I get questions from patients all the time about how to eat at a restaurant without derailing their diet. Of course cooking your own food is best because you can control everything that goes into it (not to mention you save a lot of money!) but when you want to be social and go to dinner that’s ok too!
Here is what you should order when eating at a Mexican restaurant:
Appetizer:
- Guacamole - Carve out 2-3 spoon fulls onto your plate and dig in or add some salsa on top. Guacamole is full of healthy fats with zero carbs and will keep you much better satisfied than a basket of chips.
- Ceviche - This consists of raw fish (normally sushi grade) in citrus with maybe some diced tomatoes - you can’t get much healthier than that! This is a light, tasty, and low carb way to start your meal.
Main Course:
- Fajitas - With lots of grilled vegetables, pico de gallo, and salsa as a topping to add flavor. Skip the rice and tortillas and see if they can substitute in extra veggies instead. If you are going to keep the beans go for black beans rather than refried because they have gone through less processing and contain more fiber. If you are low carb, skip the beans and ask for a side of avocado or guacamole instead.
- Grilled chicken - With lots of vegetables. Skip the rice here as well, instead add add a side of avocado or black beans.
- Grilled fish - With lots of vegetables. Skip the rice here as well. Top with salsa or consider adding a side of avocado or black beans.
Drink:
- Tequila on the rocks - A shot of tequila has around 70 calories and will take a longer time to sip.
- Skinny margarita - Tequila w/ soda and lime is great because you get the bubbles from the soda water and a hint of lime to pair with the tequila. This will also be easier to sip rather than a sugar bomb of a margarita - a margarita can have a whole days worth of sugar and calories!
- Light beer - If you can’t see yourself not ordering a Mexican beer with your Mexican food, then go for a light version such as corona light.
Sarah-Kate Rems, NP
Co-founder, The Mindful Tech Lab - Check out all of our amazing apps to help improve your life here
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