Chipotle

Not really sure exactly why you think it would be sabotaging your diet.... It's fairly healthy in terms of what you're eating (chicken, black beans, brown rice, lettuce, hot sauce... all pretty good!). it's probably higher in sodium than if it were home made, but as long as you're drinking enough water and watching sodium for your other meals, that's not a big deal. Calorie-wise, 500 calories for a meal is reasonable, and as long as you have the calories left to eat that - why not?

One thought, though - if you like it that much, it would be pretty simple (and much cheaper) to make at home - and then you could control things like sodium in the meal.

go to their website they have the breakdown of each ingredient. I had it yesterday and mine was about 700, but I didn't eat the entire thing.

This tool is also really cool -- you can break down the ingredients you did / did not add to your meal there, and get calorie counts and breakdowns:

http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=nutrition_calculator

The reason I suspect it would sabotage my diet is simply because it is "fast food". I'm also not very knowledgeable about nutrition and the balance of proteins, carbs, and fats. So basically I didn't know if anyone would point out that it is not balanced or is high in sodium (like you pointed out...thanks!)

I could make it at home, but the point of it is that I work full time while in school and some nights it is not very practical to make a homemade meal.

I didn't mean to ask a dumb question, I just didn't want to fool myself into thinking it was a decent option for me.

Sorry - it wasn't a dumb question, I just wasn't sure exactly what your concern was. Chipotle is definitely the healthier variety of fast food, especially your particular choice of meals. I wouldn't be too concerned - you can definitely work around the sodium.

I did the work full time / school full time at the same time thing, too - you might consider cooking up a big batch of chicken/beans/rice mixture one day a week - then pre-portion it into the containers. This would allow you to "grab and go" - just needing to add the lettuce and hot sauce - on days when you needed it (assuming you have a way to heat it up). Just an idea - I learned that cooking big batches like that is a great time saver and a way to eat home-made food even when you're really busy.

If it makes you feel any better, Chipotle is what the restaurant industry would call "fast casual", not fast food. :laugh: Totally hear ya on the working + school thing. I did it for a while, too, and yeah, I NEVER had much time to cook at all (which I missed since I love cooking).

But as far as fast casual or fast food goes, Chipotle is one of the best options out there, IMHO. Responsibly sourced ingredients and meat? Sign me up! I eat there often for lunch still if I need to grab something during my lunch hour because I'd much rather go there than other fast casual/food joints that are less healthy (fried, for example). So eat up and enjoy! And good luck with school.

I stick to all veggies and rice, no sour cream or qucamole (sp) and it ends up being around 237 calories. very filling... i think if its all with ur ranges for carbs, protein, and calories you should be good.

recommend Chipotlaway.

I think your pretty good with it ... the brown rice is definately better than white rice ... and the fact that theres no tortilla is knocking, like 400 calories off right there . ... If your worried about eating too many carbs, (or say that day, you had a sandwich or something) then just switch out the rice for extra veggies .. it might cost you more, but it'll prob be just as filling for fewer calories.

I know alot of people have mixed emotions about eating at fast food places ... and while its not the best thing to do all the time, I think when you can find great substitutions to keep the calories in check, its just as good as homemade stuff. Oh! Theres an idea ... you could make a chipotle burrito bowl @ home ... that way the calories are REALLY in check (i love when I have ideas in the process of writing something haha)

Good luck!

I would just be aware of the sodium in Chipotle's food.