Best & Worst Burrito at Chipotle
Chipotle’s gotten a ton of good press lately, pledging to remove GMOs from its food and to offer better benefits to its part-time workforce.
Both are worthy of applause, but don’t let that and the chain’s rep for being a healthy option blind you to the fact that it’s still fast food. And you can get in more trouble there than at McDonalds and Burger King. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call the health halo. Use our swap to enjoy a fiery feel-good meal at a company you feel good about–without packing on any extra pounds.
Eat This!
Chicken burrito with two scoops of fajita veggies, tomato salsa and lettuce
| Calories | 530 |
| Fat | 17.5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 1,380 mg |
| Carbs | 57 g |
| Protein | 42 g |
Not That!
Steak burrito with white rice, black beans, chili-corn salsa, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole
| Calories | 1,230 |
| Fat | 54.5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13.5 g |
| Sodium | 2,350 mg |
| Carbs | 131 g |
| Protein | 55.5 g |
Witness a steak burrito with all the fixins, which packs a crazy 1,230 calories and 54.5 grams of fat–more calories than a Triple Whopper, with almost a full day’s RDA of fat. To fill up without being weighed down, skip the redundant rice and beans and ask for double the fajita veggies. Sorry, the flour tortilla adds 300 calories and 10 grams of fat on its own, making extra carbs heavy and unnecessary. If you’ve gotta have a side, opt for cheese, which adds 100 calories, with less total fat and more protein than either sour cream or guacamole. Still tempted to go for the guac? Know what you’re getting into: As good as avocados are for you, Chipotle’s ½-cup serving size adds 230 calories and 22 grams of fat. (Remember that nutritionists consider ⅕ of an avocado to be one serving.)
And note that no option includes chips, which have 570 calories, 35 grams of fat and your fitness goals in a headlock.