Fajita Taco Salad Swap

One of my all time favorite meals is Taco Salad.  I love a good taco salad, warm veggies on a bed of lettuce topped with gooey cheese, flavorful salsa and mounds of sour cream and guac and I'm in heaven.  Until I log onto spark people to track my calories and bam that deliciousness just cost me almost my entire days worth of calories.  For a gal that loves to eat that is so not cool.  I have taken to making my own taco salads. 

First step, ditch the crunchy shell...its hundreds of empty calories.  For some extra crunch bake a corn tortilla and crumble on top, if you choose.  Next I cut up about 1 cups worth of assorted pepper strips.  I used red, yellow, orange and green.  I always keep a bag of mini peppers on hand, they are super easy to grab and go and much easier to chop up.  But use what you have.  Chopped some onion and some grape tomatoes and put them into my preheated pan with some chili infused olive oil on medium heat to get soft and delicious.

Once my veggies were nicely on their way to be perfectly soft yet still crunchy, I added a little taco seasoning.  I buy mine from a local shop, Crystal and Spice that has with no added fillers or salt and is super fresh.  Its devine! .  Add some pinto beans and mix everything together til warm.

While the goods were heating up I chopped up some lettuce.  I used a blend of red leaf and escarole, but use what you have.  I recommend a sturdy lettuce like romaine or iceberg.  We want a lettuce that can bring it to the recipe. Spinach has its place for salads, but baby its not here.

Next I diced 1/2 an avocado, shredded 1oz of cheddar cheese. (Note:Always, always buy cheese that is made without use of growth hormone, organic if possible, we don't like extra hormones in our food it messes with ourselves!)  Top with some salsa as the dressing, a little lime juice and crushed red pepper.  YUM.  I like to add a little Greek yogurt as a sub for sour cream, but I was fresh out today.  My favorite is Windcrest Dairy.  If you are local you can find it here.  Otherwise, Chobani is a great choice too.  

YUM!  To make this 24 Day Challenge friendly, ditch the cheese.  Add hormone free chicken for added protein.  Omit the cheese, use 1/3 avocado...make it your own, play around.  Enjoy and its 1/3 the calories of many popular restaurant styles.  Look at you saving calories, you'll be a slim and trim in no time! 

Fajita Taco Salad

Nutrition:   Calores: 450 | Fat 24g | Protein 19g | Carb 48g | Fiber 17g 

• 1 cup pepper strips
• 1/4 cup onions, chopped
• 1 oz grape tomatoes, halved (about 3-4)
• 1/2 cup pinto beans, rinsed
• 2 cup lettuce, torn into strips
• 2 Tbsp Salsa
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp taco seasoning (more or less to taste)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, plus more for garnish

1. Heat olive oil in pan with chopped garlic and crushed red pepper
2. Add onions, tomatoes and peppers, cook til almost soft 
3. Add beans and taco seasoning cook til beans warm
4. Add mixture to lettuce and top with cheese, avocado and salsa.
5. Enjoy!