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Eating Out on a Diet: American and Mexican Food
By WLR Dietitian
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Many American and Mexican restaurants
feature fast food – with meat and fries making up the bulk of
the dishes. For example, Planet Hollywood, TGI Friday’s, the
Hard Rock Café and many traditional diners all include
burgers, steak and ribs on the menu. The advantage is that in
many places these are flame grilled rather than fried – and
chicken or turkey is often on offer, too. On the downside,
everything comes with chips! In reality though, it’s the huge
portions that will do the most damage to your weight so stick
to your guns and only eat as much as you need.
Huge portions
Eating out American or Mexican style usually
involves
big portions. You’ll often find
‘eat-as-much-as-you-can’ offers, too, which might sound like a
good deal when it comes to paying, but they’re disastrous in
terms of keeping your weight steady.
Avoid ordering extra
chips, deep-fried potato wedges or onion rings as most meals
come with accompaniments anyway. And remember – you don’t have
to finish everything on your plate.
Steaks
Steaks are popular and a potentially healthy option
if you go for the smallest size available and chop off any
visible fat. Choosing flame-grilled or barbequed rather than
pan-fried will help to keep fat intakes down. Ideally, choose
rump steak rather than fillet or sirloin as it’s slightly
lower in calories.
Well-done steaks also have a lower
calorie
content than rare steaks because the longer cooking time
allows more fat to drip out of the meat. Plus, do your figure
a favour and team your steak with a salad instead of fries.
Nachos
This plate of tortilla chips topped with melted
cheese and dips such as guacamole, salsa and sour cream is
packed with calories and
fat. The only sensible solution for
your waistline is to share!
Fajitas
Loads of oil is used to fry this combo of beef or
chicken with peppers and onions so that by the time you’ve
added in the soft tortilla wraps, traditional dips and grated
cheese, you’ve got a meal that will break the calorie bank.
More Food Information
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of UK foods with the database in WLR.
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