A soft chicken taco and the crispy chicken taco from Taco Bueno's Bueno Choice menu.
Although I don’t have a Taco Bueno in my neighborhood, I was thrilled to hear that they introduced a healthier menu earlier this year. This Bueno Choice menu contains several items with under 450 calories; along with a few that have a reasonable amount of sodium. So I made it a point to stop at the Lawton, OK Taco Bueno on my road trip, to check out how their healthier choices stack up taste-wise.
We tried to pick items on their Bueno Choice menu that were lower in sodium, so we started with a Bueno Choice Crispy Chicken Taco (150 calories, 460 mg. sodium). I added a Bueno Choice Soft Chicken Taco (180 calories, 710 mg. sodium); while Charles tried the Bueno Choice Tostella (160 calories, 420 mg. sodium).
And although my soft chicken taco was at the upper limit of my sodium intake for lunch, it was doable, and very tasty. The chicken had a nice roasted, smoky flavor to it, and the tomato salsa was fresh. And since I like things a little spicy, I added some jalapenos and picante sauce from the salsa bar. The crispy taco was served in a pre-made shell, and it was pretty flavorful for what it was. All in all, it was a very filling lunch for 330 calories and 1170 mg. sodium.
The 160 calorie tostella, from Taco Bueno's Bueno Choice menu.
Charles brought the sodium down even more with his choice of a tostella. It’s basically a tostada on a corn shell with lettuce, tomatoes and a bit of cheese; however in place of the traditional refried beans it has a layer of black beans. Charles also doctored it up with some jalapenos and hot sauce, and in the end he gave it a thumbs up. The only down side, was that it was a little messy to eat, but that goes with the whole tostada territory. And for 330 calories and 790 mg. sodium you really can’t complain.
I’m really happy to see that more and more fast food Mexican restaurants are adding healthier choices to their menus, because to be honest, it’s really not that hard to do. My only complaint is that I don’t have a Taco Bueno close to me; so I guess I’ll just have to save it for road trips!
