January 1, 2011 - 4:30pm
Welcome to all of my fellow Habanero's Grill fans. I'd like to use this first post primarily to cover the nature of this challenge, what we hope to accomplish, and most importantly, how you guys can win some free food. Rock on.
I have been a die-hard fan of Habanero's Grill since discovering the West Avenue location in the fall of 1998. As one way of familiarizing ourselves with the city after our recent arrival, my family often tried out new restaurants on the weekends. One day my mom recommended a place called Habanero's Grill after she saw a coupon in one of those Entertainment books. So on that fateful Friday night over 12 years ago, we tried Habanero's Grill for the first time.
And it was good. It was very, very good, ridiculously or even ridonkulously good. I have introduced many friends, family, and co-workers to the Habanero's Grill excellence, and it's the one place out-of-town visitors must go while they're here, especially considering the severely lacking good burrito options found elsewhere.
My own personal signature burrito was, for a very, very long time, the following: BYOB, BANG-sized, flour tortillas, refried beans, double steak, queso, both cheeses, sour cream, santa fe dressing, regular hot salsa. This was naturally delicious by any estimation but certainly far from healthy fare. And yet, I enjoyed this burrito in a regular basis for many, many years. I still enjoy it on special, splurge-worthy occasions, but for the last year or so, my lifestyle has somewhat evolved from those younger college years.
Around a year ago, I decided the excess flabbiness had to go. I began using P90x as a daily work out, I started cutting back on sweet tea and Mountain Dew, and I slowly started evolving my diet into something a little more reasonable - including a new personal "signature" burrito. As of now, I have lost 50+ pounds and 7-8 inches off of my waist. But a couple of months ago, it got me thinking - sometimes joints like Habanero's Grill get a bad rap. Sure, you can order stuff like my old signature burrito, and more power to you enjoying something unhealthy now and then. But, Habanero's offers MANY healthy options, it's just a matter of taking advantage of them. This isn't some fast food joint, this is a restaurant with infinitely variable, fresh, and customizable options to fit any dietary direction. So why not see if we could make Habanero's Grill a daily choice in a balanced, healthy diet? Further, let us see if such an attempt helps to accelerate or at least maintain this already successful physical improvement.
And behold, the 30 Visits in 30 Days Challenge.
There are a few adjustments from the newsletter announcement. First, the challenge will officially start on Saturday, January 8th. From January 8th through February 6th, I will hit up Habanero's Grill for one meal a day, either lunch or dinner depending on my schedule that day. I will report regularly on how the challenge is proceeding and how the challenge is affecting and hopefully furthering those existing physical improvements. Second, I tend to avoid weigh-ins as I do a lot of weight lifting these days and I think that skews the results - but clothes can obviously feel looser or tighter, belt sizes go up or down, and these types of indicators rarely lie, and so those will be shared as well.
How can you participate?
The Burrito Guy and I hope that our fellow burrito fans will participate by sending me their recommended healthy Habanero's meal choices, both burrito and otherwise, at michael@habanerosgrill.com. My current healthy-rito standard is a wheat tortilla, cilantro-lime rice, refried beans (not actually refried at Hab's!), double chicken, sometimes a little sour cream or shredded cheese, extra sliced avocado, and lots of hot salsa. But remember that in addition to burritos, Habanero's has rice bowls, salads, quesadillas, and sometimes forgotten or rare options like shrimp, spinach tortillas, and soup. And although it's pretty obvious I'm not a big veggie guy, I'll go for them willingly if requested. So what do you guys shoot for when you want to go healthy at Habanero's? The Burrito Guy tells me that if enough people request certain choices, he'll make a point of getting them in the restaurant to coincide with the challenge when possible even if they're not usually regularly available (let's do lobster!). Start sending in suggestions now so we can have an initial list for the January 8th start date.
What about the free food?
Every week I will choose my favorite meal choice as submitted by an Habanero's Grill fan. That person will receive a $25 voucher good at either Habanero Grill restaurant! So over the course of the challenge we'll be giving away $100 worth of free food to participating fans. Woooo! Remember, email suggestions to michael@habanerosgrill.com.
