Healthy Resturant Eating Vol. 1: Qdoba

Eating healthy at home is one thing.

Eating "healthy" at restaurants is a whole new ball game.

The temptations of eating juicy, yet fattening, burgers, as well as gorging on processed carbs can make having weightlifting approved meals outside of the home extremely difficult.

However, it is POSSIBLE to eat clean at restaurants.  This new series will help show this through looking at some of the meals I typically eat at my favorite restaurants.

First up....Qdoba.

I LOVE Mexican food. And because of that addiction, it's very easy to get lost in the menu at places such as Qdoba and Chipotle. Believe it or not; however, it is actually INCREDIBLY easy to have a clean meal at these restaurants. In order to do that, here are a few tips:

1. Stick to burrito bowls- As delicious as actual burritos are, the tortilla provides an unnecessary amount of calories (310), and carbohydrates (53 grams). The addition of the tortilla might be beneficial for a cheat meal or a post leg-workout meal, but when it comes to "clean" meals, eliminate the tortilla.

2. Double the meat- Each serving of grilled chicken at Qdoba contains 25 grams of protein, while the steak supplies 26 grams. Why not get a serving of both, and make it easier to hit your protein goal for the day?

3. Load up on veggies- Take full advantage of the lettuce, corn, tomato, and grilled onions/peppers.

I actually went to Qdoba this afternoon, and here is what I ordered.

 

Chicken/Steak Burrito Bowl

1 serving of chicken

1 serving of steak

1 serving of brown rice

1 serving of black beans

1 serving of lettuce

1 serving of pico degallo

1 serving of roasted chile corn

 

Macros: 630 calories, 51 g of carbs, 58 g of protein, 22 g of fat

 

 

Eating healthy at Qdoba is extremely realistic. Use these tips and make it happen!