Taco Bell "drive thru diet" BS

redcrow9
redcrow9 Posts: 22 Member
edited September 24 in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone ever looked at the nutrition info on these items?
If anything fresco style is worse than regular! The calories and fat only differ by a negligible amount (usually only 20cals) and the sodium is jacked up by their fiesta salsa!
Ridiculous!!!
How do they get away with this crap? I also love their disclaimer at the bottom of the freco menu: Drive-Thru-Diet® is not a weight-loss program. For a healthier lifestyle, pay attention to total calorie and fat intake and regular exercise. Taco Bell's Fresco Menu can help with calorie reductions of 20 to 100 per item compared to corresponding products on our regular menu. Not a low calorie food. COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION AVAILABLE
Ok I'm done with my rant!

Replies

  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
    Marketing companies will do anything to get you to buy their product and you can pretty much bank on one rule.....

    the healthier the packaged food product claims to be the more likely it is to be one of the unhealiest choices you can make!
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    LOL@drive-thru or any fast food joint even being considered for healthy alternative. :laugh:
  • atomiclauren
    atomiclauren Posts: 689 Member
    Mmmm Taco Bell. 88% "beef" and 12% "secret recipe"
  • MakingAChoice
    MakingAChoice Posts: 481 Member
    Has anyone ever looked at the nutrition info on these items?
    If anything fresco style is worse than regular! The calories and fat only differ by a negligible amount (usually only 20cals) and the sodium is jacked up by their fiesta salsa!
    Ridiculous!!!
    How do they get away with this crap? I also love their disclaimer at the bottom of the freco menu: Drive-Thru-Diet® is not a weight-loss program. For a healthier lifestyle, pay attention to total calorie and fat intake and regular exercise. Taco Bell's Fresco Menu can help with calorie reductions of 20 to 100 per item compared to corresponding products on our regular menu. Not a low calorie food. COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION AVAILABLE
    Ok I'm done with my rant!

    So I compared the one item I like off the fresco menu and it is clearly a better choice than the regular version. Not 'healthy' or 'diet food' but better than the normal version. Since I am going to eat it anyway a little better is helpful.

    Regular Chicken Fresco Chicken
    Burrito Supreme Burrito Supreme
    Calories 400 350
    Calories from fat 110 70
    Sat Fat 5g 2.5g
    total fat 12g 8g
    trans fat 0g 0g
    Cholesterol 40mg 25g
    Sodium 1300mg 1290mg
    Carbs 52g 50g
    Dietary Fiber 8g 8g
    Sugars 5g 4g
    Protein 21g 19g
  • MakingAChoice
    MakingAChoice Posts: 481 Member
    Has anyone ever looked at the nutrition info on these items?
    If anything fresco style is worse than regular! The calories and fat only differ by a negligible amount (usually only 20cals) and the sodium is jacked up by their fiesta salsa!
    Ridiculous!!!
    How do they get away with this crap? I also love their disclaimer at the bottom of the freco menu: Drive-Thru-Diet® is not a weight-loss program. For a healthier lifestyle, pay attention to total calorie and fat intake and regular exercise. Taco Bell's Fresco Menu can help with calorie reductions of 20 to 100 per item compared to corresponding products on our regular menu. Not a low calorie food. COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION AVAILABLE
    Ok I'm done with my rant!

    Here is a quick comparison of the one item I get there. Is it a 'healthy' choice, no, but you are at a fast food place what did you expect? The Fresco choice at least with this one item is clearly better than the regular one. Sodium is high in all prepared foods, so don't expect to have reduced sodium in you meals if you are going to a drive thru.



