Qdoba Mexican Grill Becomes One of Colorado's Largest Recipients of State's Smart Meal Seal

By: QDOBA Mexican Eats® | 0 Shares 410 Reads

Program Highlights Restaurant's Healthy Menu Items

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to the Colorado Physical Activity and Nutrition (COPAN) program at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Denver-based Qdoba Mexican Grill is the state's second-largest and biggest fast-casual Mexican restaurant recipient of its Smart Meal Seal.

According to Shana Patterson, registered dietitian and nutrition coordinator at the CDPHE, "Restaurants participating in the Smart Meal Seal program showcase entrees that are lower in fat and saturated fat and include components such as beans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. We are particularly pleased to have Qdoba Mexican Grill become a member of this program during National Nutrition Month."

Approximately 58 Qdoba restaurants across the state will participate in the program that features four Smart Meals highlighted by the state and nutritional Smart Meal brochures will be available to customers in Qdoba's restaurants in April. The four Smart Meals include:

Poblano Pesto Naked Burrito® which contains 23 net carbs, 34 g carbs and 11 g fiber
Naked Taco Salad™ which contains 330 calories
Garlic Herb Grilled Veggie Naked Taco Salad™ which contains 3.5 g of fat, 200 calories/35 from fat
Naked Burrito® which contains 10 g of fat, 540 calories/110 from fat

"We are thrilled to receive Colorado's Smart Meal Seal for our efforts to help our customers make healthy choices," said Gary Beisler, CEO of Qdoba. "Because so many items on our menu are made fresh, we have hundreds of healthy combinations that can be customized to fit a variety of needs such as cutting carbs, counting calories or trimming fat without cutting any flavor."

Qdoba's Web site, www.qdoba.com, also provides customers with nutritional facts online and offers healthy ordering ideas as well as a nutritional calculator to allow customers to build, customize and see the nutritional value of every menu item. Other interesting healthy facts include:

Qdoba's full menu meets guidelines for zero artificial trans-fats per serving.
One-third of its core menu ingredients and all of its salsas are fat-free.

This year, the Colorado Dietetic Association also will be training dietitians to promote the Smart Meal Seal throughout Colorado. For more information about registered dietitians, go to www.eatrightcolorado.org. For additional information about the Smart Meal Seal program and other community initiatives, go to www.livewellcolorado.com, or contact Shana Patterson at 303-692-2572 or by email at Shana.Patterson@state.co.us.

About Qdoba Mexican Grill

Qdoba's menu centers on large signature burritos that offer unique flavors, including poblano pesto, ancho chile barbecue, fajita ranchera and the queso burrito – Qdoba's most popular burrito. The menu also includes breakfast burritos, grilled quesadillas, salads, nachos, Naked Burritos®, tacos and Mexican Gumbo™. All entrees are prepared in front of the customer and topped with personally selected ingredients, including one of five distinctive salsas.

Qdoba Mexican Grill puts a fresh spin on flavors in its nouveau-Mexican fast-casual food. The menu offers a variety of choices that are all made fast, fresh and right in front of the customer. Since its beginning in Denver in 1995, the fast casual chain has shown continued growth with more than 400 restaurants in 39 states. Qdoba is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jack in the Box Inc. (NYSE:JBX). Franchise development rights exist for additional Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurants in areas throughout the nation. For more information about Qdoba, please visit www.qdoba.com.

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