Eating Out

nikiesmailbox
nikiesmailbox Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Friday, August 3rd, I ate at a El Mezcal restaurant. There is not nutrition information available for their menu; at least not for what I ate. It would be nice if more restaurants would make this information available.

Replies

  • buckeye213
    buckeye213 Posts: 52 Member
    Agreed but then sometimes when I see the menus and how many calories I am like ok not eating here where again.. not sure there are healthy options for Mexican restaurants 😉
  • orangegato
    orangegato Posts: 6,572 Member
    nikiesmailbox wrote: »
    Friday, August 3rd, I ate at a El Mezcal restaurant. There is not nutrition information available for their menu; at least not for what I ate. It would be nice if more restaurants would make this information available.

    Request the restaurant's menu through the MFP phone app and hope it gets added in the future. In the meantime, do your best, find similar foods on the app and log them. Better than nothing.
  • DoubleUbea
    DoubleUbea Posts: 1,115 Member
    The law states that calorie counts are legally required at chain restaurants. For the independent restaurants it can be costly.
    orangegato wrote: »
    Request the restaurant's menu through the MFP phone app and hope it gets added in the future.
    This depends if the restaurant is willing to provide that information.
  • thisPGHlife
    thisPGHlife Posts: 440 Member
    buckeye213 wrote: »
    Agreed but then sometimes when I see the menus and how many calories I am like ok not eating here where again.. not sure there are healthy options for Mexican restaurants 😉

    Beans and rice and salsa, oh my! I feel like I would have an easy time eating healthy at a Mexican restaurant.
  • lucys1225
    lucys1225 Posts: 597 Member
    buckeye213 wrote: »
    Agreed but then sometimes when I see the menus and how many calories I am like ok not eating here where again.. not sure there are healthy options for Mexican restaurants 😉

    There are many healthy options at Mexican restaurants.
  • Kathryn247
    Kathryn247 Posts: 570 Member
    I try to find a chain restaurant that has nutrition information available, and find a comparable item. When I go to a local breakfast place, I use Bob Evans information. For Mexican, you could try Moe's Southwest Grill.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    nikiesmailbox wrote: »
    Friday, August 3rd, I ate at a El Mezcal restaurant. There is not nutrition information available for their menu; at least not for what I ate. It would be nice if more restaurants would make this information available.

    Just make a note of the items on your menu and estimate the quantities to add to your MFP diary.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I love eating at local, independent restaurants! The requirement to accurately estimate calorie counts for their menu items would be costly and cumbersome to the business.

    What I typically do is to look for similar items from a chain restaurant - for Mexican you could look for On The Border, or type in the foods you partake in and find something that sounds similar in the database already. A restaurant prepared food is generally going to be higher calorie than home prepared foods - but you should be able to find something similar.

    I've been using MFP for 5+ years, lost the weight I set out to lose and am now maintaining for a few years and I eat out regularly. In fact I had mexican food: chips, queso, shrimp quesadilla and a margarita - this weekend! Making educated guesses never derailed my progress.
  • snemberton
    snemberton Posts: 175 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    I love eating at local, independent restaurants! The requirement to accurately estimate calorie counts for their menu items would be costly and cumbersome to the business.

    What I typically do is to look for similar items from a chain restaurant - for Mexican you could look for On The Border, or type in the foods you partake in and find something that sounds similar in the database already. A restaurant prepared food is generally going to be higher calorie than home prepared foods - but you should be able to find something similar.

    I've been using MFP for 5+ years, lost the weight I set out to lose and am now maintaining for a few years and I eat out regularly. In fact I had mexican food: chips, queso, shrimp quesadilla and a margarita - this weekend! Making educated guesses never derailed my progress.

    I second this. We eat out a LOT and I have Mexican food at least twice a month. For the fajitas at my local place, I'll log it as Chili's fajitas, as it's similar ingredients and size. Same goes for chips, salsa and queso. It isn't 100% accurate, but close enough.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited August 2018
    I love Mexican food. I don't find it to be "unhealthy" at all. Mostly I get fajitas or other similar foods, maybe tacos or a burrito. Which is basically a meat and veggies, with salsa/pico de gallo and guacamole, tortillas, rice and beans. Nothin wrong with any of that. I agree they should have their nutrition information available but I much prefer local restaurants over chains, and I would much rather eat good food and estimate calorie counts than waste my money at some place like applebees. I don't eat out enough for it to really be an issue. Too expensive. We go out for dinner maybe 3-4 times a month or so. I agree with others, find a comparable item in the database from a different restaurant.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    buckeye213 wrote: »
    Agreed but then sometimes when I see the menus and how many calories I am like ok not eating here where again.. not sure there are healthy options for Mexican restaurants 😉

    Mexican food seems healthy to me
  • dollarbill181
    dollarbill181 Posts: 67 Member
    Can't go wrong with a taco salad, just don't eat the deep fried shell.
  • BigRed2525
    BigRed2525 Posts: 45 Member
    Like others have said, I tend to use the closest chain restaurant proximate, although I rarely eat at chains. Not 100% accurate, but close enough to not break the (deficit) bank.

    I’m so craving Mexican now....there is a Mexican place right next to my gym, and I’ve been smelling fresh baked tortilla chips every day. Gonna have to work it in this week!
  • shunggie
    shunggie Posts: 1,036 Member
    I get fajitas, salad, or fish tacos (not fried fish) at Mexican restaurants. There is one here in town with the best salad- grilled chicken, roasted corn & black bean salsa, Monterey jack cheese, fresh slices of mango, strawberries, and avocado. Served with both honey mustard and mango vinaigrette dressings. Sprinkled with just a touch of chile.
    All the fruits and veggies make this salad my favorite. Who knew the sprinkled chile would make such a huge difference!
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Sometimes I find something comparable and add some calories to it. Other times I can just look at a plate and say "yeah, that looks like 600 calories" and then add another 200 to that. It may not help when ordering but your logging will be a good guess.

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