Chipotle might advertise better quality ingredients than its fast food rivals, but that doesn’t mean it’s all that healthy for you.
Many of the chain restaurant’s meals measure in at over 1,000 calories, according to a recent study conducted by the New York Times. That’s over 50% of the daily recommended number of calories for most adults (1,600 to 2,400 per day).
But there’s at least one surefire way to ensure you’re not packing on the pounds at Chipotle: skip the 300-calorie tortilla and get a burrito bowl instead. You could also stick with the veggie bowl (535 calories), the steak crispy tacos (535 calories) or the carnitas burrito (545 calories).
The Times study is based on a report released Tuesday analyzing 3,000 meals, or 1,800 Grubhub orders, from July to December 2012. It showed a typical order at the chain had 1,070 calories. Those include burritos stuffed with barbacoa, steak and chicken. About 10% of meals measured in at over 1,600 calories.
Chris Arnold, Chipotle’s communications director, told the newspaper that the company is aware of individual nutrients in its ingredients. However, he added that it doesn’t track information on an order-by-order basis. “We don’t manage our menu around individual nutrients,” he said.
The news comes as Chipotle has been deemed a business powerhouse in the fast food industry, with a market cap of over $20 billion and sales exceeding $1 billion per quarter. However, Chipotle failed to meet analysts’ expectations when it reported its most recent quarterly earnings on Feb. 3, with same-store sales up 16.1% compared to an expected 16.5%. Still, co-CEO Steve Ells remained upbeat.
“Consumer trends are changing, which we believe is a great result of people becoming more discerning about where their food comes from, how it was raised, and how their meal was prepared,” said Ells in a statement.
Fortune profiled Chipotle’s meteoric rise in 2011. Read it here.
