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Healthy Cinco de Mayo Recipes

We all like to have a good reason to celebrate, but a celebration doesn’t always have to be unhealthy! Next week is Cinco de Mayo, so we wanted to share some tasty, yet healthy recipes to enjoy during your Cinco de Mayo celebrations!

Need an appetizer? Start out with this yummy Corn Salsa or you could serve up these Slow Cooker Vegetarian Stuffed Green Peppers.

But if you are looking for the main dish, try any one of these recipes listed below:

Walnut “Meat” Taco Salad – a popular meat substitute for vegetarians or vegans, walnut meat makes for a great nut-based dinner. Simply combine ¾ cup walnuts with ¼ cup sundried tomatoes, and 1 tsp. each of chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and ½ tsp. salt in the food processor and process until it becomes the consistency of ground meat. Mix together with lettuce, chopped cherry tomatoes, black beans, avocado, red onion and low-fat Mexican cheese for a tasty dinner.

Crockpot Creamy Mexican Chicken – Place 2 chicken breasts at the bottom of the slow cooker. Add 1 15 oz. can of black beans (drained), 1 7 oz. can green chiles, 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, 1 15 oz. can of corn (drained), and 1 package of taco seasoning. Cook on high for 6 hours, until chicken is cooked. Use a fork to remove chicken and shred. Place chicken back in the slow cooker, add 1 package low-fat cream cheese and cook on high for 30 minutes. Serve with whole grain tortillas.

Mexican Veggie Burrito – Add cumin and cilantro to your vegetable mixture. Place about 1/2 cup of your veggies in a whole grain tortilla and top with low-fat Mexican cheese, low-fat sour cream, salsa, and guacamole. We like to warm ours up on the stovetop so the tortilla is crispy and the cheese is melted.

Whole Wheat Chicken Burritos – Serve healthy burritos for dinner with this simple recipe. Start with a whole wheat tortilla. Sprinkle low-fat Mexican style cheese over the bottom third of the tortilla. Then add diced grilled chicken, cooked black beans, tomato salsa, guacamole and low-fat sour cream. Carefully, fold the left and right side of the tortilla in, then roll up the tortilla starting at the bottom. Transfer the rolled burrito to a sandwich press or to a skillet on medium heat. Cook until the tortilla becomes crispy. Serve immediately. The ingredients can also be stored in the refrigerator for several days for leftovers.

Mexican Style Chicken Roll-ups – Combine one chopped green pepper, 1/2 jalapeno pepper, low-fat pepper jack cheese, and 2 tbsp. of low-fat cream cheese. Scoop 2 tbsp. of the mixture onto the chicken breats, roll up and place on a baking sheet seam side down. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Serve with tomato salsa and black beans for a filling meal.

Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas – Use a whole grain tortilla, low-fat Mexican cheese, and a mixture of black beans, corn, chopped tomatoes, and cilantro for this quesadilla recipe. Spread a thin layer of cheese over the tortilla, then add the mixture of fillings to the bottom half of the quesadilla. Fold it over, then use a sandwich press or cook on the stove top until the cheese becomes melted.corn-quesadilla-300x198

What are your Cinco de Mayo plans?

Tips for Building a Healthier Easter Basket

We are excited to once again feature Produce for Kids on our blog today! Thank you to Produce for Kids for sharing these great tips for building a healthier Easter basket.

Tips-For-Building-Healthier-Easter-BasketEaster is such a fun holiday for my kids. My four & two year olds love reading books about Easter, what the holiday is about, and of course, the Easter Bunny. Growing up, I remember the joy and excitement when opening my Easter basket. There was always a bag of jellybeans, a chocolate Easter Bunny, and other fun things like coloring books, crayons, or a fun bow for my hair. Then we would go to the backyard and hunt for Easter eggs. Some were eggshells that we dyed with fun colors and others were plastic eggs to open with usually more candy.

With so many holidays centered around candy, I like to focus more on activity and non-food focused treats. Our family likes to talkabout the holiday, dye hard-boiled eggs, and, I have so much fun putting together their Easter baskets. I don’t eliminate candy from their baskets or eggs; instead, I like to focus on moderation. We do something active together as a family, whether it’s going to the park, riding our bikes, or something as simple as chasing bubbles in the yard. Then there is the Easter egg hunt. They have so much fun running around the yard finding all the places Easter eggs may be hidden. As far as what’s inside the eggs and their baskets? I still include a little chocolate bunny and some jellybeans in each, but I also include a lot of non-food treats in their baskets and eggs.

Here’s a list of ideas for packing a healthy Easter basket:

  • Matchbox cars
  • Bubbles
  • A new book they’ve been wanting
  • Coloring books
  • Fun crayons (like glitter or neon crayons)
  • Sticker books
  • Notepads
  • Color wonder markers & paper
  • Various parts of a fun Easter craft they can put together for another activity
  • A small toy they have been asking for

 For the Easter Eggs:

  • Individually wrapped dark chocolate
  • Dried fruit such as raisins, craisins, dried cherries, or other no-sugar added dried fruits
  • Trail mix, like this Pistachio-Chip Trail Mix
  • Grapes
  • Coins (my kids love adding coins to their coin jar)
  • Individual size stickers
  • Seed packets (for starting their vegetable garden)
  • Bouncy balls
  • Lip gloss
  • Erasers (stores have a lot of cute options)
  • Party rings with a giant colorful gem (can be found at your local dollar or craft store)
  • Pretty hair ties or clips for girls

To round out our healthy holiday, we love cooking this Slow Cooker Ham & Pineapple with Roasted Asparagus & Cherry Tomatoes. It’s a great way celebrate the holiday!

This post originally appeared on the Produce for Kids Blog.

PFK_final_logos_webProduce for Kids is a cause marketing company that helps families eat healthier through its promotion of fresh produce, bank of 200+ recipes and blog full of healthy family living tips and advice. Through our partnerships with grocery stores and produce companies, we’ve raised more than $5 million for children’s charities since 2002. Follow Produce for Kids on FacebookTwitterPinterest and Instagram and

 

 

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