Skinny Chicks Guide to Chipotle Takeout

Tonight I was hardcore craving Chipotle for dinner, and when I'm craving something I NEED to have it. Although Chipotle is a relatively healthy fast food choice you can still get yourself into big trouble fast.  (monstrous tortillas, crispy taco shells, sour cream, cheese, and chips... ) BUT there is no need to give these savory additions up, we just need to use our heads. Now, this will only work if you are taking your Chipotle home, which you should because with the calories you will save you can afford to enjoy a cold brew or a glass of wine.

Step 1, opt for a buritto bowl!

The flour tortilla used to roll your buritto costs you 290 calories and 9 grams of fat!

But...I know sometimes you want that soft outer shell....so, order your buritto as a bowl at Chipotle and then use a much more figure friendly wheat wrap to wrap it all up once you get home! A great choice are Joseph's Flax, Oat Bran, and Whole Wheat flour Lavish Bread. I eat these ALL the time and they are delicious! This wrap will only cost you 100 calories and 4 grams of fat. PLUS it has 6 grams of filling fiber and 10 grams of protein! wow! These wraps are huge, so you will have no problem fitting in all your yummy chipotle fixings!

Step 2, pick the better meat!

Although all of the meats used at Chipotle are similar in calories they are not equal in fat and sodium. The best choices are Chicken and Steak, both coming in at 190 calories, 60 calories from fat (2.5 Saturated) per 4 ounces. The Chicken has 32 grams of protein, and 370 mg. of sodium. The beef has 30 g. of protein, and 320 mg. of sodium. Both of these are good investments. Stay away from the Barbacoa, and Carnitas if you can! Both have over 500 mg. of sodium and higher fat contents. If you cant resist, the Barbacoa is a better choice than the Carnitas! 

Step 3, light on the rice with extra beans and veggies please! 

This one is self explanatory, they use white rice which has little nutritional benefit so don't skip it if you want it but you don't need the whole whopping scoop. Make up for your skimpy rice portion by loading up on extra fiber rich black or pinto beans and fajita veggies! Yum!

Phew, you made it through the fist side of the line, now its onto the toppings bar! This is where we make big changes! 

Step 4, Go green 

Opt for the Green Tomatillo salsa, this salsa has the least amount of calories and sodium (15 cal, 250 mg of sodium per 2 oz.) If you like your burrito a little spicy add your own hot sauce at home, you will still cut sodium and calories.

Step 5, Hold the cheese please...but not really

Don't get your cheese at the burrito bar...invest in a bag of reduced fat cheddar cheese at the grocery store and sprinkle it on when you get home! You can use the leftover cheese for omelets, sandwiches etc...the cheese at chipotle is ridiculously high in calories (100 cals for 1 oz) and fat (8.5 g). You can have 1/4 cup of reduced fat white cheddar cheese for 70 cals and 4.5 g. of fat! Seriously, you wont even notice the difference in taste. 

Step 6, sour cream 

This is similar to the cheese, hold the sour cream at the burrito bar and add your own reduced fat sour cream! Chipotle's sour cream is evil...it has 120 cals/ 2 oz. and 10 g. fat (7 saturated!!!!). Reduced fat sour cream from the grocery store is just as yummy but 2 tbsp. will only cost you 40 calories, 2.5 g of fat (2 sat.) delish! 

Step 7, Guacamole!

I LOVE me some guac! Its a great investment, full of monounsaturated fats and other super food powers.  Go ahead and get a big scoop of guac from the burrito bar! Chipotle makes theirs fresh daily and its amazing tasting! 3.5 ounces will cost you 150 calories, and 13 g. fat (only 2 g. saturated) don't let these calories bother you, nutritionally they are worth it!

Step 8, Chips

Skip the chips at chipotle! They cost extra and they are not good for you! Instead, pick up a bag of baked Tostitos scoops while your out getting your sour cream and cheese! careful of your portions though, take a handful and put the bag away! 

Thats it! It's that simple to save over 300 calories! This is an excellent dinner option full of protein, fiber, and relatively low in carbs! 

Enjoy!

(for full nutritional information for all ingredients visit www.chipotle.com)