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January 2nd, 2011 - 3:50pm
Don't forget about the Habanero's Grill Nutritional Calculator found here. You can use it to find the estimated nutritional content of not just the signature burritos, but for custom build-your-own burritos as well!
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January 8th, 2011 - 9:25pm (Day 1)
Today was the first day of the challenge! I've received some good suggestions so far and I'll be trying a few over this first week. Today I started off easy - I had planned on getting my standard healthy burrito to start, but when I arrived at the restaurant I saw a new temporary burrito topping: carne guisada. I know, probably not as healthy as straight chicken, but I had to give it a shot. The meat was tender and the sauce delicious. I would call it slightly spicy, or perhaps more tangy than spicy unless you're really sensitive to hot and spicy foods. The full burrito was wheat tortilla, cilantro-lime rice, refried beans, carne guisada, a little bit of shredded cheddar, a little bit of sour cream, sliced avocado, and heavy on the regular hot salsa. Over time I think I'll pull back completely on the shredded cheese as that's probably the worst offender. I really don't think the sour cream has much of a negative impact and it lends a great creaminess to the entire burrito at little nutritional cost.
As an aside, I'm looking forward to sampling the various new January soups that were discussed in the last newsletter. That should further help with variation over the next 29 days.
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January 9th, 2011 - 1:15pm (Day 2)
Today I knew I would be having a relatively substantial dinner with family, so I decided to play it a bit light for a visit at lunch. I knew the Burrito Guy had some new soups planned for this month, so I decided to take this opportunity to sample one. So I went to the Rim restaurant and got a bowl of chicken tortilla soup as well as a new soup: potato poblano. Now I already knew the chicken tortilla soup was excellent, I've had it before, and co-workers have even used it as a pseudo-salsa with chips. In both cases, I asked the Habanero's crew to add some sliced avocado to each soup and then I added some roasted tomato salsa on my own. The potato poblano soup was excellent. While the heat from the poblano peppers was noticeable, what you really get is the actual flavor of the poblano pepper. Both the potato and poblano in the soup are diced quite small, so the soup is creamy with just a bit of textural bite in the potato. My guest and I split a wheat tortilla and chipotle tortilla on the side as well. I'm thinking of asking the Burrito Guy to introduce a "Pick 2" option I've seen elsewhere, like maybe 2 tacos and a side of soup or a kid's burrito and a side of soup. I'd definitely go for that kind of combo deal.
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January 10th, 2011 - 12:15pm (Day 3)
Today I went to the Rim with a team from work and I decided to fall back on my usual healthy burrito. I wanted to keep it simple as time was short. As a slight change I just got water instead of my usual diet Sobe - I've had a lot of that diet Strawberry Lemonade Sobe lately and wanted to give myself a break. Other than that, it was a pretty typical visit.
As a more interesting note, a buddy of mine went with potatoes as his main topping instead of steak or chicken or whatnot. I'm willing to bet that chicken is probably a healthier option, but I had not seen that done before. He seemed to enjoy it. I assume it was reminiscent of a potato-based breakfast taco.
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January 11th, 2011 - 9:00pm (Day 4)
I decided when I hit the restaurant tonight that I would finally test whether I'd notice the lack of cheese on my burrito as suggested by some emails. I have been pulling back on the shredded cheese for some time. My thought process has been that if I want to splurge, then sure, go all out on cheese and queso and the like - that much and you notice it and it's delicious. But for a standard healthy-rito, where I had been getting just a little cheese anyway, would I notice none at all compared to the rest of the ingredients and flavors? The crew at Hab's threw on some extra sliced avocado and went heavy on the regular hot salsa, and I didn't even notice that the cheese wasn't there. That's awesome, and that much healthier.
