Tips for Healthier Tacos
Do you need tips for healthier tacos? Let’s face it, there are some versions of tacos that have too many calories, and we should try to make a few changes to fare better in the nutrition department.
It’s possible that you already have a solid plan to eat healthier tacos. See the tips below and see if any inspire you to tweak your taco recipes a bit more to improve their positive nutritional impact while still enjoying them. There are too many variables, but I hope that some of these suggestions are helpful.
Tips for Healthier Tacos
Salsa
You can’t have a great taco without a great salsa. A great salsa will go a long way in helping you love your tacos, even if you have to tweak them to make them more nutritious. If possible, make a great homemade salsa ahead of time.
If using a store-bought salsa, compare labels. Choose one made with all-natural ingredients. In tightly sealed containers, homemade salsas can last a while in the refrigerator. It is helpful for meal planning to know the shelf life of the food products you prepare. Planning is also a great way to help you eat well more consistently.
Tortillas
The tortillas were missing in this photo below, but they were part of the meal. It was lean pork with sautéed red bell pepper. Yum! These taquitos were delicious. It not begin as a taco meal. However, the sautéed red bell peppers appeared to scream, serve me in a corn tortilla taco. An I did.
I prefer not to assemble the tacos ahead of time. Keeping the tortillas warm longer is priority. So, each person makes their own taco.
The majority of the time, we eat corn tortilla tacos, but flour tortillas are my favorite. Regardless of which kind you like, a good quality tortilla makes a big difference.
Make sure your flour tortillas are made with vegetable oil and not with animal fat, and of course, compare labels for fat content.
As with the salsa, try to make your own. When you don’t or can not, don’t settle for just any brand.
Avoid getting super large or thick tortillas unless you plan to cut these and share. Your brain will record the satisfaction just the same if you eat a smaller tortilla. It is a great way to start to decrease overall caloric intake. Choose smaller tortillas. Serve two or three tacos, and compliment the meal with an extra vegetable.
You have my admiration if you make your tortillas regularly. I do not know how to make flour tortillas, but I do make corn tortillas occasionally. My husband would love it if I made them more often.
One of the tips for healthier tacos involving tortillas is adding a vegetable ingredient to the tortilla mix. It is extra work, but the added nutrition is worth the effort from time to time. Leafy green vegetables are a good choice because they contain less moisture than other vegetables.
One day he questioned whether it was that difficult to make corn tortillas because I don’t make them often. He knew that it took only two ingredients and that one of them was water. So he purchased the masa harina mix, and he made them using our tortilla press. We have had this press for a very long time.
He has now made them about three or four times, and I suspect he will continue to make them from time to time. For me, however, even if they are not that difficult to make, the extra time it takes me to make them will never be appealing. Store-bought tortillas are fine with me.
A double corn tortilla is a trend with some tacos. However, the second tortilla is not always needed. At a restaurant, try leaving it on the plate. Better yet, ask that they serve your tacos with only one tortilla.
Oil Cooking Tips
One common practice when preparing corn tortilla tacos is to use oil on the tortillas before assembling them. Although these are very delicious, it is still possible to omit this step. With great salsa and quality healthy ingredients, it is still possible to create mouthwatering tacos without the added oil. Most restaurants are usually ok with making this accommodation.
If you must use the oil, use a brush or a spray bottle, and use a minimal amount.
Potatoes Cooking Tips
Recently I prepared potato and egg breakfast tacos with a baked potato. I was pleasantly surprised that I did not end up with mashed potatoes and eggs. The potato was soft, but it did not break up. I was able to cut into small cubes. I browned the potato cubes with little oil before adding in the egg. They were great, and no doubt they had fewer calories than if I had cooked the potatoes in oil. I will use baked potato for tacos more often.
I found that the consistency of the potato for this purpose is better if it is wrapped in aluminum foil and cooked in the oven. To simplify this, you may try to bake the potatoes ahead of time. Store in the fridge until you need them.
Bacon Cooking Tips
When I was little, I could not tolerate the smell of bacon, so I did not eat it often. The problem went away as I got older. However, it did not develop a strong affinity for it. Maybe this is why it is easy for me to limit it is consumption and not feel deprived.
One of the most popular ways to use bacon in our part of the world, of course, is in breakfast tacos. That is how we consume it the most at home.
This photo below is of an omelet that I intended to eat by itself, but the tortilla was too tempting. It became an omelet taco. If I am honest, it has too much bacon. Less would still make this a great taco. I have managed to cut my consumption of bacon by a lot. I prepare it for my husband. It is not as often as he would like.
I think bacon is one of the things that you can tweak in your tacos to come out ahead in the nutrition without sacrificing taste. Bacon flavor is bold enough that you can use sparingly on one taco and still be satisfied.
You may disagree if you are a super bacon lover. However, if your goal is to cut calories, you can cut some by eating less bacon.
Read package labels carefully, as not all bacon is created equal. Select a lean product with low sodium. You could select a turkey version in the name of your health.
A great way to reduce calories is by not using the rendered fat. Pour the fat out before you cook eggs and other ingredients. If more oil is needed, use vegetable oil instead of the rendered fat.
Use paper towels to remove excess fat from cooked bacon.
Another tweak would be to avoid putting bacon in more than one meal component. For example, if you are eating eggs and beans, use bacon as a garnish or mix it in with the eggs, but you don’t necessarily need the same flavor in the beans. Spicing up the beans with herbs or chunky salsa would make for a more balanced meal and less calories.
If you think in terms of nutrition, eggs and beans have plenty of protein, so in this case, if you think of the bacon as a garnish, it will make it easier to justify cutting the quantity that you use.
Intentionally planning meals in terms of nutrition will help you make healthier choices. Mental work is required to make changes to our diet.
Sausage and Chorizo Cooking Tips
It is worth it to shop around for healthier versions of these products that satisfy your taste buds without the extra calories. You can also try making your own with lean ingredients.
With so many animal product alternatives, it is now easier than ever to completely substitute animal products for healthier ones. To get tips for healthier tacos in this category, head over to the frozen vegetable protein section of your local grocery store.
It is the spices that shine through in most of these products. Brands are successfully creating vegetable products that are very similar to the animal products. It takes eating the substitutes only a few times to register it in the “I like this” category. If it is your goal, know that it is possible.
Chicken, Meats and Seafood Cooking Tips
Most of the time, we eat the less healthy foods out of habit. If we could only make it a habit to re-evaluate our nutrition standards more often, we perhaps could choose to establish new habits that. With regards to our favorite animal proteins, there are many opportunities to do better. It is possible to prepare healthier tacos with lean grilled meats and seafood. Lean products are easily accessible. Products do not have to be grilled, but are they not more delicious?
Other Tips
Yes, for some of us, tacos may be in our DNA. However, they don’t have to compromise our wellness goals every time we eat them!
Here’s a link from the Huffington Post to a list of some traditional and non-traditional taco recipes. See if you agree with the author about whether they are the best tacos on the planet.
I came across this reference guide to portion control. It is great to get reminded of what the recommended food portions are. Unless we have one of these posted on the refrigerator, we tend to loose track of the proper portions should look like.