Tips help choose healthier Mexican dishes | Feature Columnist
Q I have been trying to eat healthily. What is the healthiest Mexican food? RM, Greenville
A Brooke Robertson, an ECU senior dietetic student, who is a self-proclaimed Mexican food fanatic (at least once a week), set out to identify the healthiest options at a favorite Mexican restaurant. Here is what she found out.
As we all know, most food served from restaurants comes covered and cooked with way too much sodium and saturated fat. Here are some tips for picking the healthier choices.
First, for the taco and fajita lovers, opt for corn tortillas over flour tortillas since they are usually less processed, making them a good source of dietary fiber and magnesium. They typically are lower in calories, saturated fat and sodium. A standard corn tortilla has about 96 calories, 1 gram of fat, 23 mg of calcium and 13 mg of sodium compared with a flour tortilla with 138 calories, 4 grams of fat, 45 mg of calcium, and a whopping 364 mg of sodium!
We all love the complimentary chips and salsa brought to the table with drinks. Savor a few but know that most chips are fried in oil and have too much sodium. A full basket of chips has about 700 calories and 400 mg of sodium. You might try a grilled veggie appetizer or grilled shrimp instead of the chips and you will get extra protein with fewer calories. You might feel fuller, too.
You usually won’t go wrong selecting grilled chicken. Typically, grilled chicken has about 110 calories in a 4-ounce breast, 24 grams of protein, and other nutrients your body needs. By comparison, 1 cup of pork carnitas has 417 calories and 1 cup of carne asada has 200 calories. Also support the restaurants that have healthy grilled fish.
Most courses are made with that glorious queso we all know and love. You know, the melted cheese dip made from goat cheese brought to your table with chips or other foods. Instead of queso — which is loaded with fat and sodium, try using flavorful toppings like pico de gallo or cilantro.
Pico de gallo is tomatoes, onions and a variety of other vegetables armed with anti-inflammatory properties to prevent heart disease. Cilantro is a fragrant herb. If you eat it regularly, it may have some added health benefits, as do other antioxidants.
If you like spicy things, ask your waiter to throw in 1 chopped jalapeno pepper on top of your chicken or fish for extra spice and 107 mg of vitamin C — more than your daily need of 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women.
If you love chicken quesadillas, a chicken fajita might be a better choice if it comes with corn tortillas and grilled veggies. Fajitas also are around 350 calories while quesadillas are around 600 calories because of the cheese.
If none of these entrees sounds appealing to you, there are also salads listed on every Mexican menu I have ever seen. They come topped with many different ingredients like beans, corn, pico de gallo, pineapple, grilled chicken, fish, or shrimp.
Finally, whenever an option arises that comes with refried beans, request regular black beans or pinto beans. Refried beans are just pinto beans cooked and mashed but have almost one fourth of your daily maximum sodium in just 1 ounce. Beans can be really health-promoting as they are an excellent source of plant protein and dietary fiber.
With 2.6 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber in every tablespoon, it’s easy to see why beans are one of the top healthiest foods in the world. Not to mention they have many antioxidants, are good for your heart, and reduce your risk for cancer.
Unless you have a big calorie and fat budget you might want skip dessert. You can find lower fat and calorie dessert recipes on the web to make your dessert at home. If you just must have a dessert at the restaurant, order one and share a taste with your friends.
Remember if you’re unsure about what is healthy and what is not, most menus have calories listed beside the foods. And if you are buying frozen Mexican delights, be sure to read the Nutrition Facts Label. When in doubt, count your calories out.
Happy eating, or buen provecho, folks!
Please stay COVID Smart. Wear your Mask. Eat fruit and vegetables every day. Be mindful of how much you eat.
Professor emeritus Kathy Kolasa, a registered dietitian nutritionist and Ph.D., is an affiliate professor in the Brody School of Medicine at ECU. Contact her at [email protected].