Taco Night

If you're anything like me, you probably get the sudden urge for tacos every now and then. I used to go to ‘Taco Tuesday' at least once a month, until my Tuesdays filled up with Kung Fu class! Now what the heck was I to do? Well, I'll tell you what I did….I started to have my own taco nights. I know, I know, I'm not the first to do it, but I have engineered some taco recipes which are delicious AND healthy! Imagine that?

First comes the device which will hold the taco fillings. Choose:

• 5-6” whole wheat flour or corn tortillas
• or a few large (whole) leaves of lettuce

For the protein:

• Fish: I take some fish fillets and dry them with a paper towel, then dip them in flour and shake off the excess. You can either bake them or put them on the stove with a drizzle of olive oil
• Beans: Use cooked beans (pinto, black, navy, etc) or canned. If using canned, make sure to rinse them well to remove up to 40% of the sodium. You can use them whole, but I like to mash up some of them, and heat up with onions
• Tofu: You can crumble up firm tofu and heat up with cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper

For added flavor:

• Special sauce: I modeled this after a restaurant favorite which was loaded with sour cream and mayo. Mine isn't 🙂  (Recipe follows)
• Cilantro
• Lettuce or cabbage--used in a lot of fish tacos
• Fruit! Grilled pineapple is awesome here as well as mango
• Onions: raw, sautéed, or grilled
• Avocado
• Lime juice
• Tomatoes
• Hot sauce

 

Marina's special taco sauce (patent pending)

Don't be scared off by the cottage cheese. My boyfriend would never eat cottage cheese normally, and he can't get enough of this sauce.

You'll need:

• 3 Tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (or adobo sauce)..it comes in a can, usually in the ethnic section of a supermarket
• Pinch of fresh cilantro
• ~1 Tbsp diced onions
• ~1 small-medium clove of garlic
• ~1 cup of fat free cottage cheese
• ~Fresh juice of 1/2 lime
• Salt and pepper to taste

The quantities of this recipe are really what you make them. The adobo sauce is really spicy, so maybe you want to go light on it. Some people like more or less of certain ingredients, but you can use the above as a reference, then play around a bit.

Put the ingredients in a blender (or use an immersion blender) and mix until smooth.

Enjoy your tacos responsibly!

Now your taco night might be the healthiest meal you've had all week! Think of all the things you can do with those extra calories you avoided–did somebody say Margaritas?

 

 

 

Marina Bedrossian is a Northport, NY dietitian nutritionist who helps people with holistic nutrition solutions and food sensitivities. Visit this page to schedule an appointment and don’t forget to join the private Facebook group “Ingredients For Healthy Families” more information here.