Taco Tuesday Gone Healthy

One thing that you'll learn about me (if you continue to follow my blog ;-) ) is that I am obsessed with Mexican food, especially TexMex. In fact I secretly moved to TX to make sure I'd always have an endless supply, jk...not really, ha! What I have learned about one of my favorite genre's of food, however, is that it can be really unhealthy if you're not careful.  Sure I love queso, nachos and sour cream just as much as the next person, maybe even a little more than I should, but I also realize that if I continue to eat like this everyday, I am eating myself into an early grave.  So, I decided to start looking for ways to cut the calories, without losing all the flavor.  I've seen this done a bunch of different ways on various shows so I am not claiming to be unique, but I will say that I have added some homemade touches that you are sure to enjoy.

Prep It

• Be sure to take out your meat the night before, defrosting on the counter, especially with poultry is not always safe
• Pre-wash your lettuce when you bring it home, wrap in paper towels to provide somewhat of a water wicking effect that will prolong the life of your lettuce
• Check you pantry for spices, for this recipe you will need ground cumin, garlic pepper, kosher salt, chili powder, paprika and onion powder
• Prepare salsa roja--can be store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks

What Goes In It

• 1 lb Lean Ground Turkey
• 1 tbls garlic pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tbs cumin
• 1/2 tbls chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt (you can add more after you check for flavor)
• 1 tsp dried  or fresh chopped cilantro
• Splash of lime (literally squeeze one time)
• 10 butter or living lettuce leaves
• Reduced fat shredded mexican blend cheese
• 2 medium roma tomatoes diced
• Low-fat sour cream
• Fresh Salsa Roja (recipe below)

How to Make It

1. Cook the ground meat in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat until cooked through.  Be sure to use a large spoon or masher to break up the meat as it cooks.  
2. While the meat is cooking, chop the tomatoes and set aside.
3. After all the meat is browned, add all spices except cilantro.  Cook for 5 minutes more.   Check flavor and add more salt if needed.
4. Add cilantro and splash of lime, cook for 1 more minute then remove from heat and set aside.
5. Assemble the tacos by putting the meat on the bottom, top with cheese, tomatoes, fresh salsa and 1 teaspoon of sour cream.
6. Believe it or not, that's it!  Literally a super health twist on tacos in less than 30 minutes.  My kids adored this recipe.  The little one even asked for seconds, which she NEVER does.  She ate more than me!  I title this picture, the aftermath.

Extra Tips/Shopping List

What You'll Need

• 1 head of Butter or Living lettuce
• Dried or fresh cilantro
• Roma tomatoes
• Low fat sour cream
• Reduced fat cheese
• Small Limes

What You Should Have on Hand

• Onion powder
• Garlic pepper
• Kosher salt
• Chili powder)
• Cumin
• Paprika

Tips
My salsa roja recipe was literally born from a night where I had cooked Mexican and realized that I was out of salsa and absolutely refused to go to the grocery store.  The cool thing about these kind of recipes, is that it means that I only used ingredients I had available to me, which you should also.  If you find that you are going to the store to buy any of this stuff, you should consider reviewing my blog post on properly stocking your kitchen and pantry here.

Salsa Roja (translation: Red Salsa)

• 2 cans diced roma tomatoes, no salt added
• 1 1/2 tbls minced garlic
• 1/2 tbls dried cilantro
• 1/2 tbls cumin
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 tbls kosher salt (you may need to add a touch more at the end)
• 2 tsp garlic pepper
• olive oil
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 cup  diced bell pepper
• 1 tsp chopped jalepeños, optional
• Lime or lemon juice (again this is dependent on what you have on hand)

Cook garlic in a saute pan of medium heat until fragrant, about 2-3 mins.  Add all remaining ingredient except cilantro and lime juice and cook for additional for about 10 minutes until bubbly.  Pour everything into a food processor.  Pulse to break down the tomatoes slightly.  Add cilantro and lime juice.  Pulse to desired consistency.  I like mine fine but not totally liquid.  Taste.  Add more salt if needed.  Pulse once more if you add salt.  Store in air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.  I like to keep my old salsa jars, so that what I typically use to store it but Tupperware works too!