Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Trim Tuesdays- lowfat Mexican

Notice I used the word trim instead of skinny. The word skinny brings to my mind adolescent girls- or maybe myself 3 babies ago. Whereas trim makes me think of someone who is both at a good weight for their size, and healthy. Oh, and that other word we don't like much...exercise.

Tuesday is weigh-in day at dieting is not a piece of cake. So I thought in keeping with the spirit of things I would declare this day as, drum roll please...Trim Tuesdays and post some healthy, low-fat meals each week.

Now ladies low fat, contrary to popular opinion, does not mean tasteless. I will admit that fat does a lot to enhance our enjoyment of various foods. A whole lot. But cutting it a little here and there won't kill you; although not doing that just might.

So today's recipes are low fat Mexican. I love Mexican food! And I'm not just talking Taco bell here:) But low fat and Mexican doesn't always mix well. After all, what can you cut out: sour cream, cheese, guacamole....? Are you kidding??? Those are what transforms a Mexican dish from good to excellente! But enough gabbing, I'll move on to the recipes.

Lowfat Bean and Veggies Burritoes

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1Tbsp chili powder
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano leaves, crushed
1 tsp cumin
1 lg sweet potatoe, baked and diced or 1 (16 oz) can yams in syrup drained, rinsed and diced
1 can black beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed and drained
2 Tbsp lime juice
3/4 shredded reduced fat Mexican blend cheese
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil over medium high heat. Cook onion, stirring often, about 10 minutes til golden. Add pepper, chili powder, garlic and cumin; stir one minute more. Add 1 Tbsp of water and stir; Remove from heat. Stir in sweet potatoe, corn, beans and lime juice.

Spoon 2 Tbsp of cheese in the center of each tortilla. Top with one cup of filling. Fold all four sides around filling to enclose. *Place seam side down on a baking sheet. Cover with foil and cook 30 minutes, or until heated through. Serve with low fat or fat free sour cream and a little bit of salsa (these are considered optional; but they're really not!). The picture on the side is from my own test kitchen:) By the way, these are quite hearty and filling.

Nutrition info: Cal 428 Fat 9g Sat Fat 2 g Carb 75 (sorry, it's not low carb) Fiber 9g Protein 22g

*I spray my pan, and both sides of my tortillas, with non-stick (non fat) cooking spray because I like a little crunchy texture.

Lemon Cheese Quesadillas with Mango Sauce

4 (7 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/3 cup non fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup lemon juice, divided
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla
1 ripe large mango
2 tbsp lightly packed fresh mint or basil plus sprigs for garnish
enough assorted fruit for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place tortillas on center oven rack (I spray both sides lightly with non-stick). Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until golden. Place on plate.

Combine ricotta, yogurt, 1 tbsp lemon juice, sugar, lemon peel and vanilla in a small bowl. Spread about 1/3 cup over each tortilla. Peel mango. Cut fruit away from the pit and chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Place 1/2 of mango into food processor or blender. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice and mint (or basil) and process until pureed.

Place remaining mango cubes in small bowl with other assorted chopped fruit. I used strawberries and mango, but bananas and pineapple would also go well with this dish. Mix with remaining 1tbsp lemon juice, tossing gently to combine. Spoon 1/2 cup fruit on each tortilla. Drizzle with about 1 tbsp sauce. Garnish with mint sprig. 4 servings

Nutrition info: Cal 283 Fat 6g Sat.Fat 3g Carbs 48 (again, not low-carb) Protein 11 g

Dont' skip the sweet potatoes/yams in the burritoes, they make a big difference in adding to the taste.

And the quesadillas are so pretty..and as for the taste: they're absolutely delicioso!

1 comment:

Mrs. Darling said...

Looks good. :)