by Martha Rhodes

Created on: September 29, 2008   Last Updated: October 07, 2008

Although there are many healthy choices in Mexican food, enjoying a fabulous "Mexican Fiesta" meal is not what most people think about when opting to make healthier eating choices. Making healthy food choices is much like participating in a great bargain hunt. The bargain is found by substituting fat and calories for good nutrition and flavor.

According to 2005 statistics published by the Center For Disease Control, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the Hispanic population of the United States.* There can be many causes for this, but one cannot ignore diet as being a contributing factor. Many Mexican food dishes are high in calories and fat caused primarily from the method of food preparation and reliance on ingredients such as lard, cheese and fatty cuts of meat in recipes. In response to rising health concerns, many Mexican food restaurants are offering healthier alternatives and have made changes in their methods of food preparation.

Beans and Cheese

It would be pretty hard to imagine a "Mexican Fiesta" without beans! Beans are a great source of protein and fiber and are very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. One cup of cooked pinto beans has 245 calories, but only 9 from fat, so all in all beans are very healthy even if they have been flavored by adding a bit of pork while cooking, but you still have to be careful when ordering beans at a Mexican food restaurant. Lard is often added to refried beans, so it's better to order whole beans rather refried beans.

Cheese is high in calories and fat. When ordering a Mexican plate, its best to specify "no cheese" as many restaurants will melt lots if cheese on top of the entre and beans and rice. This is especially bad if you have ordered chile rellenos or cheese enchiladas. These dishes have enough cheese in them and it does not enhance the flavor at all to have more cheese on them. If you are ordering a dish that does not already have cheese in it and you want a little bit of cheese, you can tell them light on the cheese or even better, cheese on the side.

Meats

When ordering dishes that contain meat in Mexican food restaurants or in any restaurant for that matter, it's important to find out what kind of meat is being offered, especially if the meat is chopped and used as a filling. Ordering a Mexican beef taco, for example will get you a fried corn tortilla filled with ground hamburger (usually chuck) and this may or may not be mixed with potatoes. Most often chicken is thigh meat unless the menu specifically

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