For those who aren’t familiar much with Spanish, that translates to “Lazy girl recipe for Mexican food.” I wish I could write this whole post in Spanish but that would just be embarrassing. During university, I completed a Beginners’ Spanish module but I’ll let you in on a little secret: the main thing I got out of it was a boost in my overall degree mark :oops:. Ah well, I could always move to South America and practice with the locals.
Like with Italian food, it’s rare to find someone with an aversion to Mexican food. What’s not to like: salsa, tacos, guacamole, sour cream, beans, rice, enchiladas…ok stop drooling :P. Unfortunately if not eaten wisely, Mexican food can be ridiculously calorific. Once you add on your guacamole, then sour cream, then grated cheese (all of which that are probably a generous serving), and then chuck in some tortilla chips, you can easily hit 1000+ calories. And that’s not even including your tequilas and mojitos.
You can stop holding your breath, the bad news ends there :). It’s really easy to recreate a yummy Mexican meal at home which is super healthy and quick:
- Sauté some onions in a pan until browned
- Add in your choice of protein (In the past I’ve opted for chicken, prawns, and soya mince. Today’s dinner included a mix of soya mince and kidney beans)
- For a dose of vitamin C and lycopene, throw in some chopped red peppers and a chopped tomato
- Once the above has cooked, pour over about 1/3 bottle of salsa (you have to cheat a little ;))
- Pour the mix into an oven-proof dish and top with grated reduced fat cheddar. Grill it in the oven for 7-10 minutes, or until the cheese has browned. This is optional but trust me, this last step makes the meal.
Buen provecho!
I had the above for dinner tonight and it tasted delicisio. I wasn’t awfully hungry so I opted to serve it with some crackerbread and oven roasted cauliflower, pumpkin, and okra (I had more than what is shown in the picture). Other great accompaniments include sweet potato wedges, in a taco shell (which are surprisingly decent in calories), wrapped in a tortilla, on a bed of salad…the list is endless.
Put the jar of sour cream and guacamole down! Don’t ruin your healthy streak! Instead make your own at home.
Guacamole: mash together a ripe avocado with 1 finely chopped red onion, 2 finely chopped tomatoes, juice of lemon or lime, and sea salt to taste.
Sour cream: A good replacement is 0% Greek yogurt. If that’s not available, use this recipe for a yogurt dip as it it’s super creamy.