Mexican food

Klmom123
Klmom123 Posts: 91 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What is the lowest calorie / best option at a Mexican restaurant?
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Replies

  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    Taco salad not in a shell.
  • KickboxFanatic
    KickboxFanatic Posts: 184 Member
    ^^^ Without cheese, sour cream, guac or avocado.

    Or you can order the chicken and/or shrimp fajitas and just eat the meat and veggies (no wraps, cheese, sour cream etc).
  • lifeandleaves
    lifeandleaves Posts: 97 Member
    Veggie fajitas w salsa & guac (just don't overdo the guac!). Skip the cheese/sour cream and limit the number of tortillas you consume sensibly.

    Obviously without tortillas or guac is fewer calories, but I couldn't limit myself to that bc dining out is a treat in my world and something to enjoy sensibly! (Broke student, so not many restaurant trips here!)
  • TheRambler
    TheRambler Posts: 387 Member
    Avocado is so good for you. Cut somewhere else.

    Shrimp fajita bowl. Pat down the fajita mix as it's drenched with oil. Guac and salsa. Lay off table chips. Drink water with lemon.

    Great protein , fats and nutrients.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    Fajitas are always my go-to... I can build them how I want based on what sounds good and my calorie/macro needs for the day.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    It's going to vary by restaurant but any Mexican meal can be healthy and fit in your calorie allowance if you eat a reasonable portion. The same things that are higher calorie at home are higher calorie in a restaurant.

    Fajitas are usually my go to because they don't include cheese or sour cream and I can skip the tortilla in favor of chips and salsa. Chips and salsa followed by grilled meat and vegetables. That's a well balanced meal.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,983 Member
    If you don't want to skip the tortillas completely, get corn instead of flour. They tend to be far less calories.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    Most Mexican restaurants have a grilled chicken entree in some type of red sauce with rice. I would order this along with guacamole salad (share the guac if you are concerned about the calories). You can also ask them to add some extra veggies like zucchini, squash and mushrooms. If you are counting calories, be mindful of how many chips you eat, but load up on the salsa!
  • lucys1225
    lucys1225 Posts: 597 Member
    I usually get fajitas with no rice, tortillas or beans with a side of roasted vegetables.
  • Tomkat8403
    Tomkat8403 Posts: 18 Member
    I eat a lot of Mexican food. I usually have chicken fajitas (Add zucchini and mushrooms) with corn tortillas, black beans, salsa and avacado. And limit the chips - that's a calorie buster.

    One big thing to remember about most Mexican restaurants - GUAC at a Mexican restaurant (the kind that comes on top of everything you order) is actually a guacamole DIP meaning it's mixed with something like sour cream. If you want to have guacamole, look for the "made to order" option on the menu, or just ask for avacaod slices instead.
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    I will run for Tacos! I can and do many times eat "mexican" 3 times a day - a good salsa on my eggs with some homemade guac (avocado/lime/salt); a bean/cheese taco for lunch (corn tortilla) and home baked fajitas for supper. Salsa/chips is my go to snack - count/weigh those puppies out and crunch away! A super tasty good cheese is a must! A little bit goes a lot farther than other cheeses. Or no cheese most of the time. I concentrate my calories on the protein/veggie part of Mexican or any other kind of foods with great spices - hotter the better.
    When we go out for Mexican (most Friday nights) - I plan for that. A good "skinny" margarita also makes the day much better!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    If you don't want to skip the tortillas completely, get corn instead of flour. They tend to be far less calories.

    Interesting. I wonder why. More fat used in flour tortillas?
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    Corn tortillas - usually because they are smaller and made with corn instead of refined white flour. Which is fine if you wish to use calories on that. I have always like corn tortillas better anyway. Depending on the maker, the corn tortillas I get are 2 tortillas = 100 calories. Have tried the "skinny" ones - and nope, like eating cardboard.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    GYATagain wrote: »
    Corn tortillas - usually because they are smaller and made with corn instead of refined white flour. Which is fine if you wish to use calories on that. I have always like corn tortillas better anyway. Depending on the maker, the corn tortillas I get are 2 tortillas = 100 calories. Have tried the "skinny" ones - and nope, like eating cardboard.

    I don't understand. Processing doesn't create calories. Whether wheat or corn they are both primarily fat free carbohydrate rich grains and both must be ground to make a tortilla. Calories should be similar.

    If one has "far less calories" as suggested above it would seem one probably has more fat added or as you suggest, one is simply smaller since less food = less calories.
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
    I believe there is more fat in flour tortillas. Also, for whatever reason, I believe they tend to be larger than the little corn tortillas used for tacos and fajitas. There is also this prevailing logic (among paleo and keto and low carb, I assume) that corn is better than processed, enriched flour. I'm not saying it's logical or correct, just passing it along.
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    edited March 2017
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    If you don't want to skip the tortillas completely, get corn instead of flour. They tend to be far less calories.

    Interesting. I wonder why. More fat used in flour tortillas?
    Yep. There is no fat in a traditional corn tortilla, just corn treated with lime, water, and salt. Also, corn tortillas tend to be smaller than flour tortillas.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    The real killer is the chips and salsa. I can put a 500 calorie dent in the day before my meal even shows up without even trying.

    Chicken mole is another good option. It's just chicken and savory sauce.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    My choice at a Tex-Mex joint is the shrimp salad with the dressing on the side. I'm able to limit my intake of tortilla chips to exactly 5, but I know that's a rare talent.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,983 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    GYATagain wrote: »
    Corn tortillas - usually because they are smaller and made with corn instead of refined white flour. Which is fine if you wish to use calories on that. I have always like corn tortillas better anyway. Depending on the maker, the corn tortillas I get are 2 tortillas = 100 calories. Have tried the "skinny" ones - and nope, like eating cardboard.

    I don't understand. Processing doesn't create calories. Whether wheat or corn they are both primarily fat free carbohydrate rich grains and both must be ground to make a tortilla. Calories should be similar.

    If one has "far less calories" as suggested above it would seem one probably has more fat added or as you suggest, one is simply smaller since less food = less calories.

    The size is part of it, but looking at the nutritional info from a brand name (I looked at Mission), the corn tortilla are less calories per gram than the flour. I'm not sure exactly why...I'm not a scientist, dammit!

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