Ok I gave you some tips in my other post about how to make PASTA and CHEESEBURGERS HEALTHY!! I hope you enjoyed that, cause who wants to live a life without Pasta and Cheeseburgers? Not me! Here's a link to that post if you didn't see it: Healthify Normal food part 1
So here we- go I promised you a post about how to Healthify Mexican Food, Sandwhiches, and PIZZA!
Lets start with Mexican food!
I love Mexican food, especially the real deal authentic. And if it IS the real deal Authentic, its probably already pretty healthy and clean! But there are a couple things to look out for.
Start with the MEAT! In my opinion meat is good cause its protein! I feel like I can never get enough protein in my diet so whatever meat you choose is good! My favorite is Al Pastor:) That's pork with pineapple:) Pork may be the fattiest meat, especially if we're talking sweet pork from Cafe Rio, or pulled pork (SOOO FATENING!) Try to avoid that. But probably your healthiest option is Chicken! Grill it and chop it up and stick it in a burrito or taco. Lean ground beef is good too but again beef is a high fat meat. You could even have a fish taco, but often the fish is battered and fried, so maybe steer clear of that unless its grilled.
Lets talk about the Carbs aka taco or tortilla! I always go for a HIGH FIBER tortilla. I love the Mission-CARB Balance tortillas. They have whole wheat or WHITE that actually have a ton of fiber. Or just go with any WHOLE WHEAT or even CORN tortilla shell that has at LEAST 3g of fiber. NOT 2 grams. At LEAST 3. The more the better. We need fiber for digestion, this is oh so important. Just avoid the FRIED chimichangas, or enchiladas, anything fried will make you feel sick because of too much yukky fat.
Beans and RICE-the staples of Mexican food right? Well word to the wise- its just FILLER food, skip the beans and rice all together I say. The refried beans are loaded with fat, and the rice-unless its brown rice and not fried-will just add up to too much carbs. So seriously skip the sides of Beans and rice or at least limit them. However if you have some black or pinto beans in a burrito, they may be fillers but BEANS are amazing fruits, haha, I mean food. They have good protein AND fiber so don't stress too much about the beans. But they are both sources of carbs, and if you already have a tortilla, chips, and veggies, you already have enough carbs! Choose your carbs wisely!
Next is the CHEESE cause lets be honest, mexican food has CHEESE! I love cheese as much as anyone, and I would never skip it! In this situation you have a couple options for healthification. You can limit the cheese, like 1 oz, or a couple tablespoons is enough. Mozzerella cheese is even less fatty, and the traditional mexican cheeses are good too! Just remember Portion control! Cheese is a FAT source and you only need a little for one portion.
VEGGIES! Load up on the veggies! Load up on the PICO de Gallo! Lettuce, tomato, cilantro, salsa, and even avocado! My motto is: FIBER FILLS YOU UP! And what better to fill up on than Veggies? They help you to feel full and know when to stop eating, rather than filling up on fat and feeling NASTY afterwards. Its a different kind of FULL, the GOOD kind:)
Things to watch out for: Mexican food FAT can add up quick! So watch out for fried foods, sour cream, cheese, avocado, chips (yes they are fried), reFRIED beans (yes they are loaded with LARD) and fatty meats....all that adds up to too much fat and will make you feel stuffed, heavy, and sick:( So pick one or two fat sources and cut out the other fat sources. I usually pick cheese and guacamole:) And I also love the chips and salsa!
So there you go....Mexican Made healthy!!! Any questions?? Seriously I'd love to answer any questions you may have! Leave it in the comments or connect with me via facebook or any other means:) www.facebook.com/meganpotter08