I had a suggestion from a lovely and fellow long-time, hardcore Hab's patron in line with me named (I'm going to get this wrong) Jabbie? Jannie? Apologies to her for no doubt screwing up her name, but she added a topping I had not seen before that I'm going to have to try. She asked the Hab's crew to sear up some spinach leaves alone (like the spinach and mushroom specials sans the mushrooms) and it looked like a great way to add some extra greens to my rito. I'm not much of a veggie guy, but I dig spinach when prepared the right way. Generally, that means seared with the leaves kept whole, rather than something like canned or mushy spinach - if you've had veal marsala with spinach, something like that. The guys at Hab's do it right, it looked great, and I look forward to trying it.
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January 12th, 2011 - 12:30pm (Day 5)
I hit the Rim restaurant for lunch today with a buddy of mine from work. When I got there, although today was Wednesday, a special "Two for Tuesday" offer was still up on the board and I got the crew at Hab's to hook me up with the same deal for today. I think the Burrito Guy took my suggestion of having a "Pick 2" type option for the restaurant because that was basically the special option. The deal was get the Two for Tuesday combo, but swap out one taco with a cup of soup. That was great considering I had planned on doing a Kid's Burrito plus a cup of soup anyway. I got a wheat taco, refried beans, chicken, bit of sour cream, sliced avocado, and hot salsa. For the soup I got the classic chicken tortilla, and my friend got today's special chicken poblano. I skipped the poblano soup today because it had half-and-half - normally no big deal but since the meal deal came with chips and a tiny serving of queso already I wanted to cut out the extra where I could. Hopefully they offer the chicken poblano again so I can give it a shot next time.
The challenge is now 1/6th completed! 25 delicious days and counting to go!
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January 13th, 2011 - 9:00pm (Day 6)
Today was a late day. I had to stay at the office later than usual, and then when I got home the workout ran long. I needed to hit Habanero's of course (thankfully they're open until 10pm during the week), but I wanted to get something lighter than a regular burrito (even a healthy one). So, I went for a huge bowl of the chicken tortilla soup. Rather than the smaller cup serving, the crew used one of the salad or rice bowls and filled with two huge ladles of the soup. Of course they hooked me up as well with sliced avocado on top and a wheat tortilla on the side. That tortilla soup really is fantastic, by the way. For someone that normally is not a fan of veggies, it's a great way to get some onions, chiles, tomatoes, etc. Everything is so hot and the flavors meld together so well that I don't even notice I'm eating them and feel great about that.
I also took home a cup of the squash to snack on. I want to note this because frankly, by 9:30 or so when I ordered the squash to-go, the available squash on the line was pretty much gone. Now a lot of restaurants, they would have said, sorry, we're out. But not Habanero's Grill. I even told the guys not to worry about it but no, they demanded that they make me an order of that tasty seared squash right then and there. This kind of thing happens all the time - if they can make it, they'll do it. So do what I do and try to kick a few bucks into the tip jar when you can. The crews at both restaurants definitely deserve it.
Don't forget to email me at michael@habanerosgrill.com with more suggestions!
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January 14th, 2011 - 6:00pm (Day 7)
Truthfully today was a quick day and so I don't have a lot to report in terms of my meal. Being Friday and all I just grabbed my burrito to go and brought it home. It went straight into the fridge while I did my daily work out and then I enjoyed it afterwards. This was my typical fall-back healthy burrito. So instead of details on my meal, I'll share with you guys some things the Burrito Guy and I discussed a few days ago.
Specifically, and I'm really excited about this, the days of fish tacos will soon be upon us again. I'm really looking forward to those as another healthy meal alternative to the usual burrito. Additionally we talked about shrimp and the possibility of bringing that back on a limited basis as well - email the Burrito Guy at burritoguy@habanerosgrill.com if you want to see shrimp again! As far as lobster, well, we'll see. Apparently there's a place out in California that does have Lobster Burritos, but in San Antonio...I'll keep up hope at least. I'm pretty sure carnitas will be making a return soon as well - and unlike traditional carnitas which are quite fatty, the Burrito Guy buys very lean cuts and trims them even further. The ridiculous flavor of the Habanero's carnitas comes from their marinade and cooking liquid - one so good that when they're out of the carnita meat, I have them ladle the cooking liquid over my burrito instead. I've been recommending it as a soup option as well. It's that good. Try them the next time they're available.
