Chipotle is a Mexican restaurant chain with locations all over the United States. Chipotle sets itself apart from other fast food chains in that it uses only fresh, natural ingredients, such as organic produce and naturally raised chicken, pork and beef without added hormones or antibiotics. When you step into Chipotle, you'll see it has a wide variety of options to build your meal. Although the ingredients that go into your meal might be natural, this doesn't necessarily equate to healthy. Adding lots of fixings can result in a high-calorie, high-fat meal. However, if you choose your ingredients carefully, Chipotle can deliver a nutritious and delicious meal.
Dietary Guidelines
The United States Department of Agriculture recommends that you eat a diet low in trans-fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, salt and sugar. You should consume about 2,000 calories a day and no more than 65 g of total fat, 17 g of saturated fat, 230 mg of cholesterol, 271 g of carbohydrates and 1,179 mg of sodium. Your total fiber intake should be at least 31 g.
Burrito
A burrito with chicken, rice, black or pinto beans, fajita vegetables and tomato salsa will set you back 560 calories, 14 g of fat, 4 g of saturated fat, 1,1710 mg of sodium and 98 g of carbohydrates. You can substitute the chicken for steak or carnitas for the same amount of calories.
Tacos
The crispy shell tacos are a better choice over the flour tortillas in terms of calories and fat. Three hard tacos with steak, rice, beans, meat and tomato salsa has 640 calories, 17 g of fat, 4 g of saturated fat, 65 mg of cholesterol, 1,220 mg of sodium and 79 g of carbohydrates.
Salad
While a salad would seem like a smart choice, you may want to reconsider getting one at Chipotle. A salad with chicken, lettuce, beans, tomato salsa, corn salsa, cheese and vinaigrette has a whopping 775 calories, 42 g of fat, 11 g of saturated fat, 95 mg of cholesterol, 2,330 mg of sodium and 56 carbohydrates. Skipping the vinaigrette will take it down to 645 calories and 21 g of fat.
Chips
The tortilla chips should be eaten in only moderation or if you must have them, share them with friends. One 4 oz. serving has 570 calories, 27 g of fat, 420 mg of sodium and 73 g of carbohydrates.
Tips
The key to eating smart at Chipotle is not adding too many ingredients. One burrito with all the fixings has more than 1,400 calories and 77 g of fat. If you're looking to cut calories, skip the burrito and just get a burrito bowl. One flour tortilla has about 290 calories and 9 grams of fat. If you're looking to include more vegetables in your diet, try adding the fajita vegetables and tomato salsa to your burrito bowl. If you're monitoring your sodium, stay away from the burrito tortillas, barbocoa, carnitas, tomato salsa, red tomatillo salsa, corn salsa, chips and vinaigrette. Just one serving of vinaigrette contains 700 mg of sodium, which is more than half the daily allowance. Also, add some black beans and pinto beans for extra fiber. They provide about one third of the required intake and have only 1 g of fat.
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