If youre trying to eat healthier or follow a specific eating plan, fast food can quickly throw a wrench in your plans.
Most fast food is loaded with calories, fat, and refined carbs yet short on fruits and vegetables unless you order a salad.
Fortunately, the food chain Taco Bell offers several options that suit low calorie, vegetarian, vegan, low carb, keto, or high protein diets.
Here are 18 healthier menu options at Taco Bell, along with ways to make your order a little more nutritious.
These menu items are all under 200 calories. However, theyre also fairly small and you may need a couple of them to make a complete meal thatll keep you feeling full.
Choose two or three of the highest-protein options and request extra lettuce or tomatoes to make this a larger, more complete meal.
The Crunchy Taco comes with seasoned beef, lettuce, and cheese in a crunchy taco shell. One Crunchy Taco contains (1):
Taco Bells Soft Taco is identical to the Crunchy Taco but made with a soft tortilla. It contains seasoned beef, lettuce, and cheese. One Soft Taco provides (1):
The Doritos Locos Taco features a crunchy taco shell made from Nacho Cheese Doritos. Its filled with seasoned beef, lettuce, and cheese. One Doritos Locos Taco contains (1):
The Cheesy Roll Up is Taco Bells three-cheese blend rolled into a soft tortilla. In addition to being low in calories, its vegetarian-friendly. It contains (1):
This bowl consists of black beans and seasoned rice. Its vegetarian-friendly and provides (1):
The Chicken Chipotle Melt consists of chicken, cheese, and creamy chipotle sauce on a soft tortilla. Protein-wise, it offers the best bang for your buck among the low calorie options and provides (1):
Taco Bell has a Veggie Cravings menu with 18 vegetarian menu items. To make them vegan, request the removal of any dairy products. For example, ask to receive the meals fresca-style to replace any cheese and sour cream with diced tomatoes.
The Quesalupa is a Taco Bell specialty made with a thick, chewy Chalupa shell filled with a blend of cheeses. This vegetarian take also contains black beans, sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes. It provides (1):
The Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme is another Taco Bell specialty. It consists of black beans and cheese sauce under a crunchy taco shell topped with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. All of this is wrapped in an extra-large tortilla and grilled. This option contains (1):
The Veggie Power Menu Bowl is made with black beans, guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, and shredded cheese on a bed of seasoned rice. It provides (1):
Because high carb beans, rice, and tortillas appear in most menu items, Taco Bell meals generally arent optimal if you follow a keto or low carb diet. However, with a few modifications, you can enjoy a Power Menu Bowl (2, 3, 4).
Ask for a steak or chicken Power Menu Bowl with extra meat and no beans or rice. Youll receive a Power Menu Bowl with meat, cheese, guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, and avocado ranch sauce.
Heres the nutrition info for a chicken Power Menu Bowl with extra chicken, no beans, and no rice (5):
If youre not following a specific diet like vegetarian, keto, or low calorie, the best Taco Bell options are often those with the most protein. Because protein is filling, a high protein meal will satisfy you for longer than low protein menu items (6).
Note that while these options are high in protein, theyre also high in calories, fat, refined carbs, and sodium. Ask to receive them fresca-style to reduce the calories and fat content without significantly reducing the protein content.
Each of these menu options contains at least 20 grams of protein per serving with no modifications.
The Quesalupa is a chewy, cheese-filled shell with seasoned beef, sour cream, shredded cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. It provides (1):
The Quesarito is a Taco Bell specialty. This cross between a cheese quesadilla and a beef burrito consists of a cheese quesadilla rolled up like a burrito, filled with seasoned beef, shredded cheese, cheese sauce, sour cream, seasoned rice, and chipotle sauce. It contains (1):
The Cheesy Gordita Crunch is a signature Taco Bell menu item that consists of a crunchy taco wrapped in a cheese-covered flatbread. It contains seasoned beef, shredded cheese, lettuce, and spicy ranch sauce. One Cheesy Gordita Crunch provides (1):
Taco Bells Quesadillas are made from chicken, beef, or steak, a shredded three-cheese blend, and creamy jalapeno sauce in an extra-large tortilla thats folded in half and grilled. A Chicken Quesadilla contains (1):
The Power Menu Bowl can be made with chicken or steak. It also comes with sour cream, shredded cheese, guacamole, seasoned rice, black beans, avocado ranch sauce, lettuce, and tomatoes. The chicken version contains (1):
For a filling breakfast, you can get a Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito with sausage or steak. In addition, this burrito contains shredded cheese, egg, potatoes, and tomatoes. The Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito with sausage contains (1):
The Breakfast Crunchwrap contains hash browns, eggs, bacon, cheese, and creamy jalapeno sauce, all wrapped in a large tortilla and grilled. One Breakfast Crunchwrap contains (1):
The Hash Brown Toasted Breakfast Burrito is made from bacon, hash browns, shredded cheese, and eggs in a tortilla. One provides (1):
Here are some ways that you can make the menu items at Taco Bell more nutritious:
Note that like most fast food, Taco Bell meals may not be suitable if youre on a sodium-restricted diet. Nearly all the meats, beans, sauces, tortillas, and shells are pre-made or pre-seasoned with large quantities of salt (11).
Plus, if youre looking to stay away from food additives or highly processed foods, consider avoiding this food chain. Except for the fresh vegetables, most Taco Bell ingredients are highly processed and contain food additives.
This is worth considering. Emerging research suggests that highly processed foods may contribute to obesity and the development of chronic health condition like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer (12, 13, 14).
Highly processed foods are typically also hyperpalatable, meaning that theyre designed to taste extremely good. This makes it easy to keep eating even after youre full, and it may increase your future cravings for highly processed foods (15, 16, 17).
Most fast food is loaded with calories, fat, and refined carbs. Taco Bell is no exception, though this food chain also offers low calorie, high protein, and vegetarian options and with a few modifications, you can even find a keto meal.
If youre limiting sodium or avoiding highly processed foods, Taco Bell may not be a good choice for you.
To make your Taco Bell meals as nutritious as possible, ask for your meal fresca-style with extra meat or beans, opt for sugar-free drinks, and skip the desserts.
See the rest here:
18 Healthier Options at Taco Bell - Healthline