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January 15th, 2011 - 7:00pm (Day 8)
Today I joined some immediate and extended family for a Saturday night feast. While my family got their own personal usuals, from chicken quesadillas to Gringo-Rito rice bowls, I made sure to try today's special topping - Habanero's own special chili recipe. I did a mix of chicken and chili specifically, and that was an excellent special addition to today's rito. Sure, it's probably not as healthy as straight chicken, but you've got to live a little sometimes. There's some definite heat to the chili and it adds a great extra "oomph" to your burrito of choice. If you're into Frito-Pie, the restaurants usually have Fritos they can add to your burrito as well, then toss in some onion and you've got a Frito-Pie-Rito. Me, I stuck with cilantro-lime rice and plenty of avocado and hot salsa to round out the mix. As usual, it was excellent. Give it a shot on your burrito next time or just have them fill a bowl straight up on one of these rare chilly San Antonio nights.
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January 16th, 2011 - 9:15pm (Day 9)
Today was a late night. After a late morning, and then a late lunch before the out-of-town family left for home, I didn't arrive to Habanero's until past 9pm. I stopped by with my sister, and honestly this was another pretty straightforward day. I got my usual healthy-rito, but skipped the sour cream and instead went with a ladle of the chili like yesterday. She just got a couple of wheat tortillas and some salsa to snack on. Just for today I went back to the flour tortilla over the wheat as well, which truthfully is my preference but I've been going with wheat for awhile now of course due to the better nutritional content. Tomorrow marks the 1/3rd challenge point and so to start the week I'm going to try to mix things up again with some brand new suggestions.
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January 17th, 2011 - 12:00pm (Day 10)
We've reached the 1/3rd challenge point! Today was another trip to the Rim with some co-workers. My order was pretty close to the usual healthy-rito, the exception being a pulled back on the sour cream as well and just went heavy on the salsa so it wasn't too dry. I've enjoyed the Burrito Guy's "new" house salsa at the salsa bar the last few weeks as well. While I'm a fan of the roasted tomato, the "house salsa" is a more traditional, typical salsa that has a great classic flavor to round out any order.
So after 10 days of straight Habanero's, how do I feel so far? Well, I feel fine, actually. The meals have been universally healthy. They've had fiber, they've had protein, they've had some veggies, they've been predominantly low in fat, except for the good fat in the avocados. They've been filling without being uncomfortably so. Along with my daily workouts, my clothes certainly feel no tighter and perhaps even a bit looser, although that's hard to tell after just 10 days even if expected. I expect these positives to continue throughout the challenge. 20 more days to go!
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January 18th, 2011 - 8:30pm (Day 11)
Minimal update today. I stopped by for dinner while running some errands and just picked up a couple of simple wheat tacos. I added refried beans, chicken, sliced avocado, and regular hot. Nothing special to report, just had to make it a quick one.
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January 19th, 2011 - 5:30pm (Day 12)
This may become a bit of a habit for a few days. I decided to stop by the Rim on my way home from work rather than heading back in the evening. Like yesterday, I grabbed an order of two wheat tacos to go, with the same toppings as last time. This time, however, I'll be tossing them in the fridge when I get home and having them later after I work out. Based on my schedule this week, this is a real time-saver. Why tacos instead of a burrito? Honestly, it's just a change of pace and doesn't seem as intimidating as an entire burrito after almost two weeks of mostly ritos. I'll let you know how the tacos work out tomorrow.
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January 20th, 2011 - 5:30pm (Day 13)
While I won't do this forever, those tacos worked out really well. Even cool after a few hours in the fridge, they tasted awesome. As a bonus, since they stayed wrapped up tight, after those few hours they held together really well. Sometimes I find the tacos hard to eat just because there can be a lot of topping on not so large tortillas, and so they can get a bit messy. But these held tight and the hours in the fridge also allowed the flavors to meld. Generally I think it's understood that cold tends to lessen flavor, but because of the Habanero's goodness I didn't really notice the loss. I was especially pleased that the avocado slices were extra soft. Habanero's is really good about making sure the avocado is soft before slicing them up, but the short-term chill made them especially so. They worked out so well that I did the same thing after work today. While I was at the restaurant this time, however, the Burrito Guy gave me a couple of interesting new ideas to try over the next few days.
