Posts Tagged by corn
Easy Mexican Corn Salad
| November 9, 2015 |
People used to tell me all the time that saying you “don’t have time” was an excuse. But I really believed I didn’t have time. And I used to look at those fit people who’d be at the gym every day and have these healthy looking meals packed with envy. I wished I had the time to meal prep they way they did.
I started a #90DayChallenge with my gym and since I started, I learned I DO have time. I spend one day over the weekend making all the food for the week. Then the rest of the week, I don’t have to slave over the stove every night trying to make something healthy, because I already did it already!
I had a few outings last week that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get to a microwave. But I didn’t want a normal salad so I came up with this spicy Mexican corn salad. It’s a great option for a packed lunch because it’s a no-heat dish! (It’s also a no-cook dish so it’s super easy to prepare!) I just added a side of cold cocktail shrimp to add some protein to my meal and I’m ready for a healthy week.
Note: Notice my serving size is divided by 7 for easy meal prep. You’ll start to see a lot of my future recipes also divided by 7.
Mexican Corn Salad
Macros: 11.1g Fat, 33.1g Carbs, 7.5g Protein (Serves 7)*
- 3 cans of corn, no salt added
- 1 can of black beans
- 4 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1/2 bundle of cilantro, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 habanero pepper
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (in liquid form)
- 3 tbsp mayo
- Optional: cotija cheese
Directions
Gently toss the corn, black beans, tomato, onion, and cilantro together. (You can chop up some of the stem too. I’m lazy and don’t pluck off the leaves. I just chop the whole thing up.)
Next, put the habanero and garlic in a small food processor with the coconut oil and mayo and puree into a sauce (you definitely don’t want big chunks of habanero all in one bite). Then mix the sauce into the salad.
Top with some crumbled cotija cheese and serve with your choice of protein.
Spicy Note: if opting not to use a habanero pepper, feel free to use a garlic press and stir in the pressed garlic, coconut oil, and mayo – skipping any need for the food processor.
*Macros were calculated off Del Monte brand corn (5 cups), Sun Vista black beans (1.5 cups), 12 oz tomato, 10 oz onion, Hain organic brand coconut oil, Kraft mayo, and 3 oz cheese.
Healthy Halloween Treats: Guacamole
| October 23, 2013 |
There are tons of tempting appetizers that pack more calories than cheeseburger. Stay away from creamy or cheesy apps and dip into some guacamole.
Avocados pack a dose of healthy fats into your diet – rich in vitamins A, C, E, K, B6 and your Omega-3s.
Really, where the turning point is when eating guacamole are the excessive amounts of chips usually involved. Just like when I go to any mexican food restaurant, I limit my number of chips before I even start eating them, counting the chips as I eat – that way I hold myself accountable to a quantifiable number.
Guacamole
- 2 avocados
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/4 of a roma tomato, finely diced
- 1/8 of a white onion, finely diced
- 1/2 of a jalapeño, finely diced, seeds removed
- 1 tsp lime
- 1 orange bell pepper (optional for garnish)
- blue corn chips (or the chips of your choice)
Directions
Cut avocados in half and remove the seed. Scoop out avacado from the peel and put in a mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash the avocado until you reach your desired consistency. (Personally, I like mine a little chunky.) Add the rest of the ingredients and stir together.
To make the Jack-O-Lantern bell pepper, use a pairing knife and cut a face out. (I free-handed it.) Pull any seeds or flesh out that interfere with the face through the cut mouth opening.
Serve with blue corn chips (they look black) and/or slices of orange bell pepper.
You can play around with the jalapeño and add more or less if you like things more mild or on the hot side. This recipe yields for a mild to medium guacamole (in my opinion).
Healthy Halloween Treats: Candy Corn Fruit Cup
| October 3, 2013 |
I love Halloween. Luckily, I have actually never really been a candy fan, so binging on candy should be the least of my concerns. But I’m a social eater and I eat because it I want to feel like I am celebrating the holiday with everyone else. If everyone else is eating junk, I find it very hard not to join in. But in the privacy of my own home, I wouldn’t even touch most of that stuff.
Let’s take the iconic candy corn … did you know that with every bite, you are consuming over 1 gram of refined sugar? Sure, they market the candy as being fat free, but the spike in your insulin levels will not help your journey to weight loss. (See nutritional info here)
My best strategy: be festive the healthy way! So all month long I am posting Halloween recipes you can enjoy guilt-free. And all of them are party friendly to enjoy with your friends and family.
Candy Corn Fruit Cup
- diced pineapple
- mandarin oranges
- your whipped cream of choice
Note: depending on the size of your cups and how many you plan to make, the amount of fruit you need to buy varies. My cup (wine glass size) took 1 small can of pineapple and 2-3 fresh mandarin oranges in each. You can use canned or fresh, I used canned pineapple (make sure it’s in water or 100% juice with no added sugar) and fresh mandarin oranges. Personally I always like fresh better but sometimes you have to go with what your market has in stock.
Directions
Prepare the pineapple by either chopping into cubes (for fresh pineapple) or draining the liquid from the can (save the juice for smoothies!).
Prepare the oranges by peeling them and pulling apart each section, or by draining the liquid from the can (again, save your juice for smoothies, yum!).
With all your cups out and ready, fill each cup with pineapple until it fills 1/3 of the cup. Next, layer the mandarin oranges until the cups are 2/3 full. Top it off with your whipped cream of choice.
I used ReddiWip Fat Free whipped cream in the photo because I love the way it looks, but if you’re going to keep the cups out for a buffet style party, the cream starts to melt. You can also try my Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream recipe but it also needs to stay chilled, but it should last longer sitting out than ReddiWip does. Fat Free Cool Whip is also a great option and probably keeps its shape longest of the ones mentioned when left in room temperature.
Strike of genius! If you can afford the calories, top it off with some all natural ice cream!
