Mexican??

[Pine Marten]

We've been invited out to a local Mexican restaurant next week. I've never been to one before, and don't know much about Mexican food. I'm type 2, so what are good dishes to order so as to minimise bad blood sugar readings? I'm not keen on spicy food. Any ideas..??

 

[AlisonM]

They do a fair number of dishes with rice or flat breads but their cuisine is well tasty. Fajitas, enchiladas, empanadas (ooh yummy). There's a lot of Spanish and American influences and the food can be very spicy. I'm sure you'll find something you can have without sinning too much.

 

[Mrs Mad Ronin]

I'm not too sure what to suggest. But do ask the staff what is mild and also explain you are diabetic. They are usually very helpful and will recommend some dishes 🙂

 

[stephknits]

I would recommned fajitas, as these you usually make up yourself - think crispy duck at the Chinese. You will get whatever you want in your fajita e.g chicken cooked separately, some cheese, usually some salad bits, some sour cream etc and you put them in tortillas yourself. That way you can regulate how many carbs things you eat. I would make a really fat one, so as to minimise eating tortillas as they are high in carbs. You could also ask for extra salad bits instead of re-fried beans as they are obviously high in carbs too.
Also, they are not spicy hot and you could ask for them to be cooked as mildly as you liked.
Hope you enjoy it!

 

[bill hopkinson]

"Mexican" be high calorie restaurants. Salads are a way to steer away from fat, flour and spice.

I liked eating in restaurants in Mexico, the food was not the stereotype "Mexican" you get in US, and sometimes UK. I would ask what they have that is authentically Mexican and not too high on the calories, but then I can take spicy.

 

[Pine Marten]

Thank you for the replies - I had a look at the menu online yesterday and there is a fair selection of stuff, so I might be brave and try the fajitas. Failing that, they also have tuna fillet with seasonal vegetables...sounds safe enough !

 

[DeusXM]

Have you got a link? I'm sure if we can have a closer look we'll all be able to help!

I would echo though the point made about the salads. Most Mexican food (at least, as we understand it in Britain) is heavy on the tortillas, so salads are usually the most blood sugar friendly option. As you've probably found though, most Mexican places will do a 'Mexican-style' steak of some sort that can be had with veg or salad.

One thing to watch out for are the inevitable nachos that will be put on your table as a sharer - these are incredibly more-ish, so maybe don't start unless you're the sort of person who can also easily stop eating Pringles.

Watch out for the cocktails too - as with anywhere, cocktails are generally just syrup with booze in them.

Do make sure you ask for mild if you don't like spicy food, and it may be worth explaining you have diabetes too but it might be a little optimistic to expect the staff to be able to properly advise you!

If it's anything like the Chiquito menu though, you'll see there are plenty of options that can be served with salad and kept low-carb.

http://www.chiquito.co.uk/menus/main-menu

From here I'd recommend (all served with side salad, of course) anything on the 'sizzling' menu except for the ribs and mango cod, any of the steaks, any of the fish (except the mango cod again) and any of the salads. I personally would also look at the Tex-Mex options too, although the BBQ and piri-piri sauces are likely to contain a moderate amount of sugar and heat.

 

[Pine Marten]

Thanks - the link is http://exquisito.wix.com/restaurant (Highbury one) and the food menu can be checked from there. I'll have a look at the Chiquito one 🙂

 

[DeusXM]

You've made me hungry now - this looks a very good place and 'proper' Mexican! My BiL lives in Canonbury so I think I'll have to encourage him he wants to treat me and his sister to dinner one evening.....

All of the tapas looks d-friendly (except for the nachos, bread and potatoes, obviously!) and all the grill/mains on the right hand side look good too, except for the paella. Looks like the sort of place that would very happily swap your fries for salad or veg too. Enjoy!

 

[Copepod]

My experience of Mexican food was 3 months volunteering at a rehabilitation centre for disabled children - basic, but very tasty and nutritious food for volunteers, children and parents. We had chicken once a week and meat once a month - usually in mole (chocolate) sauce.

Frijoles refritos = refried beans, which are low carbohydrate and not too spicy. I assume that "Mexican beans" in the Sides section of the menu will be refritos, but worth asking.

 

[Pine Marten]

It's a few days late, but I thought I'd report back on our restaurant outing. In the end I went for veggie fajitas, which weren't bad, though I couldn't get the hang of wrapping up the end, so the fillings were a bit messy! It was a *bit* spicy for my taste, but the sour cream helped there.

The staff gave us a tequila shot each on the house (it was a joint birthday do for two friends) - I've not had tequila before and can only say it smelt (and tasted?!) like turps! Yuck ...I'm more of a brandy girl, meself.

I tested when we got home, which was about a couple of hours later, and it was 8.0 - not bad, though that might actually have been the rather lovely apple tart & ice cream for dessert....

By the time I went to bed at 10.50pm it had gone down to 4.7, so all in all it was a good day 🙂

 

[KateR]

The staff gave us a tequila shot each on the house (it was a joint birthday do for two friends) - I've not had tequila before and can only say it smelt (and tasted?!) like turps! Yuck ...I'm more of a brandy girl, meself.

I often wondered what it was like. Now I know to avoid it.

I'm glad you had a great time with a good D outcome. 🙂