My family has a lot of different sayings for what’s for dinner. We order pizza every Friday night, so we have called it for years “Party Pizza Friday” and when its taco night, all I have to say is “Mexican Fiesta” and my kids know exactly what we are having.
In the past few weeks, I’ve been weighing and measuring my foods, because I think it always is a good idea to get back to basics on a healthy eating/weight loss plan. And, like a lot of us, my portion distortion can easily sabotage my weight loss goals.
One problem with me and Mexican Fiesta night is my best friend, chips and salsa! Now, the salsa is healthy, but there is usually no way I ever stick to one serving of chips, they are just too good. So tonight I decided instead of making several tacos, I would make one big one, and if I was still hungry after that, I could have some chips.
For the base of my taco, I decided to use a pita bread that I found at my local grocery store. It’s 170 calories, but has 7 grams of fiber.
I could not get that price tag sticker off!
So, at the base was the pita bread, then a layer of mixed greens, 1/2 cup of taco rice(made from a prepared mix), 1/2 cup of black beans, half ounce of mexican shredded cheese, onions, and 4 ounces of taco meat, and taco sauce on top.
It took me the longest time to finish it! This huge plate was only 420 calories. And I was so full from that….no chips for me!!
So I feel like I had a really great dinner, and I didn’t go totally overboard!
Check out Healthy Ashley’s blog for her give-a-way of some yummy sauces! Country Bob sauces!
Also, check out day 4 of my brother’s book Tour at Lynn’s Weigh!!
And lastly, check out Megan’s Munchies for her Betty Crocker gift basket of goodies!
Yay for the giveaway link!
And you are so right about portion distortion- that and snacking are my biggest obstacles! I like how you made a deal with yourself to eat your balanced meal first… and then have the extras after. Success!
fiesta night… love it!
That taco looks awesome! I haven’t cooked authentic tacos in awhile – just more Mexican inspired plates. I’ll need to get some shells and wraps to do it up right!! π
It’s always refreshing to know we can have Mexican food without the guilt. Traditional Mexican food is pretty darn bad, but you have done a great job at healthy-ing it up!!
Oh wow, that taco looks delicious!
I bet if you baked that pita and used some taco seasoning, it would be exactly like a “real” taco.
In college, my roommates and I would have “Taco Tuesdays”…it wasn’t nearly as healthy as your mexican fiesta though π
And 420 cals. for all of that! Awesome!
Delicious! What a great idea to use pitas!
Unconfidential cook: I never thought about baking that pita to make it crispy!!
I can’t wait to try that!
That might also work as the base of a pizza! Thanks for the tip!!
Jennifer,
I think every family has nights that are related to food. We had pizza night and spaghetti night, but now that the kids have reached their twenties and use our house for more of a rest stop then a home, we have FFY nights. It stands for Fend For Yourself. This way the whole dinner preparation thing doesnβt end up with my wife and me looking at each other over servings for five.
Sounds like a wonderful, filling dinner you can be proud and feel great about : )
WOW! Looks so good! Umm…chips and salsa is like my biggest weakness! I haven’t had any in over a month (due to clean eating month) and can’t wait…it is totally going to be my big treat once clean month is over!
I used to love having taco night growing up! My mom would make bowls of all the different toppings, brown some meat with taco seasoning and we could make our own. So fun!
I love taco night, I just had one the other night and I’m already craving it again!
That looks so good! I will keep an eye out for those pitas – did you find them in the bread aisle or near the deli section?
Marisa, I found them near the deli section on their own rack.
Yum, I love a mexican feast like this. Pitas are a great idea.