Quick Tip- Saving Calories while Dining in Mexican Restaurants

Unless you order a salad, most Mexican restaurants serve rice and beans with your entrée. Here are a few facts:

At almost 250 calories per cup, before added cheese or sour cream, refried beans can add a lot of additional calories to your meal. Not to mention, they can often leave you feeling bloated afterwards. Spanish rice isn’t too far behind at just over 200 calories per cup. 

And with portion sizes being so over sized, it’s likely you could have a cup of each of these on your plate—that’s 450 calories in just the rice and beans—enough calories for an entire meal!

I have started substituting a lettuce salad for the rice and beans. I top the salad with salsa for my dressing and I am much more satisfied with my meal. I have done this at numerous Mexican restaurants and none of the wait staff has been surprised by my request. They simply bring a salad and omit the rice and the beans from my meal. I have never been charged extra for the substitution. Sometimes the salad is topped with cheese, so unless you want to spend a few extra calories, make sure to tell them no cheese.

And if you have a salad with lettuce, tomato, and salsa, you’re looking at approximately less than 20 calories. You could potentially save 430 calories by making this substitution.

That might mean that you are able to eat the chips and salsa you were going to avoid, or it could mean that you save your calories to increase your calorie burn for the day. You’ll get a serving of vegetables and feel much better mentally and physically after the meal.