With recent, responsibly-sourced components, Chipotle makes it straightforward to eat wholesome on the go. However the yummy chips, toppings, and tortillas additionally make it straightforward to show your order into an unintended cheat meal. So what must you order at Chipotle? We requested two diet consultants to interrupt down ideas for locating the healthiest choices.
(Dietary information is supplied by the Chipotle Vitamin Calculator.)
1. Begin with the Fundamentals
Once you’re deciding what to order at Chipotle, skip the burrito — the big flour tortilla accommodates 320 energy, and that’s earlier than you add any toppings. “Go for the tacos, salad, or bowls as a substitute,” says Kristian Morey, RD, LDN and Medical dietitian at The Heart for Endocrinology at Mercy Medical Heart in Baltimore.
Right here’s how these choices stack up:
- Salad is your finest wager, with simply 15 energy within the mattress of supergreens.
- When you order a burrito bowl, select brown rice over white. A standard serving of rice (in a burrito bowl, burrito, or a three-taco meal) accommodates 210 energy, so request a “gentle” portion in individual or within the app when ordering — or skip it altogether.
- When you order tacos, go for the crispy corn shells — an order of three accommodates 200 energy and nil sodium, in comparison with 250 energy and 480 mg of sodium for 3 smooth flour tortillas.
2. Add Lean Protein
Subsequent, add some wholesome protein to your order. Black beans and pinto beans each include 130 energy and eight grams of protein in a median scoop, so select whichever bean you want finest.
For the principle protein occasion, go for rooster or sofritas (shredded tofu braised in spices). “Each are decrease in saturated fats than purple meat,” says Sofia Norton, RD at Kiss My Keto. Sofritas clock in at 150 energy, 8 grams of protein, and 1.5 grams of saturated fats per serving. The rooster choice has 180 energy and three grams of saturated fats, however a whopping 32 grams of protein per serving.
3. Go Heavy on the Veggies
Norton suggests together with loads of veggies, so add some fajita greens, tomatillo salsa, pico de gallo, roasted chili corn, or further supergreens to your dish. (Go best on the corn, which accommodates 80 energy per serving.)
4. Watch Out for Saturated Fats
Don’t overdo it with regards to shredded cheese, queso blanco sauce, and bitter cream — these can add lots of saturated fats and energy to your meal. (Chipotle’s shredded cheese has 5 grams of saturated fats per serving, queso blanco has 6 grams, and bitter cream has 7 grams.)
Chipotle’s salsa choices — each the recent tomato salsa and the tomatillo green-chili salsa — are nice, low-cal, flavorful choices. However in the event you’re craving a creamy topping or dip, decide only one, and request a lightweight portion. Even higher, order it on the aspect so you’ll be able to management how a lot you add to your meals, Morey says.
5. Spring for the Guac
Avocados include “beneficial vitamins like fiber, B nutritional vitamins, and potassium,” Norton says, together with wholesome fat which might be believed to profit coronary heart well being. And Chipotle’s guacamole contains solely actual stuff — avocados, cilantro, jalapeño, lemon juice, lime juice, purple onion, and salt — no humorous enterprise like preservatives or synthetic flavors. Simply remember that a serving to of guac provides 230 energy to your meal, so you might need to order it on the aspect so you’ll be able to eat half now and save the remainder for later.
6. Skip the Chips
Chips are tempting, however depart them off your order. “The smallest choice clocks in at over 500 energy,” Morey says. “That’s virtually a meal’s value for some folks.” And a big order of chips with a aspect of queso blanco will run you 1,290 energy and accommodates 28 grams of saturated fats.
7. Take Benefit of the Vitamin Calculator
Earlier than you order, Morey recommends operating your order by means of the helpful Vitamin Calculator on the Chipotle web site — it calculates the complete dietary info of your meal. It’s also possible to see the distinction in dietary stats in the event you select to go “further,” “regular,” or “gentle” on any of your picks. As an example, you’ll be able to shortly see that selecting a lightweight serving of cilantro-lime brown rice as a substitute of a standard serving will shave off 105 energy.
Simple Choices to Order at Chipotle
Nonetheless undecided what to order at Chipotle? Listed below are a couple of choices that provide loads of vitamins. (Have in mind the sodium content material may be important, even within the healthiest choices at Chipotle — so attempt to restrict your sodium consumption the remainder of the day.)
Salad with rooster
Add black beans, fajita greens, and recent tomato salsa.
- Energy: 360
- Fats: 9 grams
- Protein: 41 grams
- Carbohydrates: 32 grams
Burrito bowl with sofritas
Add cilantro-lime brown rice (gentle), pinto beans, fajita greens, tomatillo green-chili salsa, and romaine lettuce
- Energy: 425
- Fats: 15 grams
- Protein: 19 grams
- Carbohydrates: 58 grams
Veggie tacos
Select two crispy corn tortillas as a substitute of three, and add black beans, fajita greens, recent tomato salsa, guacamole, and romaine lettuce
- Energy: 406
- Fats: 22 grams
- Protein: 10 grams
- Carbohydrates: 46 grams
Life-style Bowls
When you’re following a selected food regimen plan, you may as well select one in all Chipotle’s pre-designed Life-style Bowls — they’re accessible in Whole30, paleo, and vegan-friendly variations.
