Tag Archives: mexican food

Pineapple Agua Fresca is the One Summer Drink You Must Try

When it comes to beverages I’m usually indifferent. Between drink and food, I’ll always choose the latter for my calorie splurges. But when a healthy indulgence comes along in liquid form I’ll at least consider giving it a shot.

After testing four agua fresca recipes this week – yes, four –  pineapple agua fresca was the clear winner; the absolute best! This leads me to believe if there’s one fruity drink you indulge in this summer, this simply must be it!

Pineapple-Agua-Fresca (more…)

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Dana

7 Cinco de Mayo Recipes for Your Guilt-Free Fiesta

mexican recipes

Cinco de Mayo is one of the unofficial starts of summer and one of the most food-focused holidays in the US. Who would want to pass up a day where tacos, guacamole, and margaritas flow like fireworks on the Fourth of July? If you’re a calorie counter, that might be you.

Mexican food is known to be rich and heavy and full of fat and calories. A meal at On The Border could push you past 2300 calories for two margaritas, chips and salsa, the three ground beef enchilada dinner with chile con carne, rice, and refried beans, and a sopapilla to round it all out. You know that’s more than a day’s worth of calories, right? And we won’t remind you how bloated you’ll feel afterward.

We plan on celebrating Cinco de Mayo this year, and want you to do so, too! That’s why we’re sharing a few tips and recipes to do so with much less guilt. (more…)

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Natalie K

Homemade and Fat-Free Creamy Feta Salad Dressings Two Ways

If I told you that you could have big salads tossed with a creamy dressing and it would be fat free, would you believe me? Not only fat free, but extremely low calorie, fresh flavor, and maybe the best dressing you’ve ever had. Let me show you the way.

I prepare a big entree salad for dinner for my family once or twice a week. I swore off grocery store salad dressings years ago because they’re terrible, and frankly, I can whip up a vinaigrette on demand with a flavor that perfectly complements my meal. But I recently grew tired of the vinegar and oil and craved the creamier variety I used to douse my salads in. Inspiration struck.

Picking through the refrigerator, I found feta crumbles, Greek yogurt, and the strawberries and basil I usually add to vinaigrette. These were blended together, without the oil, and the sweetest pink dressing adorned our salads that night. And with that, my creamy feta dressing fixation began. (more…)

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Natalie K

Wholly Guacamole Salsas Are Both Healthy and Irresistible

On the wake of my birthday week, I’m still eating like a queen. Sunday kicked off an all-day meal fest that started with breakfast and ended with an full-on taco bar at our place. The taco theme was my request as I love absolutely adore Mexican food.

The running joke around the office this week has been that, while my taco bar birthday party has come and gone, the leftovers have supplied my lunch all week long. Monday: Taco salad with beef. Tuesday: Taco salad with refried beans. You get the idea. “Tacos for lunch again today! What a surprise!” (more…)

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Dana

Grapefruit and Lime Mimosas Complement a Cinco de Mayo Brunch Fiesta

Americans have adopted the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo as one of our very own. And why wouldn’t we? It’s colorful, flavorful, and down right fun. In a world that could always use one more excuse to celebrate, we say why not!

Typically, Cinco de Mayo is a veritable smorgasbord of all-things-cheese-coasted with endless chips, salsa, and margaritas. Hopefully, you’re all waiting until it’s at least 5 o’clock somewhere to dig in! This year, being that Cinco de Mayo falls on a Saturday, we think you should start the party early with a Mexican-themed brunch. The centerpiece of which should be our Grapefruit and Lime Mimosa.


It’s as bright and bold as the culture of Mexico, and will certainly be a refreshing departure from your standard OJ and champagne. (more…)

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Natalie K

Calorie Crunch: Eat Healthier at Mexican Restaurants this Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is this Saturday, which means we’ll all be digging into Mexican food – and margaritas – galore.

If you’re planning on dining at home, check out this spicy Cinco de Mayo-inspired recipe round up that includes Eva Longoria’s spicy serrano guacamole and spicy Mayan truffles for dessert. You’ll be able to make all of your favorite kicked up Mexican dishes in the comfort of your own home while impressing your family and friends.

But, if you’re the restaurant type, we’ve got you covered there, too. Consider this your quick guide on how to eat healthy at your favorite Mexican restaurants. We’re comparing classic Mexican dishes like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, as well as each restaurant’s most popular desserts. We’re warning you now, it’s not pretty. But armed with the knowledge of what’s in your food, you’ll be able to better navigate the tempting Mexican food-scape this holiday weekend. (more…)

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Dana

Celebrate Cinco De Mayo with Healthier Mexican Fare

Cinco de Mayo, which many Americans know as an excuse to drink Coronas and eat guacamole, is a day that has a great deal of significance in Mexican history. The holiday commemorates the Mexican army’s unexpected victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

In Mexico, the day calls for great celebration, and Americans have adopted Cinco de Mayo as a celebration of Mexican culture that often centers itself around food and beverage. We all know that it can be difficult to stick to a diet or healthy lifestyle on holidays that revolve around salty snacks, cheese-drenched main dishes and caloric alcoholic beverages, so we put together a round-up of our favorite Mexican-style recipes for your own celebrations that won’t break your calorie bank.

