Tonight I had to run out with the youngin for some errands. I had only eaten a Chicken Noodle soup and a couple slices of sourdough bread all day, so figured I could eat something small on the road. Took the youngin to Carls Jr, which also has a Green Burrito . Bought her her dinner and looked at Green Burrito's menu for something appropriate for myself. I asked if they had plain vegetarian burritos, without all the bells and whistles. The cashier said all the burritos were sold with chicken or beef, but they could be made without. I then asked for their basic burrito, without meat. He asked if I wanted their new ONE-POUNDER BURRITO! Holy heck! I explained I was looking for something simplier. He suggested the Grilled Chicken without chicken. I thought again, and thought grilled chicken shouldn't be a problem and it would give me an extra boost of protein.
A bit later, my burrito was brought to me. It was fairly large. I didn't worry, because I assumed it would be chicken, rice, beans and salsa. Well it wasn't. It was chicken, rice, salsa, cheese and drenched in some sour creamy sauce. It was really good, but not exactly what I expected. Well I ate it, and got to thinking of the calories. I had only ingested about 400 up to that point (7:00 pm), so I figured the burrito probably added 600 or so. I thought to ask for the nutrition guide and was shocked that the Grilled Chicken Burrito had one of the highest calorie counts of any entree on the menu, 1030 calories!!!!!!! And the sodium??? The sodium was seriously in the 4-digits, at 2590 mg, which is just over 100% of the daily recommended allowance. The calories from fat were 261% of the daily recommeded. I about passed out.
I walked out feeling ill. It's criminal how fast food places can stick you with those huge calories counts, and at the same time all their advertising proclaim how fresh and healthy their meals are.
Of course, they don't even have nutrition brochures, which would be handy for the diner, I had to ask for the poster behind the counter, that you can't read from the cash register.
Luckily, I hadn't eaten much, or I'm afraid I would have really screwed things up. As it is, I'm pretty sure it will take until the end of the week to flush out all that sodium, and maybe longer to work off all that excess fat.
Live and learn. I won't make that mistake twice. I would have been better off eating what the youngin ordered, Charbroiled Chicken Club Sandwich, hold the mayo. I would have eaten half the calories and almost half the sodium, and still had a satisfying meal.
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