Fast Food 4-1-1: Taco Bell

photo by TW Collins

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Continuing with the Fast Food 4-1-1 series of posts, here are my selections, both good and bad from Taco Bell. I'm trying to pick a selection of fast food restaurants that have different types of foods. I could do every burger place on the face of the earth and I'd probably come up with similar choices. If you have a favorite fast food restaurant that you would like me to post about, let me know. Now, on to the chart.

	Calories	Fat(g)	Carbs(g)	Protein(g)	Fiber(g)
McDonalds Big Mac	540	29	45	25	3
Taco Bell Worst Choices
Fiesta Taco Salad*	840	45	80	30	15
Grilled Stuft Burrito - Beef**	680	30	76	27	9
Nachos BellGrande	770	44	77	19	12
Taco Bell Best Choices
Pintos 'n Cheese	150	6	19	9	7
Spicy Chicken Soft Taco	170	6	20	10	2
Crunchy Taco	170	10	13	8	3
Taco Bell Extras
Grilled Steak Soft Taco - FRESCO	160	4.5	20	10	2
Grilled Steak Soft Taco - Regular	270	16	20	12	2

Something you may not know about Taco Bell (I didn't until I read the Nutrition Info on the web site) is that most items can be ordered Fresco-style. If you order an item Fresco-style, cheese and sauce will be replaced by a fat-free tomato salsa, lowering calories and fat content, in some cases, dramatically. Try it the next time you "make a run for the border".

*Similar numbers for the Chicken Fiesta Taco Salad. Skip it, especially with the shell.

**All Grilled Stuft Burritos have similar numbers. For a smaller item, that's an awful lot of calories and fat.

A redeeming quality, if you can call it that, of Taco Bell is that you can order a portion-controlled amount of food since each item tends to be a smaller item. Stick to the healthier, smaller items, order things "Fresco", and don't order 12 things and you can actually do OK here.

Related Posts:

• Fast Food 4-1-1: McDonalds
• Fast Food 4-1-1: Subway
• Carbs: Brain Food or the Devil In Disguise