Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Eating at Chipotle on SCD or Paleo
I was reading an article found on Yahoo! the other day about the supply and demand of Chipotle's all-natural meats. I've always liked Chipotle ever since years ago when 60 Minutes did a special report on how the founders of the resturant chain decided to invest in using locally farmed free-range, naturalized pigs, chickens, and cows for their meats. The article mainly talked about how the company's demand for humanely raised meats were supposed to then increase the prevalence and therefore lower the price of said goods but the opposite effect is actually happening. Turns out not enough of America's meat farmers are keeping up with the demand of natural meats and therefore the prices are actually going up instead of down. This of course leads to the problem of Chipotle either having to increase the price for its food or combine this naturally raised meat with some conventionally corn-induced and hormone pumped meats. They have opted for the latter in some of their locations but are thinking about raising their already high prices even more. I'm a supporter of higher priced foods as long as the quality stands to match. In any case, this article linked me to Chipotle's website where they conveniently have listed all of their menu items as well as the ingredients. Hummm...Paleo approved? Get this: Scroll over the Menu tab and there's even a subheading "special diet information." If that doesn't scream paleo/scd -helpful I don't know what does. All of their menu items are then listed there and categorized into what contains gluten and other allergens like soy. Turns out most things are gluten-free that should be (which I assume means the spices that are used in the restaurant do not contain traces of soy or gluten either, hooray!) and the most helpful part of the website is the next tab down "Ingredients Statement." I think most places don't like to list all of the ingredients of their food for several reasons. One, I guess they all like to think their recipes are secret or something and that only a talking dog would be allowed to disclose such sacred information. Two, the ingredients in most foods found at common restaurants would be embarrassing to admit to serving to patrons. Not Chipotle, though. This place just keeps getting better in my mind. Looks like many of the menu items could be considered scd and paleo-friendly. Do a quick Google search and it turns out Robb Wolf (paleo-guru) actually endorses eating at Chipotle. Who would have known?? A lot menu items have soybean oil in them which I would never elect to eat on a normal day but it would be tolerable for an occasional outing. Other places on the website discuss how their salsas and guacs are handmade everyday with fresh ingredients. By the end of my peruse on the site I was ready to jump in my car and grab some lunch from Chipotle (which is so out of character for me to want to eat anything not cooked in my kitchen, I don't trust it.) Then I realized where I have recently moved to...dun-duh-duhhh...there are no Chipotle's. Boooooooooo. I remember eating there before I had dietary qualms and the food was always delicious. So I am writing this to let all of you other scd-ers and paleo-goers who do live near a Chipotle that there should be some menu items that are acceptable to indulge in. Eat it for me, I am going to make a special stop just to try it the next time I visit my family where there is a Chipotle location. I wish I had known this when I lived closer to one.
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Thank you for this!! I am one week into SCD and relieved to know that in a pinch there is a place I can go.
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