How many calories in a taco salad bowl?
 

Monday dinners are a challange for me. I volunteer at a bingo hall and am stuck eating dinner there (on the run, of course). They serve bar food, so my choices are very limited. And no I really can't bring my dinner or sneak out for food. I have mainly been eating BLT sandwiches, but they are getting old. They do have a grilled chicken salad which is served in one of those taco salad bowls. Other than the bowl, I think the salad would be a good choice. I know myself well enough that I will eat atleast 1/2 the bowl. How many calories does one of those bowls have?

We need to know every ingredient and amount of each ingredient to guesstimate. The fat used in cooking and dressing alone could be 300 calories or more.

In these situations, if I have a purse (almost everyone does :) ) I can make my own food and put it in there and the problem is solved. Otherwise, I either don't eat until after, eat before, put a "food bar" in my pocket or bring a meal replacement shake to drink to avoid feeling pressured to cave with limited food options.

The shell could be tricky to estimate. The ones made by Old El Paso contain 110 cal, but they don't look very big from the pic on their website.

Perhaps you could ask them to serve it in a regular bowl, rather than the taco bowl? Once you've ordered, willpower is removed from the equation. Also, ask for extra salsa instead of ranch dressing or sour cream - you'll save a boatload of calories, and it still tastes great!

Here is the nutritional information for just the crispy taco salad shell from Qdoba (I would get a taco salad without the shell!):

Amount per Serving:
Calories 390 cal
Calories From Fat 200 cal
Protein 6 g
Carbs 40 g
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Sugar 1 g
Fat Total 22 g
Saturated Fat 4.5 g
Trans Fatty Acids 0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Vitamin A 0 %DV
Vitamin C 0 %DV
Calcium 15 %DV
Iron 10 %DV
Potassium 50 mg
Sodium 150 mg

Here is a link to the calculator if you want to add cheese, meat, sour cream, guac, salsa to get an estimate for the taco salad at your place:

http://www.qdoba.com/Calculate.aspx (click salads)