Create your own Chipotle nutrition label

Tonight I’ve put some thought into how I can eat better, thanks to the inspiration and knowledge gained from my chiropractor, Dr. Matt Milonas’s nutrition seminars.  Since I had Chipotle today, I went in search of whether or not they used hydrogenated ‘trans’ fats.  The first search result yielded ChipotleFan.com’s interactive nutrition label generator.  Part fun and part educational, I learned about what I ate through the site.  I’m happy to report that my order has no trans fats.

Currently, I’m ordering the 3 Soft Tacos with chicken, tomato salsa (with a dash of hot), cheese, and lettuce.  Being a huge fan of chips and salsa, I almost never order Chipotle without the chips.  Mmmmm!  For fun, I compare the difference in my order with chips and without.  Wow what a difference!  Chips add 570 calories and 27 grams of fat.  I’m surprised, however, that the chips only add 17% more sodium.  With a sodium intake of 2130mg (89% of the FDA’s recommended daily intake) already coming from the tacos, what’s another 433 grams?

Here are the orders, side by side:

Chipotle Order Without Chips

Chipotle Order With Chips

Nutrition Facts Amount Per Serving Calories 625 Cal from Fat 225 % Daily Value* Total Fat 24g 36% Saturated Fat 10g 50% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 145mg 48% Sodium 2130mg 89% Total Carbs 52g 17% Dietary Fiber 6g 22% Sugars 8g Protein 49g Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% • Iron 0% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. INGREDIENTS: 6″ Tortillas (3),Chicken (4oz),Tomato Salsa,Red Tomatillo Salsa,Cheese,Lettuce Click Here to view

Nutrition Facts Amount Per Serving Calories 1195 Cal from Fat 465 % Daily Value* Total Fat 51g 78% Saturated Fat 14g 68% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 145mg 48% Sodium 2550mg 106% Total Carbs 125g 42% Dietary Fiber 14g 54% Sugars 12g Protein 57g Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% • Iron 0% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. INGREDIENTS: 6″ Tortillas (3),Chicken (4oz),Tomato Salsa,Red Tomatillo Salsa,Cheese,Lettuce,Chips Click Here to view

Admittedly, I go a bit ‘light.’  Most people add sour cream and guacamole.  I’ve never liked sour cream, and I’m just warming to guacamole.  Not for the flavor, but I try to cut additional fat (even if it’s a good fat, a practice I should change).  The total damage spikes when you add these two.  Add both tack on an additional 23g of fat (35% RDA) to a total of 74g or 113% RDA for fat intake. Add just Guacamole and you add 13g of fat (20% RDA) to a total of 64g of fat (98% RDA). Wow!

As yummy as Chipotle is, it’s easy to get lulled into thinking this food is healthier for us than it is. While a world better than myriad other fast food joints, if the meals came with about half the quantity of food, that would be perfect.  We tend not to think of the quantity we’re consuming until we measure it.

What’s your Chipotle order? Build yours here.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 05th, 2009 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.