You can eat healthy at a Mexican restaurant by building your meal around grilled meat, beans and vegetables, going easy on the extras like cheese, sour cream and chips, and asking for your food the way you want it. That last part matters more than people expect. At El Chubby’s, everything is made to order, and almost anything on the menu can be prepared the way you like. We have been feeding Aurora since 1991, and we are happy to cook your meal the way that fits your plan.
Mexican food gets a reputation for being heavy, and some of it earns that reputation honestly. A burrito smothered in green chili and cheese is a comfort meal, and we are proud of it. But the same kitchen that makes that burrito also grills steak with onions and tomatoes, cooks beans in the pot, and slices fresh avocado. The trick is knowing which way to steer.
What should you order at a Mexican restaurant when you want to eat lighter?
Start with the grill. Our carne asada is thin strips of steak grilled with jalapeños, onions and tomatoes, which gives you plenty of flavor without needing a lot of sauce or cheese on top. You can get it several ways from the specialties section of our menu, and a few of them are especially easy to fit into a lighter meal.
The Carne Asada Bowl and the Chicken Asada Bowl are good places to begin. A bowl keeps the focus on the protein and lets you decide what else goes in it. The Steak Order is another favorite: three steak tacos with rice, beans and sliced avocado. It is a full, satisfying plate, and you can eat the tacos and go lighter on the rice if that suits you.
Taco salads are a natural pick too. A salad makes a meal that feels fresh, and you can ask for the sour cream or cheese on the side so you are in charge of how much ends up on your fork. Plain chicken or steak tacos work the same way. Two or three tacos with a side of beans is a meal a lot of people overlook.
For breakfast, Huevos Rancheros and Huevos con Chorizo both start with eggs, which many people like for a morning meal that holds them over. Ask for the chili on the side and you can add as much or as little as you want.
How do you keep the extras from taking over?
Most of the heaviness in a Mexican meal comes from the add-ons. A basket of chips, a layer of melted cheese, a scoop of sour cream and a lake of chili can add up quickly. None of those are bad things. They just deserve a little attention.
Our burritos are a good example of how much control you have. They come five ways. Plain has no chili or cheese. Chili has green chili inside. Special has green chili and cheese inside. Smothered is covered in green chili and cheese, and Deluxe is smothered and topped with lettuce and tomatoes. If you love our green chili (and most people do), ordering a burrito with chili inside, or asking for chili on the side, gives you the taste without the whole blanket. We wrote more about this in our post on whether Mexican burritos are healthy.
A few other habits help. Decide how many chips you want before you start on the basket. Choose salsa as your main topping, since it brings a lot of flavor in a small spoonful. Drink water with your meal. And remember that a combination plate is a lot of food. Splitting one or taking half home for tomorrow’s lunch is a perfectly good way to enjoy it twice.
Are beans and guacamole good for you?
Beans have been a staple in Mexican cooking for thousands of years, and for good reason. They are filling, they bring fiber and plant protein to the table, and they go with nearly everything. Our beans are made in the pot, and they show up on every combination plate. If you are trying to eat a little more sensibly, beans are one of the easiest friends you can make on a Mexican menu. Order a side, add them to a bowl, or let them fill out a plate of tacos.
Guacamole gets a lot of questions too. Avocados are known for their mostly unsaturated fat, along with fiber and a good dose of potassium. That makes guacamole a smarter topping than many people assume. It is also rich, so a side of guacamole goes a long way. A spoonful or two per bite is plenty. You can find guacamole, beans, salsa and our other add-ons in the sides section of our menu. If you are curious how this fruit traveled from Mexican orchards to grocery stores everywhere, our post on the political and trade history of the avocado tells that story.
We should say plainly that we are a family restaurant, and we do not give nutrition advice. If you are following a plan from your doctor or dietitian, they know your situation far better than we do. What we can do is cook your food the way you ask for it.
Can you eat low-carb or keto at a Mexican restaurant?
Many people who are cutting back on carbs find a Mexican menu surprisingly easy to work with. The main sources of carbs are usually tortillas, chips, rice and the beans, so the approach is to keep the meat, the vegetables and the flavor, and trade away the parts you are skipping.
A carne asada or chicken asada bowl, with anything starchy left out, is a common choice. A taco salad is another, and if it comes with anything you are skipping, just ask us to leave it off. The Carne Asada Plate or Chicken Asada Plate with the starches left off is a third. Steak grilled with jalapeños, onions and tomatoes, plus a side of guacamole and some salsa, makes a very satisfying plate on its own. Just tell us what you are leaving out when you order, and we will make it that way. Because every dish is made to order, small changes like these are no trouble for our kitchen.
The same goes for any other preference. Want your enchiladas with red chili instead of green? Want mild green instead of hot? Want sour cream left off entirely? Ask. We offer three chili choices, hot green, mild green and red, and we are happy to put any of them right where you want them, including in a cup on the side.
What is the easiest healthy habit at a Mexican restaurant?
If you only remember one thing, make it this: order what you actually want, and ask for the rich parts on the side. People tend to eat better when the meal is satisfying, and they tend to overdo it when they feel deprived and then give in to the chip basket. A plate of steak tacos with beans, salsa and a little guacamole is a meal you can feel good about and still look forward to.
When you are ready to try it, come in, use the drive-thru, or order online for pickup or delivery. Tell us how you like it, and we will take it from there.
