Meal Prep: Healthy Mexican-Inspired Dishes

One of the hardest things about maintaining a healthy diet is fighting the cravings for our favorite, and usually unhealthy, foods.  For me, it's cheeseburgers, cupcakes and MEXICAN FOOD!!!  I love deep fried chimichangas with a signature margarita, but alas, I try to keep any indulging limited to Cinco de Mayo dishes and date nights.   Therefore, when I start feeling those cravings, I came up with this meal prep plan to provide healthy alternatives for my favorite Mexican dishes.  The key is doubling up on protein (turkey, chicken, egg whites, no salt black beans) as much as possible and limiting cheese, even when using low-fat cheese.  

On The Menu

Mango Papaya Liquado (Smoothie) 

Breakfast Tostadas

Breakfast Burritos

Low-Carb Mini Taco Salads

Healthy Fish Tacos 

Mexican Style Brussels Sprouts & Quinoa

Low-Carb, GF Chicken Fajitas 

Spicy Black Beans & Mexican Corn

BREAKFAST & SNACK DISHES

Click here for my Mango Papaya Liquado (Smoothie)

Breakfast Tostadas - 3 servings

Ingredients:
3 corn tortillas
Spray cooking oil (*olive oil)
2.5 egg whites
1 whole egg

3 tbsp. salsa (heat preference)

Approximately 3 tbsp each of Spicy Black Beans & Mexican Corn

3 pinches of shredded low-fat Mexican blend or cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. of red pepper flakes (optional)

2 tbsp of fresh, chopped tomatoes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Over medium heat, spray cooking oil in a small or medium sized pan.
3. Combine and scramble whole egg and egg whites.
4. Once cooked (no longer runny) add red pepper flakes if desired and remove from heat.
5. Place corn tortillas on a greased baking sheet.
6. Spread each tortilla with a tbsp. of salsa
7. Evenly spoon egg mixture onto each tortilla.
8.  Add black beans and Mexican corn to each tortilla in even amounts.
9. Sprinkle shredded cheese sparingly to the top of each tortilla
10. Bake in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until cheese has melted and tortillas crisp slightly around the edges.
11. Add fresh tomatoes to each tostada evenly...Enjoy!

Breakfast Burritos - 3 servings

Ingredients:

3 low-carb, wheat tortillas (medium to large in size)

Spray cooking oil (*olive oil)

1 cup *turkey breakfast sausage crumbles

2.5 egg whites
1 whole egg

3 tbsp. salsa (heat preference)

3 pinches of shredded low-fat Mexican blend or cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. of red pepper flakes (optional)

1. Over medium heat, spray cooking oil in a small or medium sized pan.
2. Add in turkey sausage crumbles and allow to cook for a few minutes (stir often enough to let stick to pan and burn)
3. Combine and scramble whole egg and egg whites.
4. Once cooked (no longer runny) add red pepper flakes if desired and remove from heat.
5. Place corn tortillas on a plate or in meal prep containers.
6. Spread each tortilla with a tbsp. of salsa
7. Evenly spoon egg and sausage mixture onto each tortilla.
8.  Sprinkle shredded cheese sparingly to the top of each tortilla
9. Fold each "top and bottom" end of tortilla in, and roll sides to make burrito...Enjoy!

LUNCHES, DINNERS & SIDE DISHES

Low-Carb Mini-Taco Salads- 3 servings

Ingredients:

3 whole iceberg lettuce leaves (in a bowl shape)

1 pkg. ground turkey

1 packet of Taco seasoning (*optional & in lieu of following spices)

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. chili powder

3 tbsp. salsa (desired heat)

1 cup fresh diced tomatoes

3  tbsp. shredded low-fat Mexican blend cheese

3 tbsp. fat-free sour cream

Tortilla chip strips (*optional)

1. In a pan, cook the ground turkey over medium-high heat for about 8-10 minutes, or until no longer pink and breaking it up.
2. Drain any excess liquid.
3. Reduce heat to low. (Add taco seasoning as per instructions if desired.)
4. Stir in red pepper flakes, onion powder and chili powder evenly into turkey meat.
5. Place iceberg lettuce leaves in meal prep dishes/ plate.
6. Spoon turkey meat evenly into three lettuce bowls.
7. Top turkey meat with tbsp. of salsa.
8. Sprinkle each salad with cheese.
9. Add fresh tomatoes evenly to each salad.
10. Top with a tbsp. of fat-free sour cream and a pinch of tortilla chip strips if desired. 

