Chipotle...

Soon after I moved to Texas in 2002, I learned about a wonderful new restaurant called Chipotle. One of my seminary friends first introduced it to me, and soon it became a weekly staple.  The first few times I went, I ordered my burrito with hot sauce, and my mouth burned for days.  I switched to the green tomatillo salsa, which has a kick, but it doesn't clear your sinuses.  Somehow while I was in Texas, Chipotle started opening restaurants in Georgia, and so it has remained one of my favorite places (especially for fast-food), and Glen and I have lived near one ever since we moved back to Georgia. 

So in this blog, I will introduce you to how to eat semi-healthy at Chipotle.  It's still a splurge meal, but it's still not as bad as my favorite salad from Chili's (buffalo chicken salad...another blog for another day).  After my bad week, and a particularly rough day at work, Chipotle is what's for dinner tonight! So, the first rule at Chipotle is...lose the tortilla!  I love the yummy tortilla as much as the next person, but the thing has 290 calories.  On occasion, I will order the burrito rather than the burrito bowl, but it's not very often.  I'm not a fan of beans of any kind (black or pinto), so I just have rice. My nutrition app on my phone says the rice has 130 calories, but I figure they have to give you at least two servings...so let's double that to 260.  I order the chicken (190 calories), corn salsa (80 calories), green tomatillo salsa (basically none), cheese (100 calories...you can't let them go too crazy on the cheese).  Sometimes I have chips, too.  The entire bag has like 570 calories, but I split it with Glen...so 285.  When I don't have chips, it's really not that bad. 

So today...
         Breakfast:  Cereal bar (160 calories)
         Lunch:  Leftover poppyseed chicken (400 calories), apple (60 calories), 100 calorie cake
         Dinner:  Chipotle - burrito bowl with chicken, rice, green salsa, cheese, corn salsa (630 calories) plus chips (285 calories)
         Dessert:  Lowfat ice cream (130 calories)....you have to have something sweet after Chipotle.
Total for the Day:  1765 calories

I did go to the gym today, so that does make up for some of my extra calories from my yummy dinner.  Plus, I've been under my target almost every day this week, so again...I don't feel guilty.  But, I will admit that weekends are so much harder than weekdays.  I'm not as busy, and it's usually when I eat out.  My goal is to plan ahead and eat a lighter lunch when I think I may be eating a higher calorie dinner. We'll see how it goes.  Sunday is my day to weigh, but I'll admit I've checked a couple times this week (always at the same time of day). My scale is never the same twice...that's going to be frustrating.