Smart Choices at Qdoba
Foods can be deceiving. Just when you think you’re making a healthy choice, you come to find that the sauce in your pasta dish outdid your good intentions. To show you how food descriptions aren’t telling the whole story when it comes to calories, we took a look at some Qdoba items and entrees that appear on Graphite’s Food Nutrition Database. Here are some tips when ordering at Qdoba:
1. Don’t skimp on the tomato-based salsa. Two ounces of Fiery Habanero Salsa (Extra Hot), Pico de Gallo (Mild), Salsa Roja (Hot), or Salsa Verde (Medium) range from 10-25 calories each. That’s a lot of flavor packed in very few calories. Corn Salsa isn’t as forgiving, weighing in at 60 calories, while guacamole packs 85 calories for 2 ounces.
2. Choose your taco wisely. Here’s the lowdown on three taco types. Per serving, Qdoba Grilled Vegetables are 20 calories, Pinto Beans are 43 calories, Chicken is 63 calories and Ground Sirloin is 79 calories.
3. Go naked! A “naked” burrito foregoes the tortilla in lieu of another base like black or pinto beans.
4. Don’t be fooled by the wrapper. It seems like that thin, flat tortilla shell couldn’t pack too many calories inside of it. The fried taco shell, on the other hand, feels like a real indulgence. Actually, they’re relatively close in calories. Just one Taco Salad Shell at Qdoba includes 400 calories. The burrito-sized Flour Tortilla (13") holds 330 calories. If you want the shell, go for it. Just be careful what you put inside.
For many more Qdoba items and thousands of other foods, check out Graphite’s Food Nutrition Database.
