Cinco de Mayo has been embraced by the American public as much or more than the citizens of its country of origin. Wherever you go, every Tex-Mex joint in sight has banners, balloons and Mariachi bands touting its own version of the holiday.

Of course, just like any holiday, food and drink are a massive part of the celebration. In fact, it's a safe bet that most of you reading this don't even know the historical context behind the holiday.

Spicy Foods | Healthy Mexican

At no point does the story mention pounding down flautas, nachos, cheese enchiladas or my personal favorite, queso flameado con chorizo.

But you're going to do it anyway, so you might as well know a bit about what you're going to eat in the hopes of avoiding the worst of the dietary damage. You'll find out you can really enjoy yourself without packing on so many pounds it takes until cinco de Julio to work it off.

What To Drink

You'll probably start off with a cocktail. If margaritas are your thing, get yours on the rocks. You'll save about 20 grams of carbs and nearly 100 calories compared to the frozen kind, bringing it in at roughly 9 carbs and 180 calories. Bear in mind that a 1-ounce shot of any 80-proof liquor, such as many tequilas, carries 100 calories.

Beware of the "grande" or fishbowl-sized drinks. They may seem like a great deal, but you'll be consuming far more than a single shot of liquor, along with all the attendant mixers.

Safe Eats

On The Border, a national Tex-Mex chain, is kind enough to provide fairly complete nutritional info on its Web site, so we'll use that for the remainder of our comparison. OTB does a good job of realizing that some of us want to party sensibly and provides options that actually pack a lot of flavor into far fewer calories than traditional Tex-Mex fare.

You've got to have an appetizer, right? Nothing tastes better with a margarita than something salty or cheesy. You could go with the grande fajita nachos at 1,970 calories for the entire order -- you'd probably share -- or the seasoned ground beef empanadas at 1,150 calories.

Instead, why not get an order of chips and salsa and a bowl of chile con queso? The whole table can munch and enjoy, and the total calories for the whole thing is less than 1,000. Split that among a table of four and you're well inside the dietary ballpark.

Soup or salad? It should come as no surprise to anyone dieting that taco salads are to traditional salads what mixed fruit fried pies are to a fruit basket. The deep-fried shell, sour cream and big pile of taco meat turn the traditional taco salad at OTB into a 1,450-calorie odyssey. Instead, choose the sizzling fajita salad with chicken at 760 calories. You could even add on a bowl of OTB's excellent chicken tortilla soup for 350 calories and come in far less than that taco monster.

When it comes to the main course, your best bet -- and this is true just about anywhere -- is fajitas. Not only will you get great flavor, but an entire skillet of chicken fajitas at OTB will set you back only 440 calories. Three corn tortillas add 230 calories. Instead of the usual guacamole and sour cream, try topping yours with some actual flavor: pico de gallo. You'll get some fresh veggies, and there's next to nothing in the way of calories per serving.

Craving tacos instead? You might think the fish tacos would be a sensible choice, but OTB's Dos Equis fish tacos use fried fish and a creamy chipotle sauce, coming in just under 2,000 calories. They're very tasty, but you might want to go for the Southwest chicken tacos with roasted jalapeño lime sauce for 1,180 calories. I'm still trying to crack the recipe for that sauce.

If you just want a more traditional Tex-Mex plate, it should come as no surprise that the ever-popular combo plate is the kiss of dietary death. At OTB, the Corona extra dinner, with a chile relleño, two chicken enchiladas and a beef taco, will top out at more than 2,000 calories. Instead, go for the pico chicken and shrimp, which packs a great flavor punch along with its 790 calories.

Please note that all of the above totals are without rice and beans. At any Mexican or Tex-Mex joint, the rice and beans are a handy way to add a few hundred calories and an aorta-choking amount of fat to your meal. If you must, at least go for the black beans over the refried ones. You'll get about half the calories and, on average, and two-thirds the fat.

So, you can get out and enjoy Cinco de Mayo and not wind up fighting your own battle against an expanding waistline. Or you can decide to go whole-hog … just be sure to compensate during the rest of the week!

Mexican Recipes:

Low-Fat Chimichangas

Mom's Flautas

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Burritos

Taco Salad