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January 21st, 2011 - 8:30pm (Day 14)
Today I mixed things up a bit and went with a suggestion from the Burrito Guy. He had recommended a quesadilla, but with the low-fat cheddar cheese. Sure, it's still going to have more fat than an item with no cheese whatsoever, but I figured, why not, I'm due for a change. So I got a wheat quesadilla with chicken and low-fat cheddar. Additionally, I asked the guys to add sliced avocado, spinach, and hot salsa directly to the quesadilla itself, rather than on the side. So in reality it was a low-fat cheddar, chicken, spinach, sliced avocado, and hot salsa quesadilla, on wheat. It turned out really well. I could barely tell the difference between the low-fat cheddar and the regular cheese first of all, and all of the extra ingredients worked very well together. I'd highly recommend giving it a shot.
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January 22nd, 2011 - 8:00pm (Day 15)
Here we are at the 1/2 way point! In some ways I'm amazed it's only been 15 days. It certainly feels like I've been eating a lot of Habanero's, but I feel great and my clothes are fitting well and as loose as ever. Today being the halfway point I decided to splurge. I went ahead and got my old burrito for the first time in many months. Not the Bang size or anything, but the flour, the steak, the queso, the santa fe, the works. It was awesome, of course, but that was expected. Sometimes you just have to let loose. Tomorrow we're back on the horse with the healthy options, but today was a good break.
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January 23rd, 2011 - 8:00pm (Day 16)
I was really in the mood for some finger food as I knew I'd be getting Hab's to go today for a movie at home with the family, so I went for the low-fat quesadilla again as recommended by the Burrito Guy. I got the same quesadilla as a couple of days ago, with a wheat tortilla, chicken, low-fat chedder, avocado, etc. I had the guys go light on the cheese even though it was low-fat and sure enough I didn't notice the loss to any degree that affected the tastiness of the meal. I wanted to also take some time in this post to inform visitors of a custom burrito bowl that my sister put together a couple of days ago - one that she said was perhaps the best ever for her. She ordered a Veggie Rice Bowl - wheat tortilla on the side, add pico de gallo, corn, sliced avocado, roasted peppers, lettuce, tomato, medium roasted tomato salsa, and pepitas salsa (the one with the pumpkin seeds). I had a bite and sure enough it was intense, highly recommended if you like your veggies.
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January 24th, 2011 - 6:30pm (Day 17)
I had a free night so I decided to take my sister and grandmother for an Habanero's Grill dinner. Mainly I did this for my grandmother, she loves both the Habanero's food and the ambiance and the staff always makes her feel welcome. As an example of this, I usually sit her down at our table and then order for her so she can relax. Today, before she had even finished sitting down, the crew had already personally delivered her usual margarita to her table. Remember this is before I had even begun our order. She thought that was great - it made her very happy and obviously that's very important to me. So that says a lot about the Habanero's team and the quality of the folks that work there. Seriously, drop those guys a couple bucks in the tip jar next time you stop by.
So today I went with a slightly modified version of my usual healthy-rito. I passed on the rice this time, not sure why, just wasn't feeling it tonight, and went for the (I think) pineapple or mango habanero salsa instead of the roasted tomato. That stuff is surpisingly hot and it's really unexpected. At first you just get the sweet citrus, but them bam, you start the feeling the heat of the habanero and it's an intense kick. I'm pretty sure I started to sweat a bit and that's awesome.
