Saturday Night Fiesta!

I would have to say that besides Italian food my next favorite would be Mexican food! I love tacos, fajitas, guacamole, empanadas and horchata, just to name a few. So Saturday night Kris and I decided it would be a great night for some Mexican food.
 
Saturday Night's Fiesta consisted of healthy Mexican which included guacamole for an appetizer and shrimp fajitas. In mentioning guacamole, I should let you know that I'm pretty obsessed with avocados. Besides being tasty...they are good for you because they contain monounsaturated fat which is good fat. They have tons of other great health benefits, and are a great replacement for things like mayo and unhealthy dips. Just a note to be careful with avocado though if you are trying to lose weight. Although being very good for you, there is about 300 calories in a medium sized avocado. I definitely don't want to steer you away from eating avocados, just be aware that you shouldn't be eating like six avocados a day! I was told that you should limit your avocado intake to about one avocado a day. There are also some studies that talk about how eating avocados can help speed up your metabolism and they also help keep you full, longer.

Enough about avocados...here is my guacamole recipe that is great with cucumbers, celery, chips, delicious on tacos and much more I'm sure.

Andrea's Delicious Guacamole Recipe

2 medium sized avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
2 small tomatoes, diced (I like to use plum tomatoes.)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2 small jalapenos, seeded and diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup red onion, diced (optional)
1 small lime, halved and juiced
salt to taste

Directions:
You will need a medium sized bowl. Place in your bowl the avocados (first), tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos*, garlic and red onion (optional). Then before adding the lime and salt, I like to use a fork and mash and mix everything together. I prefer my guacamole to be on the chunkier side so I don't mash and mix it too much. Then add lime juice and salt to taste and mix that evenly throughout dip. Serve with chips, veggies or as a taco topping! Enjoy!

*As a suggestion if you haven't worked with jalapenos before I would wear gloves if you can. The seeds are quite powerful and getting them on your fingers, hands and later in your eyes can be an unpleasant experience.

Finished guacamole! Yum yum!

Kris' Shrimptastic Fajitas Recipe

1 package of La Tortilla Smart & Delicious Low Carb, High Fiber Original Whole Wheat Tortillas
Approx. 20 ready-to-eat shrimp (50/60 shrimp)
1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 small white onion, julienned
1 tbsp. olive oil 
1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 tbsp. onion powder

1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ancho chile powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. celery salt

Taco Toppings
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1/2 c. diced tomatoes
sour cream
fat-free shredded cheese
extra guacamole from dip

Directions:
In a medium size bowl, coat shrimp with spices (garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, ancho chile powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, salt and celery salt). Then saute green bell peppers, red bell peppers and white onion in olive oil for approximately 5 minutes. Add shrimp to the vegetable mixture and saute for an additional 3 minutes.

Lastly, add shrimp/vegetable mixture and desired toppings to a tortilla! Enjoy!
Serves 2-3

Kris showing his "flipping" technique. He is quite the Bobby Flay!

sauteed bell peppers and onions

sauteed shrimp and veggie mix

Shrimp Fajitas!