Easy 535 Calorie Taco Salad

Hola!

Mexican food can be a healthy alternative to most ethnic foods when you make your own or when ordering carefully at a restaurant. Like most restaurant foods, portions are supersized, so you can easily consume more calories and sodium than your body needs.

Taco salads are one example. A restaurant taco salad served in a deep fried flour tortilla bowl ranges from 550 to 900 calories. You can bet the 550 calories taco salad is light on cheese and meat. 900 calorie taco salads are in line with large hamburgers before adding fried potatoes or beverages. As is the case with most restaurant foods, you also get a lot of sodium. Easy 535 Calorie Taco Salad has about 725 mg of sodium using homemade  salsa, guacamole and low sodium organic canned black beans.

Flour tortillas are notoriously high in sodium. You can omit the tortilla chips in this recipe, if desired. The sodium savings is between 10 and 140 mg depending on the type (flour or corn) and whether they are homemade or bought.

Easy 535 Calorie Taco Salad omits the deep fried tortilla bowl saving between 250 and 500 calories.

Easy 535 Calorie Taco Salad

Easy 535 Calorie Taco Salad vs. Taco Bell’s Fiesta Beef Taco Salad

It should come as no surprise that you can eat more food, with better nutritional value, and fewer chemical additives by cooking at home. Aside from the tortilla chips and seasoned meat, there are no other cooked ingredients. Whether you use prepared salsa or guacamole for convince or make your own is up to you.

As with most fast foods you get less foods with more calories, fat and sodium. While the weight difference is about 1-ounce, the number of calories is about 40 percent less for the this recipe. You also get more fiber and protein with less than half the sodium.

Substitutions

Restaurant taco salads typically have sour cream. It can be full fat or reduced fat. Full-fat sour cream has about 4 times the calories as zero-fat yogurt (30 vs. 8 calories per tablespoon). Reduced fat sour cream trades calories for a long list of chemical additives.

Related Recipes

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Guacamole, creamy

Guacamole, chunky

Salsa fresca (pico de gallo)

Taco seasoning

Ground meat taco filling

Nachos

Ingredients

• About 2 cups (4-oz., 115 g) shredded lettuce, any variety
• 2 oz. (56 g) seasoned ground beef, chicken or turkey (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup (90 g) canned low sodium black beans, or cooked black beans
• 3 tablespoons (20 g) shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack or other cheese
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup (50 - 100 g) homemade or prepared tomato salsa
• 1/4 cup (30 g) tomato, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup (70 g) guacamole, prepared or homemade
• 1/4 cup (40 g) non-fat Greek or natural yogurt
• 4 homemade or prepared tortilla chips (optional)

Method of Preparation