I was able to chat with the Burrito Guy a bit and he let me know about some special tortillas he's making on a trial basis - jalapeno cheddar! Keep in mind that ALL of the Habanero's tortilla options are hand-made from scratch - whether it be flour, wheat, or the newer spinach or chipotle, or now the jalapeno cheddar. I mean from scratch. The team mixes ingredients in a big bowl in the back, they let the dough rise, they press and cook them to order, etc. A lot of people still don't realize that this is why the Habanero's Grill tortillas are so special and taste so much better than other places. I had a picky-eater girlfriend a few years ago that just wanted chicken and cheese on her burritos...but would order a triple tortilla to wrap it in, that's how good they are. Anyway, the Burrito Guy tried out the jalapeno cheddar tortillas today for lunch and they sold out in an hour. He's making another batch tomorrow, so get in early and give them a shot! If you like them, or you have other tortilla flavor ideas, let the Burrito Guy know at burritoguy@habanerosgrill.com! The more you let him know, the more likely we'll see these and other tortilla options in the future.
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January 25th, 2011 - 11:15am (Day 18)
I had to run to Habanero's relatively early today to pick up a quick lunch to-go prior to a work meeting. I grabbed my usual health-rito, sans sour cream and cheese, but added back cilantro-lime rice this time around. I didn't have much time to be creative, but the Burrito Guy had indeed just finished a batch of dough for the jalapeno and cheese tortillas he had mentioned to me yesterday. The dough balls hadn't quite had time to rest, but the crew still cooked one up for me to go. It was awesome. You can see the flecks of green in the tortilla from the jalapeno, and sure enough, it actually tastes like jalapeno! I don't mean it's hot, the kick is actually quite minimal, but it's not about that. It actually tastes like jalapeno pepper, like the actual taste without the heat overriding its natural flavor. The addition of cheese was subtle but added a hint of creaminess and tang as well. Tell the Burrito Guy you want to see these as a regular option!
Also, as a nice bonus, some of the crew said I looked especially slim today. Maybe it's because I was wearing a black t-shirt, and I had certainly already lost a good amount of weight prior to this challenge. Even so, they still noticed a change so that's a great indicator for the success of the challenge.
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January 26th, 2011 - 6:00pm (Day 19)
My team at work went out to an Indian buffet for lunch today, so I knew the Habanero's excursion would need to be a light one. I decided to fall back on the taco plan again for after my workout. So I picked up a pair of healthy tacos on my way home from work with refried beans, chicken, sliced avocado, and regular hot. The only difference from usual is that I went with flour tortillas instead of wheat. I just wasn't feeling the wheat today. Honestly I've always liked white bread more than wheat bread anyway, but I've been getting a lot of wheat for the challenge since it has more nutritional value. I still will of course, but today was a bit of an exception to the rule. Anyway, I tossed them in the fridge at home and had them after my workout while watching Dirty Jobs. Good times and good food.
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January 27th, 2011 - 6:00pm (Day 20)
Wow, we finally hit day 20, the 2/3rds point! Only 10 days left to go in the challenge. Today I didn't really do anything special to celebrate the milestone, however. I still stopped by Hab's at the Rim right after work, but today I picked up my healthy-rito instead of the tacos. However, I still tossed it in the fridge when I got home and enjoyed it after my workout. Just like the tacos, the burrito was just fine cold, and especially again the avocados work really well when they have a chance to chill and meld with the rest of the flavors. If you're in a hurry, don't think you can't chill your Hab's and have it later - I hear warming burritos in the oven while they're still wrapped in foil works well too if you do want them hot again.
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January 28th, 2011 - 8:30pm (Day 21)
Woohoo, happy Friday! So today I was really in the mood to take it easy and splurge just a little. It's a cool down week for P90x and this is a rare no workout day. For lunch, I went with a big group from work to P.F. Chang's and got the very healthy sea bass and spinach, so I felt like I had a little room at dinner to work in some splurge-worthy extras. So when I stopped by Habanero's at the Rim today for dinner, I went for a special filling today - crispy chicken. The crew takes some chicken tenders and deep frys them rather than using the grill. So that was definitely something I typically wouldn't do but wanted to give it a try. I also had them throw on a bit of sour cream which I have also typically tried to skip on a regular basis. Other than that though, I had the guys throw on extra sliced avocado and asked them to go heavy on the regular hot as well. Additionally, I took a cup of the poblano soup to go, which is really excellent and I hadn't had in awhile. I guess I was feeling extra hungry today and needed to get all of that out of my system.