    Regular Chicken
    Burrito Supreme
    Calories 400
    Calories from fat 110
    Sat Fat 5g
    total fat 12g
    trans fat 0g
    Cholesterol 40mg
    Sodium 1300mg
    Carbs 52g
    Dietary Fiber 8g
    Sugars 5g
    Protein 21g

    Fresco Chicken
    Burrito Supreme
    Calories 350
    Calories from fat 70
    Sat Fat 2.5g
    total fat 8g
    trans fat 0g
    Cholesterol 25g
    Sodium 1290mg
    Carbs 50g
    Dietary Fiber 8g
    Sugars 4g
    Protein 19g
  • nisharae
    nisharae Posts: 204 Member
    Mmmm Taco Bell. 88% "beef" and 12% "secret recipe"

    LOL.. Right? I saw that the other day and was rolling....:laugh:... :noway:
  • abillings9
    abillings9 Posts: 165
    I find it hilarious that a fast food joint can even put the word 'diet' on anything having to do with their menus.
  • starboardzor
    starboardzor Posts: 312
    Okay, thanks! Now I want some Taco Bell =P
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
    Mmmm Taco Bell. 88% "beef" and 12% "secret recipe"

    LOL.. Right? I saw that the other day and was rolling....:laugh:... :noway:

    I think those percentages are backwards :laugh: :laugh:
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
    I have this to say, I worked at Taco Bell in high school and we actually had to cook the meat and make the beans and everything was "fresh" , I remember cooking 45lbs of ground beef at a time with the "meat rake". I quit and went back about two years later and everything comes pre cooked in giant boil a bags, the beans were powdered (just add water) and all the taco shells came in boxes pre cooked and ready to go.

    I have to agree that anyone that thinks that something that comes thru a window or from under a heat lamp or ready made in the cooler under the register is good food they are simply dreaming. It all reminds me of the 500 lb woman that would come through everyday for two taco salads (cuz it's salad!) and a small diet coke :noway:

    Not too mention all the hands that have touched your food before you even get it near your mouth.....GACK!
  • Lisa__Michelle
    Lisa__Michelle Posts: 845 Member
    I have this to say, I worked at Taco Bell in high school and we actually had to cook the meat and make the beans and everything was "fresh" , I remember cooking 45lbs of ground beef at a time with the "meat rake". I quit and went back about two years later and everything comes pre cooked in giant boil a bags, the beans were powdered (just add water) and all the taco shells came in boxes pre cooked and ready to go.

    I have to agree that anyone that thinks that something that comes thru a window or from under a heat lamp or ready made in the cooler under the register is good food they are simply dreaming. It all reminds me of the 500 lb woman that would come through everyday for two taco salads (cuz it's salad!) and a small diet coke :noway:

    Not too mention all the hands that have touched your food before you even get it near your mouth.....GACK!

    1) I actually feel bad for that 500 lb. woman because she is probably just SOO NOT INFORMED!!! She probably has nooooo idea that something that says salad isn't always better. I think if someone would tell her she may still be big, but maybe not like 500 POUNDS!
    2) So you are saying they went from "fresh" meat to fake meat in the two years???? I wasn't sure what a boil bag was.
    3) They are supposed to be wearing gloves and not touching cooked or prepared food with bare hands. That is gross!
  • elainegsd
    elainegsd Posts: 459 Member
    3) They are supposed to be wearing gloves and not touching cooked or prepared food with bare hands. That is gross!

    Sure, they wear gloves but watch them. You can see them playing with their hair, wiping/rubbing their noses, handling money, etc., then handling your food.

    I've asked for my money back and left the establishment a couple of times after witnessing this kind of stuff!
  • JenniferH81
    JenniferH81 Posts: 285 Member
    It really depends on the management of each place. I worked at a taco bell that was VERY sanitary. Everyone changed gloves if they moved from the line, with hand washing in between. but another taco bell just 15 minutes away...I've heard of that manager throwing away old beans then going back to get them from the TRASH because he ran out.
  • Triquetra
    Triquetra Posts: 270 Member
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: The only diet at Taco Bell is the drive thru.....as in drive thru and don't order anything!. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
    anybody who thinks ANY type of fast food is going to be low-cal and healthy is delusional IMO. People think that about Panera too, when in reality that stuff is JUST as loaded w/ calories as something from Mcdonalds.
  • atomiclauren
    atomiclauren Posts: 689 Member
    "meat rake"

    ! :sick:
  • ColeyCannoli
    ColeyCannoli Posts: 147
    You are so right! So many of these "healthy alternatives" are outright lies. Have you seen what's in the McD's "healthy oatmeal"?? Enough sugar to give a horse diabetes :explode:
    Worse yet have you seen the calories in the Toca Bell salads?! It's insane! A day's worth of calories in an abomination of a salad.

