Come Thanksgiving break, I'll be flying back down south. One of my favorite parts about going home is revisiting my favorite eateries, and even though the holiday is still a couple of weeks away, I already have Tex-Mex on my mind. Growing up as a native Texan, Mexican food had always been a staple in my diet. I was completely able to sympathize, then, when a reader asked me how to keep oneself in check at a Mexican restaurant. After responding to her question, I realized that there must be plenty of other Mexican food fans with the same question on their minds, so why not turn my response into a blog post? And so this post came to be.
Mexican food restaurants were always one of the most difficult places for me to practice self-control. Between the complementary basket of chips that's constantly refilled, the refried beans and rice that appear on the side of each meal without fail, and the crazy amounts of delicious cheese that top many of the menu's dishes, keeping yourself from inhaling everything set before you isn't easy.
After many years of doing just that, I grew tired of leaving the restaurant with unbuttoned pants, feeling as if I was going to explode from the three meals worth of food I'd have eaten. That's why I decided to start altering my eating behaviors when out at this most tantalizing of eateries. Here are a few strategies that I use to prevent over-indulging in the glory that is Mexican food:
Rather than eating straight out of the chip basket, I grab a handful and place them onto my plate. This allows me to keep tabs on the amount of chips I'm eating and prevents me from ruining my appetite before the actual meal arrives. Doing this also motivates me to eat them slowly rather than munching on one after the next. Slowing my pace gives my stomach time to digest the food and to signal to me when I've had enough. That, and if I were to finish my serving of chips before my meal came, I would surely feel the urge to reach back into the basket for more.
Another tactic I find helpful is to order a dish I can assemble myself, making fajitas my go-to. If it's not already marinated ahead of time, I ask for the meat to be cooked without salt (this helps to keep the sodium down) and for corn tortillas instead of flour. When preparing my fajitas, I take two corn tortillas and add the fajita meat (I always opt for chicken), some black beans (which I ask for instead of refried), guacamole, salsa, and a good drizzle of queso (for those who haven't experienced Tex-Mex, this would be the equivalent of sprinkling on some cheese.... but shredded cheese isn't nearly as amazing, in my humble opinion). With this entree, I'm completely in control of how much goes onto my plate, and whatever remains of the meal I have packed up for leftovers.
While there are other healthy menu options (such as shrimp tacos), not all of us go out for Mexican food in pursuit of a trimmer dish. If you'd rather indulge in an appreciably less healthy option, consider splitting the meal with someone else and ordering a soup or salad appetizer if the portion isn't enough to fill you up.
I hope that you all find these suggestions to be as useful for yourselves as they are for me! If you know of any other tips that you find helpful, I'd love if you'd share them in the comments below!
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