Homemade Chipotle

These days, it can be hard to resist fast food. You can’t drive anywhere without passing at least ten different restaurants, and even when we’re at home we see it on TV. Chipotle is one of the biggest weaknesses for my hubby. He loves it and would probably eat it every day if I let him

If you feel the same way, check out this Chipotle Nutrition Calculator next time you get a craving. Check the boxes next to everything you typically order and watch the nutrition label. It can be a little scary. For example, if you get a steak burrito with rice, black beans, tomato salsa, cheese and lettuce and a side of chips and hot salsa, what you’re really getting is 1,425 calories, 55 g of fat, 14 g saturated fat and 2,460 mg sodium (which is more than you need in a whole day)!

The good news is, you can make your own Chipotle-like burritos at home without much effort and with some simple substitutions you can really boost the health factor!

Here’s what you do:

-Make your own tomato salsa by combining a few ripe tomatoes, half a red onion, cilantro and some lime juice. Usually I would also add a jalapeno but I didn’t have one on hand tonight.

-Slice up a pepper and the other half of the onion and saute them in a hot pan for fajita burritos. They use green peppers, but I only had red on hand.

-Cook some brown rice in water according to package directions. When it’s finished, stir in some chopped cilantro and the juice from 1/2 a lime.

-For the beans, either open a can of no-salt added beans and drain and rinse them, or if you make dried beans in batches like I do, pull some out of your freezer and defrost them in the microwave.

-To make your burrito even healthier, use 8 or 9 inch whole wheat tortillas (instead of the 13-inch white tortillas they use), add kale or spinach instead of lettuce and use low-fat cheese in moderation.

Cook your meat of choice in a little bit of olive oil. Seasoning options include black or red pepper, paprika, no-salt added McCormicks… I pulled some frozen pork tenderloin out of the freezer that I had already cooked and all I had to do was dice it up and reheat it!

Now you’re all ready to assemble your burrito! You can even wrap it in foil for fun!

Ok, so I may have gotten a little over zealous while making the hubby’s and I couldn’t quite close it all the way like a burrito…but we can pretend!

As for myself…remember those Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos? I LOVED them, so I roasted a sweet potato while the rice was cooking and made myself one tonight. I added a little bit of the pork and some salsa and cheese as well. Deeeelicous!

And there you have it! You can make your own Chipotle for a fraction of the cost and with a nutrition label that will make you instead of !

So tell me, do you ever try to recreate your favorite restaurant food at home in a healthier way? What’s your biggest success?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–