Frozen Burritos: A Few Nutrition Facts

Ah yes, the frozen burrito. We love them, we buy them because they are cheap and ready to eat in two or three minutes, and they are horrible for us. Eating a few of these burritos from time to time is probably fine, but please do not make a regular diet out of them.

Salt!

Sodium is a necessary part of our diet, but a single frozen burrito averages 25% of our recommended daily intake! That is an incredible number, especially considering their tiny size. Hey, buddy, pass the salt!

Fat!

Almost any time a twenty-five cent food item is prepared in the microwave in less than five minutes, you can bet the fat value contained within will be horrendous. Frozen burritos are no exception, and they average about 21% of your total recommended fat intake for the day. So in review, with the consumption of just one of these gems, we have already eaten approximately a quarter of our daily intake of salt and fat.

Calories!

Yes, the dreaded "C" word: calories. Frozen burritos are chock full of these little guys! While 340 calories is still 200 less than the average Big Mac, it is by no means a healthy amount for something so small. The daily recommended caloric intake is 2,000 per day, which means that one burrito can wipe out almost a quarter of it in one swipe. Yikes! To top things off, 120 of those calories comes from the fat mentioned above.

Protein!

The average human requires approximately 90-110 grams of protein per day, depending on their size and exercise habits. These frozen burritos pack a wholloping 11 grams of protein, wiping out about 10 percent of your daily need. It has been established that beans are a wonderful source of protein, so the frozen burrito gets a passing grade in this category.

How about vitamins?

Each of us has certain vitamin requirements to maintain our health, and frozen burritos offer almost none. The average frozen burrito contains about 6% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin A, ZERO Vitamin C, and only 4% of our Calcium needs. However, they do pretty well in the Iron area, touting 20% of our daily needs! Pretty darn good for something that only weighs 142 grams, eh?

Do they have fiber, sugar, and carbohydrates?

A frozen burrito does pretty well in the fiber category, as well, providing 30% of our daily intake! We ingest an average of 14% of our daily carbohydrate requirements per burrito, and polish off 4 grams of sugar per serving.

Ok, so what is the problem? While obviously not the healthiest thing on the market, what makes them so bad? In my opinion, it is their size. One frozen burrito is not enough to fill most of us up, so we grab another, or chase the first one with chips and soda to satisfy our hunger, which exponentially raises all the above levels. Have meals like that too often, and you will be visiting your doctor for sure!