One of the biggest obstacles to healthy eating is that life is too busy. Hectic schedules, overwhelming work responsibilities, family life, busy kids, too many extracurriculars, a month’s worth of piled up laundry, the hungry dog, the sassy cat, the needy mother-in-law, the dreaded gym (if you’re lucky) and—packing a lunch? Ha! In your dreams. At least that’s what I’ve heard from plenty of you. And being crazy busy can make it difficult (understatement?) to always have a homemade, PFC balanced meal when you’re at work or out during a meal time.

Enter Chipotle!

You may be dreading what the dietitian has to say about your all-time favorite restaurant, but don’t dread for long. In fact, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s my favorite fast-foodish restaurant too! In fact, if you watched my Fast Food Breakfasts TV segment you know my thoughts on fast food: It’s better to be prepared and eat at home since it’s healthier, more cost efficient and will likely save you time (the main reason you’re hitting up fast food joints in the first place, right?).While some may argue that a meal at Chipotle is too high in calories, that’s not a concern of mine, as health and weight loss are not about cutting calories (as I address in my best selling book.) And while Chipotle isn’t “perfect” by any means (they still use rice bran oil and soybean oil which I don’t encourage due to inflammatory properties), I appreciate their transparency when it comes to their ingredient list. They make it clear and easy for you to see what their food contains, which I argue all restaurants should do!

When I find myself at Chipotle, I strive to make my meal as PFC balanced as possible, containing quality protein, healthy fat and nutrient dense carbohydrates. Eating all three macronutrients will promote stable blood sugar levels and therefore consistent energy levels and stable moods all day (or evening depending on when you eat it!). I love that you’re able to customize your meal at Chipotle, so if you’re following PFC, Paleo, low-carb, gluten free, dairy free or just flat out trying to eat healthy, it’s doable!

How to navigate the Chipotle assembly line:

Burrito Bowl or Salad: The first choice you’ll have to make is if you’d like a burrito, burrito bowl, tacos or salad. The flour tortilla alone contains 46 grams of carbohydrates which breaks down to 11.5 teaspoons of sugar in the body! The corn tortillas aren’t much better with 30 grams of carbohydrates, breaking down into 7.5 teaspoons of sugar. Make your meal more balanced by losing the tortilla and choosing either a salad or bowl. You’ll have plenty of better options for real food carbohydrates. If you get a salad, they’ll ask if you want dressing. You’re better off skipping it due to its high sugar content and rice bran oil base (an oil I don’t recommend, and unfortunately you’ll already be getting some of it in your meat and veggies.) Again, Chipotle is not a perfect choice. Thankfully this is not about perfection! You can add salsa and guacamole in place of dressing later.

Beans, Rice? Neither or Both? This part is up to you. Generally, I recommend getting carbohydrates from real food sources—fruits and vegetables. These provide you with the most nutrient value and the smallest blood sugar spike. So it’s not a bad idea to pass on the rice and beans, which I consider to be filler foods (hence the reason they put them before the meat in the assembly line!). You can double up on fajita vegetables instead, which are more nutrient-dense carbs. That said, if you tolerate beans and/or rice just fine, and you feel good including them in your meal, go for it. In that case, I recommend white rice (which contains no anti-nutrients) and regarding black or pinto beans, choose whichever you prefer. Be sure to count these as carbs, not proteins, as beans are often mistaken for.

Protein: Your next decision is which type of protein you prefer. You can’t go wrong here, unless you order Sofritas, their new tofu option (I don’t recommend soy!) You might naturally order chicken, thinking its the healthiest option, but that’s not necessarily true, despite what we’ve been taught to believe. Beef and steak contain a variety of nutrients, like zinc, iron and B vitamins, so order whichever meat you prefer! I also appreciate how Chipotle strives to use humanely raised meat and dairy from local, pasture-raised animals that aren’t given hormones or antibiotics. Don’t take my “any meat will do” advice to every restaurant, though. For this and more tips on restaurant eating, check out my post, “8 Tips for PFC Restaurant Eating.”

Fixin’s: You have options to get three different salsas, corn, cheese and sour cream. The salsa is another good source of healthy carbohydrates (I’m a “mild” girl, the other options being medium and hot). Corn is up to you if you tolerate it or not. I’d consider it to be a real food carbohydrate (albeit not the most nutrient-dense carbohydrate), and I don’t think it’s necessary, especially if you doubled up on fajita veggies. Their sour cream is made with nonfat milk, which I’m not a fan of. I usually get cheese, even though I’m not quite sure if it’s full fat or not (their website doesn’t specify). Obviously hold the cheese if you’re dairy free.

Guac or No Guac? I always add guacamole — totally worth the extra cost! Chipotle prides itself on delicious, fresh guac and it’s a good source of healthy fat, which promotes absorption of all the nutrients from your meal. It’s the healthiest fat option they offer, and rest assured their guacamole is dairy-free. It’s a simple blend of fresh avocado, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, citrus juice and salt, sans sour cream (some restaurants add it as a filler- to cut back on costs).

Chips? Made with sunflower oil (which I don’t recommend), they aren’t ideal, but my oh my are they delicious. I’ve been known to order a side of these now and then. They are gluten free and dairy free which is good, but I’d urge you to consider the chips a “treat” and not as an adequate source of nutrition. If you get ’em, count ’em as a carb.

Beverage: It should go without saying, but just in case- skip the soda and stick with water. The lemons make a nice touch at the drink counter!

Pro tip: I’m known to eat the protein, guac and just some of the veggies from my burrito bowl when it’s fresh, and then add the rest of my leftover veggies and salsa to my eggs the next morning. It’s a nice way to stretch it out to two PFC balanced meals.

So there you have it! Next time you’re in a pinch, stop at Chipotle, pull up this blog post on your mobile device and go to town! 😉

Now, you’ll probably want to download my 5.5 Tips to Boosting Your Metabolism so you can get on with your skinnier, more energetic self after that healthy meal! Grab my best tips to boost your metabolism by clicking the pink button below. Yay!