Cinco de Mayo - need a party dish I can eat

Cinco de Mayo - Beer, tequila, re-fried beans, and everything slathered in cheese.

I'm attempting to head off a diet disaster....Please help.

I'm attending a party on Saturday night and need to bring a dish, I would like to bring something low fat/low calorie. Any ideas?????

Most Mexican recipes I have call for fat and cheese.....so good but so bad.

Thanks!!!

Homemade salsa and the reduced fat nacho chips!

• fruit salad
• baked turkey (or chicken breast) flautas (instead of fried) w/salsa
• a big bowl of taco salad but use ground turkey or ground chicken instead of ground beef.

This recipe isn't super low cal, but it's what I usually take to Mexican themed get togethers, if I need an actual dish rather than just appetizers.

http://caloriecount.about.com/recipe/61493.ht ml

It's an enchillada casserole, and it is super easy and pretty flexible. You can make the calorie count lower by leaving out either the beans or the chicken - it is very hearty with both of them in there. The enchillada sauce you use is the key to getting the dish to be flavorful, rather than bland. I like La Victoria green sauce in the can, but I find Las Palmas to be seriously bland. I don't know what you have around your area. I'll also sometimes toss diced onions, garlic and peppers in the sauce while the chicken is cooking, for extra flavor and minimal calories.

Also, a lot of the canned refried beans are very good for you and low in fat. You might bring a dish of those as well (just check the labels carefully before buying). You can spice it up by mixing salsa in with them.

Have fun!

 

This isn't exactly mexican, more like something my Israeli  friends used to make, but a salad of finely diced, tomatoes (no seeds), carrot, red/green/whatever colored peppers, deseeded cucumbers, small amount of avocado, parsely (cilantro would probably add to the mexicanness, as would some very finely chopped chilli), dressed with a lemonjuice dressing and seasoned well. (I guess you could also add finely diced red onion and garlic as well, as well as other veges, but they are the main ones)

How about pico de gallo with veggies.  Mix together chopped tomatoes, jalepenos to taste, onions, lime juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro if you like it.  I usually do equal parts onion and tomato.  Let it sit for a few minutes, taste it for balance, and enjoy with carrot and celery sticks, jicama strips, mushroom caps, etc.  Very yummy, good way to get all your veggies and your dip will be the most tasty for those tired of overdosing on fatty food.

Jane's response made me remember one of my other favorite Mexican-esque recipes. Black bean and corn salad. I don't have my recipe with me, but this one looks really similar. It's really good and best if you make it the day before.

Mexican pizzas made with flour tortillas, salsa and a very light sprinkling of cheese. They cook quick and are actually quite good, even without guacamole.

Veggie dip and tray:

one packet Hidden Valley ranch dip mixed into one tub fat free sour cream

then cut up your fave veggies...I use celery, baby carrots, broccoli and cucumbers

the dip has only about 20 calories per Tbsp and the veggies are very low cal..you can munch your heart out!

The salsa ideas with veggies are great.

Have you heard of Gazpacho? It's a cold soup famous in the Spanish culture. It's basically tomatoes, cucumbers, and different peppers blended into a chunky soup - it's very low in calories.

You could also try a simple bean salad. You could have diced peppers, onions, and tomatoes to go along with it.

Hard boiled eggs cut in half sprinkled with spices would be pretty - a large hard boiled egg is about 70 calories, 35 cut in half. Nutricious and full of protein!

Here's a good soup recipe. 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Red-Pepp er-and-Tomato-Soup/Detail.aspx

Paired with small portions of the fatty food that will be on offer, you should come out alright.  Also, do a search for "healthy Mexican recipies" or "low fat Mexican recipes".  Considering that cheese and meat tend to be expensive, traditional Mexican food was not loaded with either item.