Eight scary fast food burritos
By Vicki Santillano, Divine Caroline via Care2
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Burritos have a lot of calories. That's not exactly "news at 11," but even the most calorie-conscious among us would be surprised by how quickly the numbers add up between the flour-tortilla folds.
Sure, we could cut out the shredded cheese and even the tortilla itself and save a few calories, but that'd be ignoring one important fact -- life is short. Too short, in my opinion, to waste it worrying about the occasional foil-wrapped indulgence. (Unless "occasional" means multiple times a week, in which case you probably don't give a flying fiesta bowl about calorie counts.)
When it comes to burritos, I say, go big or go home. And at these Mexican fast-food chains, it's hard to do otherwise.
Qdoba
Qdoba lets patrons build their own burritos, offering a plethora of meat, bean, and sauce options. So, what if you order ground beef on a flour tortilla with cilantro-lime rice, black beans, lettuce, sour cream, cheese, guacamole, and roasted chile corn salsa and top it with three-cheese Queso sauce?
Oddly enough, if you replace the cheese sauce with ancho chile BBQ, it's only a 10-calorie difference.
Calories: 1,410. Total fat: 62.5 g. Saturated fat: 26.5 g. Trans fat: 1 g. Sodium: 3,125 mg.
The Green Burrito (Carl's Jr.)
Its one-pound burritos are the most caloric items in the group, but the ground beef version -- with sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, rice, refried beans, hot sauce, salsa, and jack and cheddar cheeses -- outdoes the rest.
Somehow, the same thing at Red Burrito (the East Coast's Carl's Jr. outpost) clocks in at only 840 calories.
Calories: 1,060. Total fat: 47 g. Saturated fat: 17 g. Sodium: 2,470 mg.
Chipotle
Like at Qdoba, diners can customize their burritos. For example, you could get a flour tortilla filled with carnitas, cilantro-lime rice, pinto beans, corn salsa, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and romaine.
Replacing the tortilla with three crispy taco shells actually loses 110 calories! Or you could also cut out the lettuce and save five. Every effort counts, right?
Calories: 1,060. Total fat: 47 g. Saturated fat: 17 g. Sodium: 2,470 mg.
Taco Del Mar
The Mondo Burrito has ground beef, refried beans, rice, salsa, and cheese. Sounds basic, but it packs a shockingly salty punch.
Calories: 1,070. Total fat: 36 g. Saturated fat: 12.5 Sodium: 2,560 mg.
Baja Fresh
You'd think the pork carnitas bean and cheese burrito would be the worst health offender, but charbroiled steak bean and cheese takes the cake.
Breaded fish bean and cheese has the same amount of calories, but surprisingly, it boasts fewer grams of fat and significantly less salt.
Calories: 1,030. Total fat 43 g. Saturated fat 21 g. Trans fat: 1.5 g. Sodium: 2,350 mg.
Del Taco
For the truly hungry, Del Taco makes a hefty burrito on the cheap. The Macho Beef burrito comes with beans, red and green sauce, tomatoes, lettuce, cheddar cheese, onions, sour cream, and something called "taco meat" on the menu.
Calories: 1,010. Total fat: 44 g. Saturated fat: 19 g. Sodium: 2,140 mg.
Hardee's
Lest we forget about the most important meal of the day, this chain has a Loaded Breakfast Burrito with eggs, sausage, diced ham, bacon, cheddar cheese, and zesty salsa. At least this one's not as bad as Hardee's former Country Breakfast burrito, which came with hash browns, sausage gravy, and 920 calories.
Calories: 760. Total fat 49 g. Saturated fat: 21 g. Sodium: 1,700 mg.
Taco Bell
If you're looking for the most caloric bang for your buck, Taco Bell's Grilled Stuft Burrito with ground beef, beans, seasoned rice, three cheeses (cheddar, pepper jack, and mozzarella), Pepper Jack sauce, and salsa has your name on it.
Compared with the rest of these chains, Taco Bell seems like the bastion of health.
Calories: 700. Total fat: 30 g. Saturated fat: 10 g. Sodium: 2,100 mg.
What's even scarier about this information is that it doesn't even factor in the chips and salsa you invariably eat while waiting for the burritos! After looking at the alarming fat and sodium contents of some of these burrito behemoths, maybe going sans sour cream once in a while or cutting portions in half aren't such bad ideas. Life may be short, but there's no need to make it even shorter.
Vicki Santillano writes for DivineCaroline.com, where this post first appeared.
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