Addicted to Chipotle? 5 Tips to Eating Mexican Food & Never Gaining Weight

In case you missed the touching Chipotle commercial during the Grammy's promoting sustainable farming, it captured America's attention with cute animated farm characters and Willie Nelson singing Coldplay's "The Scientist" in the background. I'll share the commercial at the end of the post, but first I need to tell you a few things about Chipotle before they have you wrapped around their little organic farm fed fingers.

My experience with Chipotle goes a little something like this:

1. I first discovered this Mexican grill in college when I worked at a Chipotle while attending Chico State.
2. It's super clean which is a huge plus considering dirty stories you've heard about some fast food joints. You can't miss the stainless steel everywhere and they had a special cleanser called "Dazzle." It was my job as a cashier to keep everything sparkling. If I never hear, "Dale, we're gonna need you to Dazzle here" or "Dale, don't forget to Dazzle there," it will be too soon.
3. I got laid off from Chipotle a few months later after a 'lack of hours' for my schedule and perhaps due to my Dazzling skills.
4. Problem: Employees were allowed 1 free meal per shift and I had become totally addicted to Chipotle!
5. I continued to go in every week, get my food to-go and smile at my ex-managers because I had no choice. I love Chipotle and eat it all the time, but there's a misconception because it's 'organic' and MSG free that it's super healthy. Chipotle is a calorie killer if you're not careful!

Here's my Tricks to get the most Barbacoa for your buck & Never gain a pound eating Chipotle weekly: 

1. Order 1 Single TACO instead of 3 (which is what the order comes with):

Sounds simple and small, but you're getting more than you think. Plus, you can get whatever you want on it. Here's a breakdown of calories for 1 single barbacoa taco which I got by dividing their portions for the taco order by 3. (It's probably a little more though because they are pretty generous with portions) 

Small Flour Tortilla-  90 cals

Black Beans - 40 cals

Cilantro Lime Rice- 43 cals

Barbacoa meat - 56 cals

Fajita Mix-1 oz- 10 cals

Fresh tomato Salsa - 10 cals

Corn Salsa- 26 cals

Sour Cream - 40 cals

Lettuce 2 cals

 TOTAL -Approx. 317 Calories

 2. Go Easy On the Chips & Guac

One Serving Size of Chips & Guac is over 700 calories. I took a handful of my friends (approx. 100 Cals) and about 1 oz of Guacamole (50 cals). Diet soda or Water with lemon - Zero Calories

3. Eat Happy & Avoid the Calorie Killers (aka the Burritos)

 

While working at Chipotle, I routinely saw people order burritos and get "double meat" & "extra guac." The HUGE tortilla itself (290 Calories Each!) would often break, need to be re-wrapped or sometimes double wrapped. These monster burritos can easily be 2,000+ calories each and unless you have the metabolism of Michael Phelps, it can spell trouble after time. But I totally understand how boring the salad bowls are, which is why I like the single taco. If you're going with a burrito, just eat half or be mindful of the "extras" you're adding inside.

4. Who Knew Restaurant Food Could be this Affordable?

Minus the chips and guac I mooched off my friend, a single Barbacoa taco meal with a water is super cheap and under $3. Plus, you don't waste food by ordering too much you can't finish.

5. You can eat like this at any Mexican Restaurant

 Mexican food is my favorite kind of food, and while there's Chipotle's nationwide, you can order like this at your favorite taco trucks or restaurants in your area if you don't have a Chipotle in your city.

I hope these tips help. The entire meal with a small portion of chips and guac is about 500 calories which is perfect for a snack, lunch or light dinner when you're having a serious Chipotle craving. Do you have any fast food calorie saving tips?

As promised, here's that cute little Chipotle commercial

Have a great weekend!

xoDale

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