Best and Worst Food at Baja Fresh

Baja Fresh Philosophy

“We choose handmade not processed.  Farm fresh not tin-canned.
Flavor and nutrition over fillers and fads.  At Baja Fresh you’ll find eating well is a way of life and a state of mind. We believe in real food made with passion, for real people. Food that’s always prepared by hand from real recipes and real farm fresh ingredients, not pre-packaged. Life should be full of variety, zest and positive energy. Energized by good health and good nutrition.” – BajaFresh.com

Now that we know what Baja Fresh believes in – nutrition and eating well – let’s see how true they are to that philosophy of theirs.

Best Food at Baja Fresh Mexican Grill 

If you are looking for a healthier options at Baja Fresh, I suggest taking a look at their Healthy Choices menu which is organized into three categories; “Trimming the Fat” for those who are looking for low-fat meal options, “Watching Carbs” for low-carb meal options, and “Cutting the Calories” for low-calorie meal options.

Original Baja Taco – Shrimp

Calories: 200

Total Fat: 5 g

Protein: 11 g

Sodium: 280 mg

Carbohydrates: 28 g

Fiber: 2 g

Baja Ensalada® Charbroiled Chicken

Calories: 310

Total Fat: 7 g

Protein: 46 g

Sodium: 1,210 mg

Carbohydrates: 18 g

Fiber: 7 g

Grilled Mahi Mahi

Calories: 230

Total Fat: 9 g

Protein: 12 g

Sodium: 300 mg

Carbohydrates: 26 g

Fiber: 4 g

Worst Food at Baja Fresh Mexican Grill 

When it comes to Mexican Food, there is plenty of traditional foods that are worth giving up on due to their lack of health. Here’s some examples…

Most Sodium: Carnitas with Flour Tortillas Fajitas

Calories: 1,190

Total Fat: 43 g

Protein: 58 g

Sodium: 3,450 mg

Carbohydrates: 150 g

Fiber: 26 g

Most Calories and Most Fat: Charbroiled Steak Nachos

Calories: 2,120

Total Fat: 118 g

Protein: 96 g

Sodium: 2,990 mg

Carbohydrates: 163 g

Fiber: 31 g

Most Deceptive: 5 oz. Side of Corn Tortilla Chips

Do you realize how little 5 ounces of corn chips is? It’s hardly anything at all, and for a side dish, it’s quite the calorie load for such a small amount of food. I wouldn’t be surprised if  a lot of people order this small side dish thinking that they aren’t eating that much more calories and fat, but when you consider the worst foods I just mentioned, enough is enough.

Calories: 740

Total Fat: 34 g

Protein: 10 g

Sodium: 170 mg

Carbohydrates: 90 g

Fiber: 9 g

Eating at Baja Fresh

When eating out at Baja Fresh, it’s all about portion control! Always prepare ahead of time by checking the menu and nutrition information before you eat at Baja Fresh to ensure you don’t over eat or consume too many calories, fat, or sodium in a single meal.

In addition to the “worst foods” that I mentioned, I think it’s important to know that – unless you are sharing – you might want to avoid the Burrito Ultimo® meals, since each of them contain close to 1,000 calories each!

There are plenty of other meals you may want to avoid. I have to admit, it was much easier to find the bad foods than it was to find the healthy foods at Baja Fresh, which means a disaster for anyone trying to eat healthy.

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Image Credits and Sources: bajafresh.com