Touchdown Taco Salad 

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Serves: 8 person(s)

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins

Add this to your tailgate or Super Bowl party. This lower-cal taco salad scores a touchdown every time!
Per serving: 178 calories, 2.8 g fat and 0.8 g saturated fat
Saves: 604 calories, 48.2 g fat and 20.5 g saturated fat over traditional taco salads!

Ingredients:

Taco Salads are notoriously high in calories and fat - not what you'd expect from a "healthy salad". Touchdown Taco Salad scores healthy points by lowering the high-cal ingredients.

By replacing higher-fat ground beef with extra lean, regular cheese with fat-free cheese, deep-fried tortilla shell bowl with baked tortilla chips, and by omitting the sour cream, you can enjoy this salad guilt-free!

To learn more about recipe makeovers see CalorieKing's library article "Smart Substitutes: Your Guide to Low-Calorie Cooking Alternatives".

Recipe Makeover
1 1/2 lb extra lean (95%) ground beef 1 1/2 cup (6 oz) shredded nonfat Cheddar cheese, divided 1/2 cup salsa, divided 8 cup salad greens 1 cup chopped tomato 1 1/2 cup black beans (if canned, rinse and drain) 40 baked tortilla chips (optional)

Traditional Recipe
2 lb ground beef (80% fat-free lean) 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce 1 1/2 oz dry taco seasoning mix 21 1/3 oz canned pinto beans 1 large head iceberg lettuce, shredded 1 1/3 cup chopped tomatoes 2 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 8 medium-sized deep-fried corn tortilla bowls 1 cup sour cream 1 cup salsa

Directions:

Brown beef in large non-stick skillet; remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup shredded cheese and 1/4 cup salsa; mix until blended. Spoon onto serving platter.

In a large bowl, toss together salad greens, tomatoes, black beans, remaining cheese and salsa. Spoon salad over meat mixture, top with tortilla chips and serve.

Author:

Recipe courtesy of 3-A-Day of Dairy, adapted by Family Health Network staff
3-A-Day of Dairy