Try This Instead of That... "Homemade" Burrito Bowl vs. Chipotle

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I didn't set out to dis Chipotle with this post. I have tons of family, friends and clients who love Chipotle. And yes, I agree, it's a "better" option than a lot of fast food places. But the calories, carbs, saturated fat and sodium can quickly add up at Chipotle even when you customize your own burrito bowl there. So I offer you this "homemade" alternative which takes less than five minutes from start to finish to throw together (including the two minutes it takes to microwave) and has fewer calories, less fat, fewer carbs, WAY less sodium and more protein than Chipotle.

You can pick up all the ingredients you need at Trader Joe's (or any decent grocery store) and keep them in your fridge/freezer for when the burrito craving hits. You can also meal prep this sucker in a microwave safe container and take it to work. It's healthier and faster than Chipotle and it still scratches that itch.

What to do

  1. Grab a microwave safe bowl and add a cup of spinach (or kale, romaine or whatever green leafy vegetable you have).
  2. Add 1-2 cups of frozen broccoli (or peppers, cauliflower, onions or whatever vegetables you have chilling in the freezer or fridge).
  3. Add 1/4 cup frozen brown rice (they sell this in packs at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and many other stores. Put what you don't use in a Ziplock and store in freezer for another meal).
  4. Add 1/2 or 1 whole container of Brat Hans Fully Cooked Organic Chicken Breast Strips.
  5. Add 1/2 cup Trader Joe's fire roasted corn.
  6. Top with 2 tbs. Muir Glen Organic salsa.
  7. Cover with paper towel and microwave for ~2 minutes. If veggies are still a little frozen just stir, re-cover and microwave for another 1 minute or so.
  8. Eat!

See pics below. Obvi you can sub fresh for frozen anything and add whatever veggies/brands you personally like. You want cheese, ok. You want beans, ok. Just pick clean, organic ingredients and watch your total carbs and sodium. In retrospect, I wish I had added half an avocado sliced on top after taking it out of the microwave with a tbs. of greek yogurt. That would have been perfect! #nextime #yayhealthyfats

Using Chipotle's online nutritional calculator I compared this "homemade" recipe with their Chicken Burrito Bowl with brown rice, fajita vegetables, fresh tomato salsa, roasted corn salsa and romaine lettuce. Theirs has 134 more kcals, 33g more carbs, 10g more fat, 25g less protein and 677mg more sodium.