Man vs. Fast Food....Wednesday is Taco Bell

Today is Wednesday so that meant our Man vs. Fast Food travels took us to Taco Bell. Taco Bell has some options for you to choose from if you are "stuck" at a fast food place due to your schedule or that fact that your family might like to eat there. They have a Fresco side of the menu that has 9g or less of fat for the items on that portion of the menu. That's where our first taste tested item came from. It was the Fresco Crunchy Taco. It was low in calories, carbs, and sodium. Yea! This was one of the first items this week that met several of the criteria. It had good taste and was lightenough so that it was not too filling. Remember, the key here is to only order 1 and not 5 lor 6 because that is what gets us into trouble. Portion sizes and also quantities.

The next item that I ordered was the Grilled Stufft Chicken Burrito. Wow! It was the Sodium Kung for sure today. It had 2,180mg of sodium in it and it tasted like it. It was very heavy and just wasn't something that appealed to me as someone who wants food that is good on the go and something that is light. With these high outside temperatures right now it even had less appeal. The first thing I did was to reach for some water. Really couldn't get more than a couple of bites down.

As I cautioned in the video, just because it is low fat doesn't mean all is good. One selection, the Fresco Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco is low fat (4g) but has twice the sodium (740mg) as did the Fresco Crunchy Taco. That is where menu selection becomes difficult. I encourage all of you to check online to see what the menus have to offer before you go to any of these fast food places. You can be surprised.

Some other items of interest:
* Chciken Ranch Fully Loaded Taco Salad- High Calorie 960 and High Protein 36g
* Chipolte Steak Fully Loaded Taco Salad- High in Fat 59g (Special note here. This item had double the sodium of the Fresco Crunchy Taco. Interesting.)
* Volcano Burrito- High Carbs 81g
* Fiesta Taco Salad- Also had High Carbs 81g

The conclusion from today is that it is a good thing that Taco Bell is trying to provide items on the menu that are better for you than others. However, they are inconsistant with the message that they are sending by complicating the menu with options that are way above sodium and fat levels that I think that we should be having as walker, runners, and cyclists. Yes, there will always be those that say they can tolerate these high levels of sodium because they excercise and are active. But how long will that be true? Remember, take in only what your body can use for fuel and to maintain a good healthy balance in your nutrition needs.

Some of the menus that we have looked at this week so far are making attempts at balancing nutritional needs, but are a ways from getting us as consumers to move away from the options that are not especially healthy for us to choose from. When there is choice, sometimes we make the wrong one if it is available. Do some research and think about what you eat. Your body will thank you as you venture out for your run, ride, or walk!

Tomorrow is Thursday which means we will head out to Wendy's. See you tomorrow!

Forward we go! May your roads and trails be happy and safe!