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When
you think about it, there are a lot of high calorie
ingredients in a typical taco. The high fat taco shell,
the ground beef, the cheese, the guacamole. At first
glance it would seem a difficult task to reduce the
calories in a taco without somehow drastically altering
the taste.
But
let me assure you, it is possible, and the results are
very tasty.
Let's
start with the taco shell. Taco shells are typically
cooked with partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil which
contains unhealthy trans fat. Soft taco shells are a
healthier alternative and they contain less calories
than regular taco shells. So if you decide to make this
recipe frequently I would certainly recommend wrapping
the filling ingredients in a soft taco shell instead
of regular taco shells.
But
there's something special about the crunch of a taco
shell contrasting with the mixture of soft filling ingredients,
so in this instance I'm going to use regular taco shells.
Adapting
the ground beef filling
The
savory ground beef filling in a taco is also high in
calories and saturated fat. In fact ground beef (also
known as beef mince) is one of the fattiest types of
meat with around 60 percent of calories coming from
fata lot of it saturated.
Instead,
our savory ground beef filling is going to be made from
TVP (textured vegetable protein). When I did a makeover
on cheeseburgers
I used this versatile soy-based product, that looks
and tastes like ground beef, to make hamburger patties.
This
time I'll turn the TVP into a "beef" chili
mixture for filling tacos. This not only reduces the
calorie and saturated fat content, but you also get
the health benefits of soy.
The
guacamole and cheese
Guacamole
is made from avocados, which are high in fat. But most
of this fat is heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. So
guacamole is the ideal ingredient to give you that "mouth
feel" of fat without compromising your health.
(Just remember, guacamole is still high in calories
so we won't go drowning our tacos in it.)
Cheese
contains a fair amount of saturated fat, but I'm not
going to recommend you use low fat cheese as a substitute.
Simply use real full-flavored cheese in small amounts.
Too much cheese on a taco takes away from the flavors
of the other ingredients and tends to easily spill out
of the taco anyway.
Before
I show you how to make these healthy tacos, let's take
a look at the nutritional difference between our healthy
tacos and a regular taco:
Our recipe has reduced the calories substantially, and
our taco contains three times less saturated fat than
a typical taco. And remember, if you want to make this
recipe even healthier use soft taco shells instead of
regular taco shells.
Here's
how you make these tacos. This recipe makes 12 tacos,
which serves four people.
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Pour
¾
cup boiling water over 1 cup TVP in a bowl, cover,
and set aside for 15 minutes to soak.
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Dice
an onion, half a red pepper and half a green pepper.
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Cook
the onion and peppers
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Cook the onion and peppers in a frying pan over
a medium heat in 1 tablespoon of canola or peanut
oil for 5 minutes. Add 2 cloves of finely chopped
garlic, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1½ teaspoons
paprika and ½ teaspoon chili powder and
cook, stirring, for a minute.
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Add
the other ingredients
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Add
the soaked TVP, ½ cup rinsed and drained
canned red kidney beans, 14 oz (420g) canned chopped
tomatoes, 1 cup beef stock, 1 teaspoon brown sugar,
2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 teaspoon salt and
½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and bring
to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer,
uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Prepare
the guacamole and fresh ingredients
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While
the chili simmers, make the guacamole. Mash
1 halved, deseeded and peeled avocado with 1
teaspoon lemon juice, ½ clove crushed
garlic, ¼ teaspoon sea salt and ¼
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper with a
fork until well combined. Next, prepare the
other fillings and put into separate bowls:
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce; 3 diced tomatoes;
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese; guacamole
and ready-made salsa.
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Heat
the taco shells and serve
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Place
the tacos on a baking tray and heat according
to packet instructions. Fill each taco with some
shredded lettuce, a couple of tablespoons of chili,
diced tomato, salsa, a little guacamole and grated
cheese to serve.
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