Happy Friday!
You may or may not have realized that Cinco de Mayo is coming up this weekend on Sunday. While Mexican food can drum up thoughts of greasy nachos doused in cheese & sour cream and sugary margaritas, you can still celebrate the holiday with healthier fare. Here are a few recipe ideas to try out if you feel like being festive this May 5th:
Spicy Tomato Cilantro Salsa
This simple recipe is a great way to put a homemade touch on the (typically jarred) salsa that you usually find at gatherings. Whip up in 5 minutes flat and serve with multigrain tortilla chips.
Black Bean Quesadillas
To healthify a simple cheese quesadilla recipe, I pack veggies into the mix. If you’re looking to keep the calorie and fat content low for your Cinco de Mayo meal, use reduced fat cheese and a light whole wheat wrap.
I like to dip my quesadilla in some spicy homemade salsa:
Black Bean Quesadilla
Ingredients
- 1 whole wheat wrap
- 1/4 cup Monterey Jack shredded cheese
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 1 oz avocado
- A handful of raw spinach
- A slice of red onion
- Salsa sour cream, or other toppers
Instructions
- Sprinkle cheese on one side of the wrap.
- Drain and rinse the black beans, then spread evenly over top the cheese.
- Slice the avocado and red onion, then arrange on wrap. Add spinach.
- Cook the quesadilla on a skillet sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat, for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until browned.
- Enjoy with homemade salsa, sour cream, or whatever else your heart desires.
Nutrition
Easy Guacamole
I love to whip up guacamole as a quick appetizer. I used to squeeze lime juice into it, but lately I’ve been using a splash of fresh lemon juice instead, so take your pick of citrus! If you’re having guests over, double or triple the recipe. You can find the exact recipe here.
Veggie Chili
I just came up with this recipe earlier this week. I first perused the Web checking out different vegetable chili recipes to see what ingredients seem to always be used, sometimes used, and rarely used. One interesting ingredient I came across in one recipe was unsweetened cocoa powder, so I decided to throw cocoa into my chili mix. This recipe is full of fresh veggies, high in vitamins and low in calories. Though it takes some time to chop up all of the veggies, the chili is simple to prepare.
Veggie Chili
Ingredients
- 1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 can black beans
- 2 ears of yellow corn cut off the cob
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 zucchini sliced into bite sized pieces
- 1-4 oz can portobello mushroom pieces
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 serrano pepper thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 sweet yellow onion minced
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 TSP cumin
- 1/2 TSP oregano
- 1/2 TSP salt
- 1/2 TSP pepper
- 1/2 TSP paprika
- 1/2 TSP chili powder
- 1 TSP unsweetened cocoa powder
- Sliced green onions avocado, and/or shredded cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Warm olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add onion and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add peppers, zucchini, and corn, and cook until veggies are softened, around 7 minutes.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes, beans, portobello mushrooms, vegetable stock, and all spices. Mix well to combine.
- Lower heat to medium-low, and allow the chili to simmer for about 20 minutes. Prior to serving, taste test and add more salt if desired.
- Serve with your preferred garnishes.
When I saw this blog title I was hoping that you’d have a margarita recipe!! These look good though too!
Haha! I would have, except tequila and I are not friends! Thanks for reading Monica.
Wanted you to know that I tried the salsa recipe and really liked it.
YAY! Thanks for sharing 🙂