Make it Taco Tuesday-Healthy Style!

Happy “Tooth-Day”!

Farah Flossit here, feeling the “fiesta” vibe today!:)

Not sure about you, but Mexican is one of my favorite cuisines. What better day to make it a Mexican night than “Taco Tuesday”? What is really great about today’s blog is that I have healthy substitutions for everyone. What I mean by that, is that not only am I making suggestions about how to make your meal healthier and still yummy, but how to make those mommy/daddy beverages (fiesta style) healthier too!

First I will start with the mommy/daddy drinks (just to make the cooking that much more enjoyable)! How do Mango Margaritas sound? Let’s dump all of the pre-made syrups and mixes. If you didn’t know, 1/4 cup of sweet & sour mix has at least 17 grams of sugar! We can easily by-pass this NO-NO by using full on fruit and no Added sugar. Here you go:

1 10-ounce bag of frozen diced mango (or if you have a mango tree, cut & freeze them for next Taco Tuesday)
1 cup of tequila
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 tablespoon of orange extract
1 tablespoon of Agave
2 cups of crushed ice

*Combine all of the ingredients in the blender until smooth*

Now let’s start cooking!!!

If you are going to have salsa in or out of your tacos, make it from scratch. This way you know that you are putting in healthy fresh ingredients without any enamel-harming acids. Use fresh tomatoes, diced green peppers, diced onion, cilantro leaves, and sea salt or kosher salt (measurements vary based on how big of a fiesta you are having). After making your yummy salsa, don’t forget to set some peppers and onions off to the side for those that want more veggie toppings on their taco.

When I comes to your protein, make the smarter choices. If you are going with ground meat, you are probably better off going with extra lean ground turkey breast. If what you are in the mood for is chicken, go with boneless, skinless chicken breast. If you like veggies, stirring up some mushrooms with olive oil is also a great alternative. Lastly, if you like fish tacos, fish is usually lower in saturated fat than beef. When cooking your protein, you may also want to consider using a “low-sodium” taco seasoning with 1/4 cup of water (so that it doesn’t dry out) and of course just a drizzle of olive oil.

When choosing your shell, go with a soft shell. Crunchy tortillas are usually fried, while soft tortillas are usually baked. Aim to get the corn tortillas or whole grain instead of the white flour ones. Another idea for a healthy shell is to make it a lettuce wrapped taco! If you are feeling like you want to go with a “naked” Mexican bowl instead, you can always add quinoa or healthy brown rice with some lettuce and any one of the additional healthy extras.

For the extras, if beans are in order, black beans are definitely the better choice. Refried beans are often prepared with lard. Using greek yogurt to substitute your must-have sour cream is also a great idea (I bet if you don’t tell the kids, they won’t even know the difference). If cheese is a must, go with a low-fat cheese, but you’d be surprised how you can go with not missing it if you add more veggies and good fats like AVOCADO.

These are just some of the many healthy substitutions that you can make in order to enjoy your favorite cuisines. I hope your Taco Tuesday turns out to be a fun and healthy fiesta for all!

Thank you for tuning in on today’s Happy “Tooth-Day’s” report!

I look forward to chatting with you all next week!

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Your Friend,

Farah Flossit (Special Agent Flossit)