Think WAY Outside the Box!

It is not always easy to eat healthy.  Especially on a very cold Friday night when your family is craving something special, not made from the kitchen in the house, and not on my recipe agenda for the week.  We live in an area where there are plenty of take out options.  And a few weeks ago I would have gone for just about anything, even Taco Bell.  Which is exactly what my loving husband recommended and the girls began bouncing and squealing over.  Ever conscience of my meal choices now, I quickly Googled the Taco Bell website and checked out the nutrition information as my hubby was reminding me that the newest Bell commercials have been advertising a new line of healthier options.  Can you guess what I found?

The Soft Chicken Taco is about the best bet on the menu.  170 calories, 6 grams of fat and 12 grams of protein.  Not bad.  The sodium is high but still not bad for fast food.  However, I am not a huge fan of the Soft Chicken Taco and it is certainly lacking in fresh veggies.  How about the new Cantina Bell Menu that Chef Lorena Garcia is boasting about on the new Taco Bell commercials.  Well the new Cantina Bowl, a beautiful salad with lots of fresh veggies, black beans and rice, also offers 560 calories and 22 grams of fat.  McDonalds has 5 salads that have at least half the calories and fat and more veggies.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am not waging war on this beloved taco spot however it does upset me at how misleading the commercials are and how many people may fall for this “new” menu thinking they are making a wise decision when really they would be better off ordering a McDonald’s cheese burger (300 calories & 12 grams of fat) with an apple.

OK, enough Bell slamming.  As you may have deduced I opted out of the take out, encouraged the family to go pick up their dinner and meet me back at the dining room table in a few.  They left and I started rummaging.  I ended up building two delicious soft tacos packed with protein, a bowl of organic salsa and whole wheat tortilla chips.  I was filled by the dinner without the grease.  It was delicious and didn’t blow my calorie budget out of the water.  Oh and did I mention I fixed it up in less than 10 minutes?  By the time the family was back I was already at the table waiting with my alternative fast food taco options.  My oldest daughter tasted my soft tacos and thought they were great so these will likely make the weeknight dinner rotation.

Ingredients:

(serves 1)

• 2 flour tortillas, taco size
• 2 tbs sour cream
• 2 tbs shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• dash red curry powder
• 1 cup organic salsa
• 1 serving whole wheat tortilla chips

Putting It Together:

1. Lay tortillas flat and divide sour cream, cheese and beans between each and add a dash of curry powder on top.
2. Add a little salsa to each and save the rest for the tortilla chips.
3. Pop tortillas in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.

Taa Daa dinner.  And it was delicious, quick and relatively cheap.  You could throw in some tomatoes, spinach leaves, etc for more fresh veggie options.  And according to my App for calorie counting (LoseIt) the whole meal (tacos and side dish) was around 600 calories.  I am learning to love black beans.  They are versatile, a great replacement for red meat.  They are packed with fiber and protein which means they fill me up when I am hungry and give me plenty of energy for morning runs and training.  And finally they are cheap cheap cheap.  Put that all together and it is something I can really enjoy!  Hope you can too.

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