25 October 2009

Facelft Number Nine - Revisiting Taco Bell

I know my last facelift was a Taco Bell item, but let me explain why I'm revisiting this fast food joint.

My boyfriend loves (LOVES!) the crunchwrap supreme and it's really not that complicated of a dish. I've wanted to do a facelift of this crispy, meaty, spiced meal-on-the-go but I was going to wait for a great moment to do so.

On SparkPeople.com we are having a contest that seems to be right up my alley: come up with a healthier recipe for a fast food item. The winner gets a blender that retails for over $400!

So, I've pulled out the stops and decided that this is the moment to unveil what I believe is my best facelift yet... and I can't wait to make this again for my boyfriend!

BEFORE THE FACELIFT




Let's do this.

INGREDIENTS

For four servings:
4 Mission "Plus" Heart Healthy Flour Tortillas
4 Old El Paso Corn Tostada Shells
1 pound 96% extra lean ground beef
.5 cup water
2 tablespoons minced garlic
6 oz tomato paste, no salt added
4 tbsp fat free sour cream
1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle blend
.5 teaspoon Goya Sazon seasoning (1/2 packet)
1 tablespoon Trader Jose's Salsa Autentica










LET'S COOK!


In a deep pan, brown the garlic.


Add ground beef, brown, drain fat, and return to the pan.


Add Sazon, Mrs. Dash, tomato paste, and water.


Stir until combined and bubbling, cover, and set aside.


Spread 1 tablespoon of sour cream on a tostada shell.


Put one tortilla in a pan on medium heat and top with 1/4 of the meat mixture and 1 tablespoon of salsa.


Put the tostada on top with the sour cream side facing down.


Fold the edge of the tortilla around the tostada shell.


Flip the whole thing over and let it cook a little longer (about 2 or 3 minutes)...


...and take a big bite! (Hopefully you use the other 3 servings to make one for your friends!)


FACELIFT RESULTS

174 fewer Calories (-32.1%)
9g less fat (-43.8%)
3g less saturated fat (-47.1%)
40mg more cholesterol (+133.3%)
799mg less sodium (-57.1%)
32g less carbs (-45.6%)
2g less fiber (-36.7%)
12g more protein (+75%)

Okay, okay... yes, there's more cholesterol, but it's not too obscene. Also, the decrease in fiber is obviously not intentional.

You can reduce the amount of cholesterol by using ground turkey (which I wanted to do, but the store only had 80/20 and I wanted at least 93/7) or a meatless product (I was thinking of using Gimme Lean but it would have brought up the sodium a lot) instead of the ground beef. Increase the fiber by adding more veggies like onions (which I don't like) or lettuce (which I forgot to buy... whoops!).

Overall, this was REALLY delicious and writing this blog made me want to have another!

Full recipe is HERE. As usual, please leave a comment here or on SparkPeople or e-mail me at FastFoodFacelift@gmail.com with your ideas, suggestions, and critiques.

Wish me luck with the Spark People contest! I hope this delicious recipe is a winner!

3 comments:

  1. You could also improve this a bit if you used whole-wheat tortillas and are cool with the taste/texture difference (not everyone is, so your mileage may vary)

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  2. transiit - I actually purposely did not use the whole wheat tortillas because they were higher in sodium, Calories, and fat. But, feel free to use whatever tortillas you'd like!

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  3. Funny how they do that, huh? "Buy our healthy product, it's only just a little worse!"

    ReplyDelete