My kids called it "the burrito shop" when they were really little and then it was "Burrito Bell"...anyway, we have been going for years, and many people think "yuck!" or "boy, that's surprising that you eat something so unhealthy". Anyway, we do eat there often!
So it was great to hear others think the same!
Carissa Stanz of Wide Open Eats just wrote an article about it: Did You Know that Taco Bell Has Become One of the Healthiest Food Chains?
Tessa Newell of the food news website called FoodBeast also wrote an article a few years ago called: Taco Bell Has Low Key Become One of America's Healthiest Fast Food Chains (Business Insider also shared Tessa's article)
Plus, Dr Neal Barnard, president of Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine, has even suggested going to Taco Bell for a bean burrito!
These are my kudos for Taco Bell.
1. It's a FAST, CHEAP way to get some nutritious food, most importantly, BEANS, when you are out and about.
2. It tastes great and fresh!
3. The refried beans do NOT contain lard (often refried beans are made with lard).
4. This one I learned from Tessa's article...Taco Bell has reduced it's sodium content by 15% in the last decade (since 2008).
5. Also from Tessa, they have great online nutrition info at TacoBell.com such as for allergens and ingredients. As of 2016, they planned to get rid of all artificial ingredients. I would say they have done well...there are lots of chemicals in pop, but as far as the food goes, the ingredients look pretty great!
Tips for ordering HEALTHY:
1. Order your items "fresco style". This means that cheese and sour cream will be substituted for pico de gallo (a tasty mix of chopped tomatoes, onions, and cilantro).
2. Replace meat in any item for beans. We always go with the refried beans, but they also carry black beans!
3. Tostadas and corn taco shells are your best bet for whole grains, though there is added oil, which will almost always be included in restuarant food. I already mentioned the reduction in sodium across the board. In general, Mexican food has less sugar than other types of food, so that's another good thing.
4. Add guacamole for extra flavor, nutritious fat, and satisfation to your meal!
carla wasa at toco bell one month ago. written by carla.
This is what we order most often:
1. Spicy Tostada, fresco style, make sure jalepeno sauce is omitted, and add guacamole ($1.00 plus cost of guacamole which varies from $0.25-0.50).
2. Bean Burrito, fresco style, sometimes with guacamole (prices vary...around $1.29).
3. Pintos N Cheese, fresco style, really just pintos and pico :) ($1.39).
This reminds me that I need to write posts for other restuarants! We love Chipotle (post about what to get), Qdoba, Aladdin's, several Indian restaurants, Bibibop, hmmm what else? I wrote about Curritos when I went to Houston, and we found a delicious restuarant in Boston called minigrow, and in Washington D.C. was the fantastic Fruitive.