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January 29th, 2011 - 6:30pm (Day 22)
I needed to pick up some Hab's for a movie night tonight, and so I decided to change it up a bit and go for a salad-like rice bowl instead of my usual healthy-rito or low-fat quesadillar or healthy tacos. First I had the guys toss in some cilantro-lime rice and refried beans, along with a double scoop of chicken. On top of that was a good handful of fresh spinach leaves and then some sliced avocado. Finally they added a bunch of regular hot as a "dressing". I mixed it all up when I got home and it was really very good. I like the spinach a whole lot more than regular iceberg lettuce and it felt really substantial even though it was a very healthy bowl.
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January 30th, 2011 - 7:00pm (Day 23)
We're really about to hit the home stretch here folks. Today is the last day before the start of the last full week of the challenge, which thus ends next Sunday. The outing to the Rim store today was a pretty standard weekly family outing, you'll often find us there for a Sunday night meal. I was feeling "finger-foody" again and so I got my low-fat quesadilla on wheat with chicken and avocado. I was pleased to see that the mango habanero salsa was available again today, I've really grown to like that salsa. I really enjoy the initial fruity sweetness followed quickly by the heat of the habanero. It's definitely a fun salsa and always a good change of pace.
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January 31st, 2011 - 12:00pm (Day 24)
Well, here we are, it's an interesting day for two reasons. First, today is what would have originally been the last day of the challenge had we not been delayed a week due to a business trip. Second, today now represents the first day of the last full week of the challenge. Sunday, February 6 will be the last day of the challenge, the official 30 day point. I just realized today, however, that next Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday. I'm not a huge football guy but still, I guess I've been distracted. I will probably do something fun and non-healthy for that last day, perhaps a big plate of nachos or something to celebrate the Super Bowl as well as the last day of the challenge.
In the meantime, today I stopped by with a few guys from work for lunch. I grabbed two healthy tacos and we were lucky in that the jalapeno tortillas were again available and had not yet sold out. The tacos had refried, chicken, sliced avocado, a small shot of sour cream, and regular hot. They were packed enough that I ended up eating them with a knife and fork. 6 more days to go!
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February 1st, 2011 - 11:45am (Day 25)
Happy February everybody, I can't believe we're already through with January 2011. I hear there's a massive cold front coming through starting tomorrow so I think we'll have to start hitting the soup a bit more during this last week. Anyway today I hit Habanero's at the Rim again for lunch since I happened to be working at home today. I was pleased to see that I got in early enough that the jalapeno cheese tortillas were still available. Typically those are selling out before the end of the lunch rush and they're awesome. I picked up a relatively standard healthy-rito on the jalapeno tortilla, with cilantro-lime, refried, extra chicken, sliced avocado, and regular hot. I picked up some of the pineapple chipotle salsa on the side.
As a side note, the Burrito Guy told me that a new diet Sobe flavor is arriving in a few days. Instead of just the diet Strawberry Lemonade, he's also getting Green Tea Honey, so keep an eye out for that. 5 more days to go!
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February 2nd, 2011 - 6:30pm (Day 26)
We're seriously getting into the home stretch here people. Today I hit Habanero's at the Rim after a later day at the office for a quick pick-me-up. I missed the jalapeno cheese tortillas again, bummer, as I've said a few times those things are awesome and I hope they stay permanently. Of course, I hope to see some more new flavors as well. Anyway, I went pretty basic today as I just wanted something simple and easy. It was just a standard wheat burrito with refried, lots of chicken, avocado, a bit of sour cream, and lots of regular hot. So nothing terribly special there, it was just a quick grab and go kind of a day.
Did you see the Burrito Guy's mention of our little experiment in this month's newsletter? Top customer of the month of January, woohoo! 4 more days to go!
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February 3rd, 2011 - 6:00pm (Day 27)
Today I stopped by Habanero's at the Rim with some family for dinner after helping them with some computer issues. I got my standard healthy-rito on wheat, but added some chili to help counteract this ridiculous cold we're experiencing now. That chili has a definite spicy kick that's a nice addition to any burrito. Additionally, the Burrito Guy indeed got some of that new diet Sobe in stock that I mentioned a couple of days ago, the Green Tea Honey, and it was really good - especially for basically zero calories.