Healthy Fish Tacos - 3 servings

Ingredients:

2-3 filets of flounder

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp garlic powder

2-3 tbsp panko bread crumbs

Spray cooking oil 

3 small sized tortillas (I use flour for these but you can use corn or low-carb)

2 cups raw slaw

2 tbsp. Hot & Spicy mayonnaise

1/2 cup yogurt-based ranch dressing 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lay flounder filets on greased/ tin foil laid baking sheet.
3. Season filets with red pepper flakes and garlic powder.
4. Bake filets for approximately 8-10 minutes, just before flaking up.
5. Meanwhile, mix raw slaw, mayonnaise and dressing in a large bowl until slaw is evenly coated.
6. Remove flounder from oven, and sprinkle panko crumbs over the top of each filet.
7. Spray each filet with coconut oil cooking spray.
8. Return to oven, and continue to bake until fish flakes. (Note: Depending on your oven, you may need to broil fish on low to get the panko crumbs to crust up, without drying out the fish.) 
9. Remove from oven, split, or cut into pieces.
10. Place tortillas in meal prep dishes
11. Spoon slaw mix into each tortilla evenly
12. Lay flounder pieces in each tortilla.

Low-Carb, GF Chicken Fajitas - 3 servings

Ingredients:

3 whole large lettuce leaves (iceberg, butterhead, winter density, etc.)

2 chicken breasts

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 onion, sliced long length-wise

1/4 green pepper, seed removed, sliced long, length-wise

1/4 red pepper, seed removed, sliced long, length-wise
3/4 cup Bella mushrooms

3 tbsp. shredded low-fat Mexican blend cheese (optional)

3 tbsp. fat-free sour cream (optional)

1. Prepare your grill.
2. Prepare chicken by removing any excess fat, rib meat, cartilage, veins.
3. Season chicken with red pepper flakes, garlic powder and onion powder.
4. Grill chicken breasts on each side for about 8-10 minutes or until inside of chicken is 165 degrees F.
5. In a pan over medium heat, add coconut oil and onions.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until onions start to soften.
6. Then add in red and green peppers and mushrooms and cover pan.
7. Cook for an additional 8-10 minutes or until onions are translucent and peppers are soft. Drain any excess dark liquid from mushrooms.
8. Slice up grilled chicken breasts into strips, pieces and add to onions and peppers.
9. Reduce heat to low and allow flavors to mix by stirring meat and veggies together.
10. Place lettuce leaves in meal prep dishes.
11. Spoon chicken and veggies into each lettuce "tortilla" 
12.  Sprinkle with cheese and top with fat-free sour cream if desired.

Mexican-style Brussels Sprouts & Quinoa 

Ingredients:

1 cup, or box of quinoa

2 cups water

1/3 cup marinated artichoke heats (minced)

1/4 cup red peppers, minced

1-2 cups of Brussels Sprouts (about 15-18 sprouts)

2 tbsp. coconut oil

1. Prepare quinoa as per box instructions, or add quinoa and water in a pot over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low-medium and simmer until seeds begin to spiralize and open.
2. Add in artichoke hearts and peppers and allow to cook until liquid is reduced.
3. In a pan, over low-medium heat, add into coconut oil.
4. Prepare Brussels Sprouts heads (click here and go to the Tips section for how I prepare my sprouts)
5. Add sprouts into pan and cover, agitating / stirring sprouts every few minutes to cook all sides evenly.
6. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until sprouts become a bright green.
7. Add in quinoa mixture to pan and sprouts and mix well to blend flavors and until sprouts begin to soften.

Mexican-style Corn

Ingredients:

1-2 cups of frozen corn

1-2 tbsp. of coconut oil

2 tbsp salsa (desired heat)

Pinches of low-fat queso cheese crumbles (optional)

1. In a pan, over medium heat, mix coconut oil and corn until corn is cooked/ defrosted.
2. Drain any excess liquid.
3. Mix in salsa and sprinkle with ques

Spicy Black Beans

Ingredients:

1 can 'no salt added' black beans

1/2 cup salsa (desired heat)

1. Super easy: Add beans to pot and heat up as per can instructions and add in salsa!

*Tips: a) I personally use Jimmy Dean's Breakfast Turkey Sausage crumbles b) While it's very convenient to use taco seasoning, it is very high in salt, so for healthy meals I tend to use my own seasonings to add flavor c) These salads can be GF also by omitting the tortilla chip strips.