Eating Mexican food on the Low FODMAP diet

Ask your server how they prepare the meat before ordering at a Mexican restaurant.

At first glance, it might seem there are a lot of Mexican foods that you can eat on the low FODMAP diet. After all, options like tacos and fajitas contain meat, and meats by themselves are generally OK on the diet.

The problem is that many Mexican restaurants sautee or marinate their meat in onion and/or garlic. This includes fast-casual chains like Chipotle.

The only way to find out which meats are prepared this way is to ask your server. If they are unsure, explain that you are on a special diet and can’t eat onion or garlic. (Or tell them it’s an allergy to really get their attention!)

At my favorite restaurants, I’ve found that the steak and chicken fajita meat is OK but other meats are not.

At another restaurant, I found that only the fajita steak was OK. The third restaurant said all of their meats were marinated in onion.

The good news is that once you figure out which meats will work with the low FDOMAP DIET, there are usually ways to prepare them that won’t contain high levels of FODMAPs. Opt for corn tortillas rather than flour for fajitas, quesadillas and tacos. Most shredded cheeses will also be OK.

You’ll have to skip the avocado, sour cream and refried beans, though.