A lot of Mexican food is fried with lard and topped with cheese, so it’s loaded with saturated fat. It can be high in sodium, too. But when you know what to choose, Mexican food can be fresh, tasty and more healthful.
Tips:
- Tell your server not to bring fried tortilla chips to the table.
- Ask for low-fat sour cream or use salsa to add flavor.
- Veracruz or other tomato-based sauces are better than cream or cheese sauces.
- If you order a taco salad, don’t eat the fried shell.
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| Flour tortillas | Corn tortillas |
| Nachos | Grilled shrimp |
| Ton Carnitas (fried beef or pork) or chorizo (sausage) | Grilled fish or chicken breast |
| Refried beans | Frijoles a la charra or borracho beans and Spanish rice |
| Full-fat sour cream and cheese | Salsa, pico de gallo, cilantro, jalapeno peppers |
Quesadillas (flour or corn tortilla, filled with meat and cheese and fried) | Chicken fajitas (marinated chicken grilled with onions, green peppers, lettuce, diced tomatoes with a soft corn tortilla) |
Chalupas and tacos | Taco salad or fajita salad (don't eat the tortilla shell and ask for low-fat sour cream) |
Flautas (crisp, rolled tortillas stuffed with shredded meat and topped with a sauce); chimichangas (flour tortillas filled with spicy meat and Monterey Jack cheese, fried and topped with tomato sauce); burritos (large flour tortillas filled with beans or meat, served with tomato sauce and topped with shredded cheese) | Chicken or beef enchiladas with red sauce or salsa |
