Healthy Mexican in Minutes

Simplified (and slimmed down!) recipes for your fave Mexican foods

By Hollis Templeton, Women's Health

Tortilla and Avocado Soup
Tortilla and Avocado Soup


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

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Beef Empanadas
Beef Empanadas

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

  1. 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
Grilled Mexican-Style Corn


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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