One of my family was in the mood for a burrito, but wasn't terribly hungry, so they opted for a Kid's Burrito with their usual toppings. I have a feeling a lot of folks aren't aware this option exists for those times when you have that Habanero's craving but don't want the full-size option. You don't have to be a kid to order one. Maybe you just want to grab something quick to-go and need it even more portable than a standard burrito? The kid's option is probably half the size of a regular burrito, and the crew can make any burrito kid's size, from the house specialties to any BYOB. I'm sure they could do a kid's quesadilla too. 3 more days to go!
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February 4th, 2011 - 8:00pm (Day 28)
Burrito cravings abound as we approach Super Bowl Sunday and the end of the Challenge. I know a week ago I said I'd be doing more soup, but honestly every time I've come into the restaurant, it's been feeling like a healthy-rito day. Today was no different, especially with it being Friday and a movie night. I grabbed a standard healthy-rito to go and again opted for the new diet Sobe Green Tea Honey to round out the meal. I suppose the only extra note is that I asked the burrito guy to make me a pint of the Pepitas salsa to take home - the crew at Habanero's can make you pretty much any house salsa to-go in practically any quantity, plus the guacamole and queso, of course. The Pepitas salsa is one of the most unique and well-round salsas I've had. I never would have thought to put roasted pumpkin seeds in a salsa, but man does it work. 2 more days to go!
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February 5th, 2011 - 8:00pm (Day 29)
I picked up a pretty large family order tonight including a Gringo Rice-Bowl with brown rice, a Veggie-Rito Rice Bowl with no rice but lots of extras including pico de gallo, roasted peppers, corn, and pepitas salsa, and a healthy-rito on wheat with lots of chicken and sliced avocado. Although none were available tonight, I got word that production of the jalapeno cheese tortillas might be increased so they're available for both lunch and dinner. If that sounds like a great idea to you, make sure to send the Burrito Guy an email to let him know. 1 more day to go!
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February 6th, 2011 - 5:00pm (Day 30)
Wow, we made it. This is it, the final day of the 30 Visits in 30 Days Challenge and I actually made it all 30 days. Not a single day was missed. We tried burritos, we tried tacos, we tried soups, we tried some low-fat quesadilla options, we even tried a few salads (well, salad-like rice bowls, anyway). Today being Super Bowl Sunday, well, today was definitely a less than healthy option day but I think a combination of the Super Bowl as well as Day 30 means you have to celebrate just a little bit. Or maybe celebrate a lot. I picked up a massive nacho platter for a Super Bowl party at my place - probably two feet across with refried beans, chicken, steak, queso, shredded cheese, sour cream, santa fe...well, you get the idea. Everything in moderation and after 30 days I think that was fair to enjoy with my guests.
So what have we learned after this 30 day experiment? While Habanero's Grill is certainly a place where you can get ridiculously good burrito-fare and not worry about fat and calories, it is also compatible with any healthy diet and still be ridiculously good. Have yourself a good time once in awhile and get something wild, but if you want to come into the restaurant and get something a little more healthy, many options exist that yes, also taste delicious. Veggie lovers especially have a ridiculous number of healthy options to choose from with practically no fat at all and tons of fiber, nutrients, and the like. The crew is always willing to answer questions as well. Ask them for alternatives - the time I added spinach to my quesadilla was because a crew member suggested it. Want to know if something is cooked a certain way, say fried versus grilled? Ask them, they'll tell you. Experiment and have fun with it.
For me, I would estimate that over the last 30 days I lost another inch off of my waist based on how my belt fits in terms of slack. I certainly didn't gain any weight and the crew would tell you the same considering they saw me every single day. I'm glad the Burrito Guy and I could put together this experiment to show all the Habanero fans and newbies alike the possibilies of what our favorite restaurant has to offer.
And as of now, I hold the 30 day and consecutive restaurant visitation record. Anyone want to try for 31?
