Healthful Bites

The popular Mexican celebration is less than a week away, but caloric margaritas and greasy, cheesy enchiladas aren’t your only options! Today I have a round-up of some excellent recipes that will have you saying “ole” and “mmm” from morning until night. Start your menu planning now!

Fajita Breakfast Burritos (319 calories, 17 g. fat)

• Start your day off festively with this eggy meal from Diets in Review. Skip the sour cream and use just the egg whites to slim this dish even more.

Tortilla-Crusted Pork (262 calories, 12.5 g. fat)

• The “other white meat” gets a Southern Living Mexican makeover with a crust made from tortilla chips. My brand of choice for this job is Guiltless Gourmet. Using them would lower the stats even more!

Chilaquiles Casserole (243 calories, 10 g. fat)

• Hosting a crowd? Whip up this baked dish that’s reminiscent of enchiladas by Eating Well. Think of it as a south of the border lasagna.

Amazing Ate-Layer Open-Faced Taco (235 calories, 2 g. fat)

• This protein-packed, vegetarian meal from Hungry Girl is light on calories, but heavy on staying power—and spice!

How will I be celebrating, you ask? By whipping up a slightly altered (and shrunken) version of a simple, scrumptious-looking recipe I saw in People magazine from Sheryl Crow’s cookbook If It Makes You Healthy.

Slow-Cooked Salsa Chicken Tacos (Serves 2)

• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 4 whole-wheat tortillas (La Tortilla Factory are my favorites)
• Taco toppings of choice (romaine, pico de gallo and red onion for me, please!)

Warm chicken stock and salsa in saucepan until simmering, then add chicken. Cover the pan and simmer chicken until tender and cooked through. Remove the chicken and save the pan juices. Use two forks to shred the meat and top it with a bit of the leftover liquid. Evenly distribute the chicken among the tortillas, add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

(Image from by Flickr user wenzday01)

For more Healthful Bites-approved Mexican eats, check out these past posts:

Eat Out, Eat Well at Carlos O’ Kelly’s

Mexican Makeover: Taco Salad Twist

If you’ve read any article or books by the “Eat This, Not That” team, you’ve seen the damage that a salad can do to your diet—whether it is served in a fried taco salad shell or not. Salads can be a waist-watchers dream, but they can slip into calorie and saturated fat bombs if you’re not careful.

With that in mind, here’s a quick and easy recipe that should soothe a Mexican craving while fitting in some nutrition.

Taco Salad Twist (adapted from Hungry Girl’s recipe)

• 1 La Tortilla Factory, or other brand, whole wheat tortilla (I like these because they are high fiber, low calorie and tasty!)
• 1/2 package of prewashed salad mix of choice (romaine, carrots and purple cabbage is my choice)
• 1/3 cup meat substitute crumbles
• 1/2 tsp. taco seasoning mix
• Salsa (if you’re like me, you’ll want a lot!)
• Optional: Spoonful of sour cream, sprinkle of cheddar cheese, diced red onion

Preheat oven to 425* and spray heat-safe bowl or round dish with nonstick spray. Push the tortilla down in the dish to create a taco shell bowl for your salad. Bake the shell in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until it reaches your desired crispiness.

Put meat crumbles in a microwave-safe bowl, add taco seasoning. Microwave mixture for 30 seconds and give it a quick stir. Zap it for another 20 seconds or so.

Fill tortilla taco shell with lettuce mix and top with crumbles and optional toppings. I like to use the salsa as a dressing stand-in, but that may be just me being strange. It you would prefer another dressing, I’m a fan of Salad Spritzers (fun!)

I recently tried my Taco Salad Swap with a serving of Sea Salt Multigrain PopChips, which, in my opinion, taste fairly similar to tortilla chips. Delicious!

Are there any recipes that you wish you had a nutritious swap for?