Healthy Mexican in Minutes
Simplified (and slimmed down!) recipes for your fave Mexican foods
By Hollis Templeton, Women's Health
Tortilla and Avocado Soup
Belly-flattening Mexican recipes? Yes, they do exist. Here, creamy avocado chunks deliver a dose of monounsaturated fat for a filling meal that's ready in just 20 minutes.
Serves: Prep: 4min |Cook: 16min |Total: 20min
Ingredients
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
5 white corn tortillas (6"), sliced into 1/4" strips
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 canned chipotle chile pepper, sliced, or 2 tablespoons hot salsa
3/4 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 cup chopped avocado
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Directions
1. In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the broth to a boil, covered over high heat.
2. Meanwhile, scatter the tortilla strips on a toaster oven tray. Toast, turning the strips occasionally, until golden-brown in spots, about 5 minutes. Remove the tray from toaster oven and set the tortilla strips aside.
3. When the broth boils, add the chicken, chile pepper, and tomatoes and return to a boil. Remove from the heat. Divide the tortilla strips, avocado, and cilantro leaves evenly among 4 bowls, mounding them in the center. Ladle the soup into bowls.
Nutritional Facts per serving
CALORIES 282.2 CAL/ FAT 9.3 G/ SATURATED FAT 1.7 G/ CHOLESTEROL 49.3 MSODIUM 153.3 MG/ CARBOHYDRATES 23.7 G/ TOTAL SUGARS 1.4 G/ DIETARY FIBER 4.7 G/ PROTEIN 28.7 G
5 Meatless Recipes For Cinco De Mayo
Beef Empanadas
Turn extra pizza dough into something more south-of-the-border. Baking (instead of frying) cuts calories and fat-and doesn't take too much extra time. This flaky and flavorful treat spends only 10 minutes in the oven.
Serves: Prep: 12min |Cook: 18min |Total: 30min
Ingredients
1 cup onions
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 lb ground beef
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
11 oz Thin-crust pizza dough
Directions
Heat oven to 400°F. Saute 1 cup onions in 1 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat, 3 minutes. Add 1/2 lb ground beef and brown, 5 minutes. Take off heat. Stir in 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp wine vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Stretch an 11 oz package of dough to form a 16" x 12" rectangle. Cut into 8 equal pieces. Spoon beef mixture on top of each piece. Fold in half diagonally and crimp edges to seal. Put on a greased baking sheet. Coat with cooking spray, poke with a fork, and bake 10 minutes.
Nutritional Facts per serving
CALORIES 315.4 CAL/ FAT 8.4 G/ SATURATED FAT 2.6 G/ CHOLESTEROL 34.3 MG/ SODIUM 891.6 MG/ CARBOHYDRATES 42.5 G/ TOTAL SUGARS 7.5 G/ DIETARY FIBER 2.3 G/ PROTEIN 17.6 G
Flavorful Alternatives To Onions And Garlic
Grilled Mexican-Style Corn
Forget boiling, butter, and salt. On the streets of Mexico, corn on the cob is flavored with fresh lime juice and a dash of chili powder before it's tossed on the grill.
This is how corn is served on the streets of Mexico, robed in a thin sheen of mayo (instead of butter) and topped with a sprinkling of chili powder and cheese. If you want to cut the calories, lime juice and chili powder alone offer a vast improvement over standard boiled corn--but once you try the full package, you'll have a hard time eating it any other way.
Serves: Prep: 10min |Cook: 10min |Total: 20min
Ingredients
4 ears of corn, husked
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp mayonnaise
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tbsp chili powder
finely grated Parmesan
Directions
1. Heat a grill until hot. While the grill is warming up, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the corn and salt. Boil for 5 to 7 minutes, until the corn until slightly tender, but not cooked all the way through. Drain the corn and transfer to the grill; lightly char the kernels.
2. Mix the mayonnaise and lime juice. Remove the corn from the grill, paint with a bit of the citrus mayonnaise, then dust with chili powder and Parmesan.
Nutritional Facts per serving
CALORIES 211.2 CAL/ FAT 9 G/ SATURATED FAT 2 G/ CHOLESTEROL 3.6 MG/ SODIUM 658.1 MG/ CARBOHYDRATES 27.5 G/ TOTAL SUGARS 10.3 G/ DIETARY FIBER 7.4/ PROTEIN 5.7 G
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