I tend to associate Mexican food with too much grease, cheese and spices (and yes, maybe too many margaritas!) It happens to be one of my least favorite
Lunch on the run
Most of my clients, myself included, eat lunch on the run. Usually this entails a sandwich, salad or soup. Gets kind of old! So I’m always on the lookout for something different … and of course healthy and tasty. This past weekend I got stuck working at the hospital and decided to spice things up a bit and venture a few blocks away to Chipotle on Third Av. and 67th St. Time to do some investigation!
The menu
The first thing I noticed was the modern sleek interior. Not like other “fast food” restaurants. There was an open kitchen so you could see everything that was going on … and it looked clean!. The menu was rather simple – basically your choice of a burrito (made with flour tortilla), burrito bowl (no tortilla, just the filling), tacos, salad or or kids menu. Then you pick the fillings: protein: beef or chicken. Add the starch: rice, beans, tortilla or taco and then the toppings: cheese, salsa, guac, sour cream, veggies. Check out this link for the Chipotle menu. In addition, Chipotle “serves food with integrity” … meaning that they use meat from animals raised without antibiotics or hormones and source organic and local produce.
My choice
A burrito bowl (no tortilla): Grilled chicken (190 cal), black beans (120 cal), veggies (20 cal), salsa (20 cal), avocado (150 cal) lettuce (4 cal) Total: 505 calories. It was a lot of food which kept me full for hours! (the pic is of my lunch … it tasted better than it looked!) Check out this link for the nutritional content of the Chipotle menu items. 
Recommendations to slim your Mexican food
What you order can be as low as 300 calories or over 1100! (For example, a loaded burrito is 1100 calories) To slim your choices, try these suggestions:
1. Pick either the beef or chicken – they are both 190 calories for 4 oz. Or you can go vegetarian and just have beans.
2. You might want to avoid the burrito to save 290 calories. Choose the burrito bowl instead (no burrito).
3. Add extra veggies to help fill you up without the calories.
4. Pick one high calorie topping for ~ 140 calories each (guacamole.. the healthiest choice, sour cream or cheese).
5. If needed, add one starch – beans (they are considered a protein too, but will call them a starch here to simplify. things!), rice, or a taco. All choices are about 130 calories each.
6. Stay away from the tortilla chips for 570 calories and use salsa to dress your salad instead of the vinaigrette (260 calories)
The verdict:
I was pleasantly surprised with the whole Chipolte experience.The upper east side location was clean, the food was tasty and healthy, it was quick and the price was right! I will definitely be back. While I can’t see myself having a leisure dinner there on a Saturday night (no margaritas!), I now have a new lunch or take out dinner choice in the neighborhood.
