and was it fun? (^^Ceviche.... great suggestion!)
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
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    there is no force on earth that can stop the mass consumption of margaritas, chips/salsa/guac/bean dip, tamales rice and beans and tacos and whatever else i can shove in.....
    i am no help in this situation.
  • cass0314
    cass0314 Posts: 39 Member
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    I know OP has already had her meal out but I've really enjoyed reading the recommendations here! I went to get Mexican food with my boyfriend tonight (he's doing Keto while I'm focusing on CICO). I asked the hostess who seated us to make sure chips weren't brought to the table and she was happy to oblige. I ordered the shrimp fajitas and asked them not to bring the tortillas, rice & beans, or the salad (just shredded lettuce with a huge blob of sour cream on top at this place-even without the sour cream there's no nutritional value so I just skip it). They still brought salsa for our fajitas and I ordered my go-to low calorie drink: vodka soda. It sounds bland, but I love to squeeze a lime or two in there and enjoy the light, crisp taste. I counted 17 medium sized shrimp on my plate before I dug in and as I ate I did a little googling and determined it came out to approximately 8oz and I logged it as such. I eat stir fried peppers and onions damn near daily so I just used an old entry, adjusted the approximate portion, and left with a full belly and a small buzz for just under 700 calories. ;) I wasn't driving!
  • Anvil_Head
    Anvil_Head Posts: 251 Member
    edited October 2016
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    My favorite Mexican restaurant has a carne asada platter which I order often. It's just carne asada and a salad, with some grilled onions and roasted jalapeño peppers as a garnish for the meat. Since carne asada is made from skirt steak or flank steak, it's a very lean cut and low in calories as compared to other (fattier/more tender) cuts of beef.

    As arditarose mentioned, ceviche is usually a very good choice too.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Anvil_Head wrote: »
    My favorite Mexican restaurant has a carne asada platter which I order often. It's just carne asada and a salad, with some grilled onions and roasted jalapeño peppers as a garnish for the meat. Since carne asada is made from skirt steak or flank steak, it's a very lean cut and low in calories as compared to other (fattier/more tender) cuts of beef.

    As arditarose mentioned, ceviche is usually a very good choice too.

    When you order that, does it seem like there is a good amount of oil used for the veg or no? How many oz do you usually guess the the steak to be. Actually, can you use tell me what you think the calorie count is when you order it? I usually get the same, but they always give me rice and I can't help but stuff all the carbs into my face.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
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    One of the big pitfalls is the chips. The salsa is fine but definitely avoid the queso. What I do is break the chips into small pieces and try to eat them slowly while piling on the salsa. I get all the flavor but eat far fewer calories this way. After a few chips, if the food hasn't shown up yet, I will make sure the chips are out of reach. If I don't, one will magically find it's way into my hand.

    As for the rest, go with fajitas, grilled chicken or fish, or something similar and avoid anything covered with cheese or any sauce other than salsa. One thing to watch for as far as sides is that many places add a lot of lard to the refried beans.

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