Eating Out...Ugh!

Why its better to eat at home!!! I walked into the ktichen at work today, and the glorius smell of Mexican cuisine swept my nostrils.  Instantly my mind began filter through all of the possible places where I might be abel to grab a quick and "not-so-bad" mexican meal...I quickly eliminated all of the more authentic mexican restaurants, but concluded I could at least get the south of the border feel from El Pollo Loco... Flame grilled chicken and a couple small sides couldn't be that bad, right?  WRONG!! 

Okay, so the chicken itself is not so bad, but those "small sides" are a meal in and of themselves! Before jumping off the ledge, I checked out the nutritional information on the El Pollo Loco website.  (DON'T BE ASHAMED TO ASK FOR THIS AT RESTAURANTS OR LOOK IT UP ON LINE BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT!) They actually have a really cool feature that allows you to build your meal and get nutrition info specific to that meal.   For me an averate meal at El Pollo Loco is 3 wings, 2 corn tortillas, rice, beans, and salsa.  Doesn't sound too bad, right?  I would have guessed about 500 calories or so... NOT!!! Try 839 calories... that is half of what I eat in a day!  Those innocent small sides are 419 calories by themselves!

So what's a good alternative when I'm craving a little quick mexican flava...Well, check out their "Healther Choices" menu for a skinless chicken breast meal, or make your own meal with a skinless chicken breast, a side of pinto beans, and small garden salad for about 464 calores (cut about 50+ more calories by nixing the dressing, just use salsa instead!)