This year, you can celebrate Cinco de Mayo without forsaking any of your cravings – or expanding your waistline.

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Posted on May 2, 2023 by Maris

Chef Devin Shares Her Favorite Recipes from Biggest Loser’s Flavors of the World Cookbook

The culinary preferences of Americans are as diverse as our population. Unfortunately, the way most of us enjoy our Mexican, Chinese and even Italian food is very Americanized – fried, greasy and cheesy. When we start thinking about all the things we have to “give up” to lose weight, our favorite internationally inspired dishes are the first to go. However, the new Biggest Loser Flavors of the World cookbook will put all of your quesadillas, potato pancakes, and even tiramisu right back in your diet.

Chef Devin Alexander is the recipe author for the new cookbook, as she has been for all of the Biggest Loser cookbooks (last year she released the Biggest Loser Desserts cookbook). Devin told us “We really dug deep to find ingredients that were really healthy.” She boasts about the book an all-natural cookbook. So, not only are the recipes all under 400 calories, they also use wholesome ingredients. She’s “all about decadence” and “figured out ways not to sacrifice flavor.” Biggest Loser Flavors of the World is a first-of-its-kind cookbook: it’s so all-natural Devin couldn’t even use evaporated cane juice or fructose and the recipes are lower in fat, calories, saturated-fat, cholesterol, etc. Best of all, it’s still really decadent.

Listen now to our interview with Devin. Her enthusiasm for the book is completely contagious. You’ll hear how she and her team worked to put together the recipes, the stringent parameters Biggest Loser had her working within, and her list of favorite recipes from the book.

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Posted on March 15, 2024 by Natalie K

Party Without Gaining Weight During the Holidays

Now that I’ve had a successful weight loss and kept it off for close to five years, I find that my life has changed. I love exercise, cooking (and eating) veggies more than once a day, and drink more water than I ever imagined. I have more energy and am much happier.

One thing hasn’t changed, though – I still dread holiday parties. Being surrounded by all the yummy foods, mixed drinks and amazing sweet treats, combined with an almost total lack of willpower can often be a recipe for disaster. A friend of mine recently decided that her annual Christmas party was going to have a Mexican theme, and when I first heard about it, I decided I wouldn’t attend. After all, Mexican food can be terrible for the waist, full of fat and calories, and one night of indulging could mean I need hours of work in the gym for a week or more. There’s no way that I could go to her Mexican Christmas party and still stay on task- or so I thought. I was bummed because this party was sure to be a lot of fun, with many of my friends present.

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Posted on December 8, 2023 by Carmen

We Love SkinnyGirl Margarita

Whether you are actively trying to lose weight or just maintain a healthy lifestyle, drinking alcohol should not be a typical part of your dietary intake. Being told to stick with ice water or club soda at parties can get boring after a while. Sometimes, a girl just wants to kick back and enjoy a cocktail without killing her diet. How can you responsibly enjoy a margarita when a typical mixed drink can set you back more than 500 calories in a 4 ounce serving?

Enter Bethenny Frankel to the rescue. Yes, Bethenny Frankel of Real Housewives of New York City fame. Before she was famous for her reality show, Frankel was a mixologist and a chef and was known for creating lower calorie versions of high calorie or unhealthy foods. On an episode of Real Housewives, she created her own, low-calorie version of a margarita and the response that she received from viewers convinced her that she needed to make a version available for purchase. (more…)

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Carmen

Dip in to these Healthy Guacamole Recipes for National Guacamole Day

Today, September 16, is National Guacamole Day! It’s also Mexican Independence Day. Who knew?

This doesn’t mean that you should go crazy with the chips transporting said guacamole into your mouth. But guacamole is an amazing source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Avocados contain the same type of fat found in olive oil and almonds. Avocados are one the best choices in fruit for magnesium, vitamin E and folic acid. They have 60% more potassium than bananas. If that’s not enough reason to make avocados a part of your daily diet, they are also free of sodium, cholesterol and trans fats.

In one study, volunteers who ate avocados every day for a week experienced an average 17% drop in total blood cholesterol (Archives of Medical Research, Winter 1996). Try guacamole on a grilled chicken breast, as a spread for a whole grain turkey sandwich, or dip your carrots into it for an out of this world snack. (more…)

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Carmen