Best Low Calorie Mexican

Marcie9278
Marcie9278 Posts: 64 Member
edited November 23 in Health and Weight Loss
Have to go to a birthday dinner Sunday at a Mexican restaurant.... What's good to get? I never know....I thought chicken fajitas without the tortillas or sides was good but then found that some totals could be way more than what's listed in MFP. Is there anything I can get besides one taco?

Replies

  • Davidsdottir
    Davidsdottir Posts: 1,285 Member
    I'd do the fajitas without the tortilla.
  • LongevityRob
    LongevityRob Posts: 10 Member
    Go with a chicken or steak fajita with lots and lots of vegetables.
  • blueheartrisen
    blueheartrisen Posts: 30 Member
    Another option might be a "naked" taco salad.

    Most of the time I shoot for 700-800 calories for a half meal at a restaurant, and plan the rest of my day accordingly. Try to skimp too much and I just feel grumpy.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    Smaller breakfast and lunch. Enjoy dinner. Table chips always get me. I usually go for a hard shell taco and skip the beams and rice.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,749 Member
    A lot of Mexican restaurants have grilled items: steak, chicken, fish, shrimp, etc. Ask them to hold the beans and tortillas. Ours also has grilled chicken or shrimp salad.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    Look for camarrones, which are shrimp. A lot of restaurants usually have shrimp cooked in a red sauce that isn't too spicy. 6 shrimp is a reasonable portion. If it is served with rice and beans, ask if it can be served with side salad or grilled veggies instead. If not, just eat half of the rice OR beans.

    Other good options- shrimp cocktail, ceviche (go easy on the avocado) , fajitas (watch your portion though), caldo de pollo (chicken and veggies soup), albondigas (meatball soup)
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
    Mexican food is my all-time favorite. I usually have to splurge.
  • cramerbeth
    cramerbeth Posts: 1 Member
    Mexican food is one of my favorites but it’s very hard on keto diet,,,usually have fajitas no tortillas
  • cthakkar1985
    cthakkar1985 Posts: 137 Member
    edited January 2018
    Step 1 - Save yourself about 1,000 calories for the dinner.
    Step 2 - Get a burrito with grilled chicken/no guac/no sour cream/no rice.
    Step 3 - Feel free to add veggies, beans, cheese, and salsa.
    Step 4 - Enjoy
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
    I usually order shrimp or chicken fajitas with corn tortillas on the side instead of flour. I will have one fajita in a corn tortilla and then another fajita without the tortilla. Then save the rest and take it home.
  • gogetemrogue
    gogetemrogue Posts: 80 Member
    If it were me I would try to budget 900-1000 calories for dinner so I can eat what I want.
  • jasondjulian
    jasondjulian Posts: 182 Member
    Don't make it painful for yourself- the bet option is to allow yourself to eat the meal, as others suggested. Even if you go over your daily cals, it's OK, just adjust throughout the rest of the week to compensate.

    I worry more about the high sodium in Mexican food than I do the calories. I just had a lunch with my 6yr old at our fav Mexican place yesterday.. got the steak taco salad bowl- ate half of it and was full. I SO WANTED to eat the rest, it tasted so good.. but I stopped.. it worked out well, I was actually under my calorie goal for the day. This was thanks to a very small breakfast and a sensible light lunch.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    I'd fast that day and then eat what i wanted for dinner (i'd still avoid chips/salsa cause you and i both know nobody can have just a few). Get back on track Monday.

    If you're determined to make something work while eating the rest of the day, i'd get anything that's not smothered in sauce/cheese/refried beans and stick to "fresh" options that include salsas/pico/lettuce/chicken/etc. Another option is to order what you want and then get them to bring you a to-go box right away and portion it out before you even start eating (like eat half there and take the other half home).
  • maybe1pe
    maybe1pe Posts: 529 Member
    I would skip breakfast which I do most days anyways and have a small snack if I got hungry before dinner. Then eat what I wanted within reason and enjoy the meal.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    I like fajitas because I can assemble them how I want based on my calorie/macro goals. If I need to keep things tight, I'd go really light on calorie-dense stuff (beans, sour cream, cheese, etc). If I have more wiggle room, I'll add in a bit more of those things.

    Build-your-own options offer a lot of flexibility, assuming you have the discipline to build them to fit your needs.
  • YOLO145
    YOLO145 Posts: 98 Member
    Tequila
  • Muana1005
    Muana1005 Posts: 172 Member
    Street food type stuff all the way for me.
  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
    I am also in the camp of either fasting or eating very lightly during the day and not worrying too much while I'm out at dinner. Life goes on even when we are on these journeys and you don't want to miss out on fun activities or deprive yourself of things you really enjoy while you are with friends and family. I'm sure you can find some sort of grilled protein on the menu and sub rice/beans for veg or salad (if you want to, or stick with the rice/beans if that's what you like and eat half). Tacos may also not be so bad depending on their size, what's in them and how many there are in an order. If you can avoid the chips and salsa/guac, great. If not, try to moderate without making yourself miserable :)

    Remember even if you go way over, it's just one meal. You move on the next day and that bump in the scale (if any) from one meal will be gone in no time. Have fun!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    IMO, and living in New Mexico, there is no such thing. Going out for New Mexican food is a treat for me and I enjoy every bit of it. I typically just eat smaller during the day.

    One night out for some delicious food here and there isn't going to be particularly relevant to the bigger picture.
  • Nery_Tay
    Nery_Tay Posts: 81 Member
    I always do this: Eat something small, Workout. Then By the time dinner comes eat a vegetarian burrito. I've read a study saying your body will burn calories from your initial workout throughout the day. Now I say stay away from the cheese because there is no telling how much salt there is.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Kidzfun wrote: »
    I always do this: Eat something small, Workout. Then By the time dinner comes eat a vegetarian burrito. I've read a study saying your body will burn calories from your initial workout throughout the day. Now I say stay away from the cheese because there is no telling how much salt there is.

    At a Mexican restaurant, they're likely to be liberally salting all the components of a vegetarian burrito (beans, rice, vegetables, etc). Avoiding the cheese for sodium purposes seems like shutting the barn door after the horse has left.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    One night out for some delicious food here and there isn't going to be particularly relevant to the bigger picture.

    While this is true, I don't want people to misconstrue the significance of that statement. "here and there" and "bigger picture" is a relative term. Depending on the deficit you're able to maintain and how many calories there are in your "delicious food", some people might be able to enjoy a free meal like that once a week, while others might have to limit it to once a month.
  • 0305bp
    0305bp Posts: 20 Member
    Ceviche is typically a good bet, since it tends to be fish or shrimp with an acid based dressing. Our local place does a ceviche salad that is amazing and skips a lot of the higher calorie adds (sour cream) with a lot of flavor and a full plate. My biggest challenge is avoiding the bowl of chips and salsa.
  • 150poundsofme
    150poundsofme Posts: 523 Member
    I wonder if you got the chicken fajitas, if they could give you extra peppers and onions instead of the taco shell.
    Enjoy!
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