Keto Tips & Ideas for Traveling to Mexico

#1

Hello

I’d love to hear from others tips and strategies used while traveling, specifically to Mexico. I’m a pescatarian/vegetarian and have been doing Keto for several months now. I want to stay with it, though will allow for some wiggle room during the week.

Aside from the usual suggestions of grilled seafood, frajitas, tacos without the tortilla, guac and omelettes, what other ideas have some of you come up with that don’t involve meat? I’ve thought of bringing a few low carb tortillas, but what a hassle and not that big of a deal to go without.

I’ll have a fridge but no cooking amenities, so I figured I can buy cheese and a few other snack items to keep on hand, but will be mostly eating out. There will be vegetarian restaurant options as well as Japanese.

The other thing I was mulling over is how I’d love to have margaritas or mojitos, but just one would put me over the 20 carb limit for the day. I’ve found some recipes online that suggest liquid stevia (never used the stuff before) and orange extract, but what a hassle to order drinks with ‘no sugar/syrup, no orange liquor’ and then have to add artificial sweetener to my drink, which very well could taste awful. Anyone ever do that? If so, how was the request received and did it hit the spot?

Any ideas short of Corona Light? (which still has 5 carbs a bottle and leaves me feeling yucky). I know about Vodka and soda, but it’s Mexico!

¡Muchas Gracias!

#2

Tequila shots, or with lime squeeze, should say on ice with line and salted rim

#3

nice suggestion with the salt rimmed glass :sunglasses:

but I don’t think I can stomach pure tequila with just lime, but might be worth a try

#4

could add a splash of soda water

(Doug) #5

A mojito with a sugar substitute would be pretty good on the carbohydrate score.

Margaritas - tougher, here - “Margarita mix” will almost always be having a ton of carbs, I think, and lime juice has got quite a few, and so do triple sec, Conintreau, and orange liqueurs in general.

#6

I did read a recipe that used orange extract in place of the liquors, but it just seems so fussy to add this after ordering. Perhaps I could practice making a few at home before I go to see how it tastes w stevia and orange extract

I hadn’t really considered how many carbs lime juice has so gotta keep an eye on that too. maybe it’s gonna have to be just vodka and soda with mint, lol

#7

I just returned home from a 2-week fishing trip down in Baja. I thought it was going to be difficult if not impossible to eat keto during the trip. Burritos, tacos, refried beans, Mexican sandwiches and pastries, etc. Being on the boat during the day, I would just order the burritos/sandwiches without the tortilla and bread. They would give me the meat filling in a Tupperware container and I would just add the hot sauce, salsas, etc.

Hit the local market for cheese, nuts, heavy whipping cream, salsas, etc. What I really liked down there were the freshly made chicharrones and carnitas. I ate plenty for the both of us! Fajitas are a good option when eating out as well as salads with a side of guacamole. Salads are prepared a little differently down there unless you go to a rather nice restaurant. Also, depending on where you go in Mexico, you might want to avoid the salads. The water that the produce is being washed in can cause you problems.

From previous trips, I learned to always bring ziplock bags. I’d place the leftover meats in my hotel room’s mini refrigerator and just heat it up in the microwave.

Since it was a fishing trip, there would be plenty of mahi mahi and yellowfin tuna to eat for dinner. I brought Costco Quest bars and individual servings of Trader Joe’s coconut oil just in case. I might have had a few of the bars and one packet of the coconut oil while I was down there. I was never hungry and never really craved anything during my stay.

Also, it had been maybe 3 months since I had a beer. The second week that I was there, I had quite a few Clamato cheladas. I don’t recommend this but I figured that I was on vacation. When I left, I weighed 173 and fully expected to be at least 180 when I got back. To my surprise, I lost weight and came home at 167!

Eating keto is fairly easy to do in Mexico. Have a blast! The exchange rate is fantastic right now.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #8

Any place that has fajitas in Mexico should be avoided. They are Tex-Mex, and they would be a sign of a touristy place.

Eat filings not tacos.

#9

nice trip report! I’ll add no rice to the no beans… and no cheladas for me. I used to drink beer with fresh lemon aid, so refreshing! or fresh coconut water, (really miss that one…)

I just remembered cervice, yum. I’ll just have to watch going over the protein macros while there.

Thanks all for the other suggestions, taco pescado sin tortilla por favor!

still would welcome more tips others have for traveling. thanks

(Gabriel G.) #10

cabeza > carne asada

(Gabriel G.) #11

Sorry, that posted a little soon :slight_smile:

If you like carne asada, give cabeza a try. Even though it’s steamed, it tends to be a richer meat to start with (high fat content).

Have a good time!

#12

thanks, but don’t eat meat… “cabeza” translates to “head”, yes? are you suggesting eating cow’s head?:exploding_head:

(serious question)

:laughing:

#13

Where are you going in Mexico? I forgot to ask. The coastal cities have really good seafood. On top of ceviche, there are many fantastic shrimp dishes and seafood soups. Right now, there is plenty of dorado (mahi mahi) and the yellowfin are still there. Plenty of cabria and red snapper as well. During my stay, I must’ve had whole deep fried red snapper (huachinango) at least 3 times. It is my favorite and is absolutely delicious when topped with fried garlic and salsa…

(Gabriel G.) #14

D’oh, I skimmed over that part.

Yes. Yes. I’m saying eat head :slight_smile: Use up every bit.

Happy travels!

#15

yup, going to a coastal area…

I’ve tended to avoid soups since going keto, due to mystery ingredients, which could up the carb count, but I will investigate more. I love seafood soup.

and I hadn’t consider anything fried because I thought fried foods are a no no, unless in coconut oil? sounds like you’ve had good experiences with those though

I’ve never gone fishing in Mex, but your enthusiasm is contagious, and is making me consider a day trip doing that, it’s popular where I’m going

Where I’m going veggies shouldn’t be a problem, even lettuce because of the strict cleaning standards employed in the region, but I’m still reluctant to order/buy pre washed lettuce, we’ll see…

thanks for your suggestions!!

#16

glad you cleared that up! I didn’t know people ate that in Mexico. I thought you might’ve been suggesting a squash-like veggie :laughing:

#17

Alley, your drink tip was spot on! I ordered that a couple of times and it hit the spot as a margarita substitute. thanks

Also, mojitos without sugar were great!

I’m happy to report that I had no issues staying in keto-land. It got a bit redundant sometimes and challenging to not have a kitchen, but the end result was having a few more carbs than I normally do actually was beneficial being that I was swimming and walking so much. The week away actually pushed me past a stall!

Thanks for the tips to those who posted