Help! I am eating at a Mexican Rest tonight

Mexican food is my favorite! I normally eat a very high calorie meal

- salsa and chips (can't resist)
chicken and cheese enchilada
gaucomole tostado
refried beans

I want to make a better choice tonight without skimping on flavor. Any suggestions?

Re: Help! I am eating at a Mexican Rest tonight

I'd stick to something that has:

chicken (protein)
salsa (flavor)
black beans (protein)
lettuce/greens (filler)
avocado (in moderation, it's not terrible)

but that doesn't have:

tortilla
rice
cheese


I know in Cheesecake Factory, they'll have lettuce wraps with salsa, beans, corn and chicken inside. No additional sauce or cheese on it, and the salsa makes it tasty. Maybe this restaurant has the same?

If you must eat something non-healthy, just do it in moderation. I'd probably look for something on the menu that's close and ask them to remove the worst items. And then plan a tougher-than-normal workout for tomorrow.

Re: Help! I am eating at a Mexican Rest tonight

Fajitas (chicken is obviously leaner than steak) are the best option! I only eat 1 or 2 tortillas depending on the size. Then, focus on the meat, peppers and onions on their own, plus load up on the lettuce, tomatoes, guac and salsa. Skip the rice and beans, or maybe eat 1 or 2 spoonfuls

Watch your alcoholic/drink intake. Last time I went to Mexican place I had 2 awesome Mojitos and they were equal to 4 brownies

Re: Help! I am eating at a Mexican Rest tonight

Ditto with the fajitas recommendation, but try to limit use of toppings (cheese, sour cream, guac) and focus on the meat and veggies.

Chips and salsa are tough to avoid, but if your friends are ordering that, perhaps you can get a salad or soup to tide you over during apps?

Re: Help! I am eating at a Mexican Rest tonight

I usually will do some sort of chicken dish and ask that it's not smothered in anything.

A lot of times, you just have to ask how it's prepared and if they could prepare it a different way for you and they will. I will ask how the chicken is prepared, if it's in a lot of butter, or a lot of oil, I ask that they use no butter and cooking spray instead.

Normally if I go mexican, I will have fajitas but no tortillas, a little guac and load up on the salsa instead.

ETA: You can go with black beans rather than refried beans.

Message edited 9/28/2012 1:41:17 PM.