    I guess the lesson is that fast is never a healthy alternative
  • Sarahr73
    Sarahr73 Posts: 454 Member
    I can see both sides of this. Generally speaking, diet only means what you eat. But, if you go on a diet, you are changing what you eat to try to gain or lose weight (usually lose). So, the way they are probably getting away with it is to say "Yes, it is a diet. If this is what someone eats then it is part of their diet". I know that it is being taken as a weight loss diet, but that's mainly because most people see diet and think weight loss, not what you eat.

    I still think they should drop the word diet from their promos though since it is mainly seen as weight loss.
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
    I LOVE TACO BELL! my favorite part is the whooshing sound it makes as I jog past it on my way to Subway.
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    If you really want to eat Taco Bell--and sometimes most of us do--the Fresco menu is certainly a better option. It's not for everyday, but there's nothing wrong with having a more healthy (not healthy, just more healthy) alternative.

    Also, sugar does not cause diabetes.
  • simplywriting
    simplywriting Posts: 64
    The thing that worries me most about the "diet" is that many teenagers are misinformed. They don't know where to go to get good information (I know, I have 5 of them - and if it wasn't for me always talking about nutrition, etc. they don't seem to know where else to get the info).
    I could see teens thinking that because it is dubbed "diet" that it's a healthy choice. I understand its "healthier" than the alternative, but its still not healthy when you get down to it. I worry about our kids.
  • downtome
    downtome Posts: 529 Member
    I have this to say, I worked at Taco Bell in high school and we actually had to cook the meat and make the beans and everything was "fresh" , I remember cooking 45lbs of ground beef at a time with the "meat rake". I quit and went back about two years later and everything comes pre cooked in giant boil a bags, the beans were powdered (just add water) and all the taco shells came in boxes pre cooked and ready to go.

    I have to agree that anyone that thinks that something that comes thru a window or from under a heat lamp or ready made in the cooler under the register is good food they are simply dreaming. It all reminds me of the 500 lb woman that would come through everyday for two taco salads (cuz it's salad!) and a small diet coke :noway:

    Not too mention all the hands that have touched your food before you even get it near your mouth.....GACK!

    I'm 41 now and used to work at Taco Bell also when I was in High School. I too remember making Ground Beef and using that meat rake. So at one time, their food was real, even the cheese had to be shredded! Boy have things changed for the worst!
  • kjensen15
    kjensen15 Posts: 398 Member
    Fast food should NEVER be a staple in one's diet, but some times there are times it is unavoidable. There are always healthier options to select from. You might have to "special order" your food ask them to leave something off or what not, but you can select a "healthier" option just about any place you go. Portion control is also another key factor. I could go to Taco Bell and order 2 crunchy beef fresco tacos and I'm looking at...

    Calories 290
    total Fat 15
    Sat Fat 4.5
    Trans Fat 0.5
    Chol 40
    Sodium 690
    Carbs 26
    Fiber 6
    Sugar 2
    Protein 13


    Realistically I would like to order a mexican pizza and a burrito BUT that would not come any where close to fitting into my eating plan. Would these two taco fill me up? Yes. Are they an ideal meal? No, but I could easily fit them into my calorie goal for the day as well as all my other nutritional goals.
  • ColeyCannoli
    ColeyCannoli Posts: 147
    If you really want to eat Taco Bell--and sometimes most of us do--the Fresco menu is certainly a better option. It's not for everyday, but there's nothing wrong with having a more healthy (not healthy, just more healthy) alternative.

    Also, sugar does not cause diabetes.

    No, sugar doesn't cause diabetes. It was a joke. That oatmeal is also a joke.
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