How to Eat Healthy at Qdoba

People often associate fast-casual Mexican food with cheese-laden combo plates, gigantic helpings of refried beans and burritos the size of a fire hydrant. Restaurants such as Qdoba, however, understand that customers want healthy options. Qdoba offers a number of fresh, healthy meals that taste great and won't wreck your waistline.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Skip the tortilla. A chicken burrito with pinto beans and pico de gallo packs in 660 calories when it's wrapped in a flour tortilla. Order that same burrito "naked"--in a bowl instead of in a tortilla--and the calorie count drops to 330.
2. Choose condiments wisely. All of Qdoba's salsas are fat-free, except for the roasted-chile corn salsa. Qdoba also offers light sour cream and a tasty, fat-free picante ranch dressing.
3. Cut your carbs by saying "no" to rice. A Steak Fajita Ranchera Naked Burrito--loaded with steak, ranchera sauce, black beans, grilled veggies, cheese, lettuce and light sour cream--has 23 net carbs when you order it without rice. The Poblano Pesto Naked Burrito has just 18 net carbs.
4. Go vegetarian. Enjoy a cup of vegetarian tortilla soup, a grilled-veggie soft taco and a diet soda; the calorie count is just 360. A Garlic Herb Grilled Veggie Naked Taco Salad contains only 170 calories.

Tips & Warnings

• Visit Qdoba for a healthy breakfast. A Naked Breakfast Burrito with chicken and pico de gallo has just 90 calories and 4 grams of fat. That's a refreshing change from most fast-food breakfasts, which are packed with calories and fat.
• Avoid the three-cheese queso. An order of tortilla chips with three-cheese queso contains 740 calories and 51 grams of fat.