2/09/2011

Does this burrito make my butt look big?


I love Mexican food.  

RJ and I even have our own Mexican restaurant.  You know, the kind where the waiter brings out the margaritas and cheese dip the minute he sees us walk in,  before we even order it.  The kind where the waiters probably take bets in the kitchen about how many margaritas I can consume on $1.99 day - seven is my record, thank you very much.  The kind of restaurant where your drinks become less green and more tequila-colored as the night wears on.  You know what I'm talking about, right?

Anyway, I love Mexican food.  But... if you eat it at least once a week, then you Google it and try to find out nutritional information, you will understand why your a$$ is the size of a house and why you have to wear yoga pants out on a date.

So...  in the spirit of eating healthier foods, I gave Mexican food an update, and the results were surprisingly good.  Granted, there were no waiters waiting in the wings to keep my margarita glass refilled, but my skinny jeans are thankful.


WHAT YOU NEED:
1 small spaghetti squash, stabbed all over with a knife and baked at 400 degrees for about an hour
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed 
1 small white onion, chopped and sauteed in some Pam
1 can of Rotel, divided
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tsps cumin
1 tsp dried cilantro (Or use fresh if you have it.  I did not.  It is winter in Kentucky and that stuff costs more per ounce than marijuana right now.)
1 can Campbells Nacho Fiesta Cheese Soup
6 whole wheat low calorie tortillas


WHAT YOU DO:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

After the spaghetti squash is mostly cooled, cut it in half lengthwise and discard the seeds.  Scoop the rest of the flesh out and put it into a bowl.  Add the onion, black beans, spices and half the Rotel.  Use a fork or a potato masher to squish the heck out of it.  I like black beans just fine, but they are way better if they're all mashed up.

Divide the mixture evenly onto the 6 tortillas, and roll 'em up.  Ya know, like burritos.  Place them seam side down in a shallow baking dish and pop 'em in the oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the cheese soup and the rest of the Rotel together.  What you will get is a runny queso-looking concoction.  Take the burritos out of the oven, pour the soup mixture over top, and put in back in the oven for another ten minutes, or until the cheese looks bubbly and gooey.  I ended up only using about 2/3 of soup mixture, because it looked like a lot of juice to be pouring over my burrito.  In retrospect, I should have used it all.

I served them with a bag of frozen Mexican vegetables that I jazzed up with a few dashes of chili powder and cumin, then roasted in the oven right along with the burritos.

And...  here's the best part.  If you add up all the calories in one serving, which is one burrito and 1/2 cup of vegetables, it's around the 280 calorie mark.

And it tastes good.

You're welcome.

And although you probably want to avoid the margaritas if you're trying to lose weight like I am, you can have a Bud Light Lime with it for only 116 more calories.

You're welcome again.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, yeah! I'm making these ASAP! And that's a good point about the cilantro . . . I wonder if my brother would be willing to make room under his grow-lights for a cilantro plant?

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Angie, could I get your brother's number? I've been looking for a source... ya know, for cilantro ;)

    ReplyDelete

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