Not gonna lie, I love nachos. And they also love me, on my belly, hips and thighs. So how about diet-friendly good-for-you nachos that won't pack on the pounds? Just in time for tailgating and summer picnics which are right around the corner. But will these supposedly weight loss friendly nachos taste good? Isn't the point of junk food to be full of junk? In their common incarnation, they are. Nachos are basically tortilla chips smothered in some mélange of fatty, salty, intensely caloric, MSG-soaked fake-cheese dip or topping with about a million calories per serving. But if you're calorie restricting, you can still enjoy them. Just make nachos healthier and diet-friendly, like this.
Nacho Daddy's Nachos start with a better chip. Skip the high carbohydrate corn tortilla chips with high-glycemic (sugary) and starchy. Forego wheat-based tortillas. Don't be fooled by "veggie" or "healthy" chips. Read the labels and do the nutrition math. Look for multi-grain, nut, flax or quinoa chips.
Make kale or collard chips. Trim stems from kale and collard leaves. Spritz with non-fat cooking spray
or olive oil. Season with cracked pepper, and crushed rosemary, oregano, sage and basil. Bake at
400 degrees till crisp--about 15 minutes. Season with a little sea salt or substitute Bragg's Liquid
Amino (super healthy) for salt.
Freshen up your nachos. Nix bottled peppers. Use fresh jalapenos, chiles, serannos--protect your hands as you cut them. Make your own salsa, easy on the tomatoes to reduce sodium. Chop mirepoix--colored
peppers (green, red, yellow, orange, purple), sweet onions or scallions, celery and carrots. Add
chopped zucchini and season lemon juice, cumin, garlic, cilantro and chili pepper or Hungarian
paprika to taste. Load up on fresh veggies and lettuces.
Enjoy your guacamole. Seriously, it's really great for weight loss with all that avocado MUFA goodness. But make it fresh by mashing avocado or better yet, Slimcado, diced red onions, garlic, tomatoes, cumin, lime juice and a little celery salt. I dash a bit of smoked paprika on top.
Diet food swaps for dips. Lighten up on sour cream. Switch to non-fat Greek yogurt. Mash avocado, yogurt and salsa you made above for a super-duper-good-for-you guacamole.
Diet cheese food swaps for nachos. Change up your cheese. Use lowfat cheese: Neufchatel, Parmesan-Asiago blend, Mozzarella, light Gorgonzola, Limburger, bleu cheese, goat cheese and feta (sharp cheese give dips a nice bite). Use Laughing Cow light cheese wedges.
Diet food swaps for dips. Use olive oil or avocado mayonnaise (Hellman's makes a 45
calorie per serving kind).
Meat food swaps for nachos. Swap burger or pork for chicken breast, tempeh, miso, hulled edamame, adzuki beans, turtle (black) beans, garbanzo beans, yams or squash.
Fish nachos, anyone? Seriously, fish tacos are crazy-popular, why not fish nachos? Best fish are
denser-bodied: cod, whitefish, marlin, swordfish. You could use shrimp or scallops. Or, for Cajun
nachos, try oyster, crawfish or catfish.
Part of how I lost 100 pounds was by eating healthier diet food swaps.
