Monday, November 8, 2010

Amazingly Healthy Nachos w/ Fresh Cilantro Guacamole

Give me mexican food any way and I'm a happy girl...nachos especially!  Something about the salty, crunchy, messy, chewy goodness that makes me very content (and very full!)  I've devised a way to be able to eat nachos (frequently) without the awful feeling in my gut (not sure if it's guilt or indigestion)...win, win!  This meal is so satisfying that you can feed it to the men in your life without getting complaints...trust me, you're going to LOVE this!



The "Taco Meat": (obviously no meat is involved!)

1 1/2 c. water
2 packages of low sodium taco seasoning
3/4 of a brick of tempeh, crumbled (I used the other 1/4 for the Kiddie Quesadillas in a previous blog, but if you have no intentions for doing that, just use the whole thing!)
1 can organic black beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz. organic tomato puree (you can also use diced tomatoes if you want it chunky)
1 t. agave (to cut the acidity of the tomato puree...most tomato sauces have sugar in them, the puree shouldn't, so you have to sweeten it yourself)

-Throw everything into a saute pan and mix to combine.  Simmer on low/medium until it thickens.  The longer you leave it, the better the flavors.  I did mine for around 30-40 mins.

-While that's simmering, chop:

tomatoes
avocado
green and red peppers
green onions
lettuce
black olives
jalapenos
fresh cilantro

-Note:  the more raw, fresh veggies you put on this, the healthier it'll be...obviously if you don't like some of the above, omit them!

The Guacamole:

2 avocados
1/4 chopped cilantro
1/2 t. fresh garlic (or if you don't have it, garlic powder)
1/8 t. sea salt
1/4 of a fresh lime, squeezed
1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeds removed (unless you like it spicy), diced

-with a potato masher (or a fork), mash together until desired consistency is obtained.

The Assembly:

chips (if you can get a hold of the Target brand, Archer Farms Organic Blue Corn Flax Tortillas...they are the BEST...hands down...and the bag is resealable so they last FOREVER!)
"taco meat"
salsa
chopped veggies
fresh Cilantro Guacamole
Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream (but seriously, you have so much flavor on this already, you don't even need this!  I usually skip it, but it helps some people (aka my husband) to feel like they're eating "actual nachos"!  "You've already taken away the meat and cheese, at least leave the sour cream"! haha!

-Do them up individually, or make a HUGE nacho platter for game nights when you have a house full of guests!

-Note: the "taco meat" recipe makes around 4-6 servings (depending on the appetite), so if you're cooking for just a few, take the rest and freeze it for later!

2 comments:

  1. I made these with a slight variation for the sake of making the dish better accepted by the "picky eaters" in my family. After preparing the taco meat, I put it into the food processor, simply to hide the tempeh. When ready to eat, I mixed the guacomole with the taco meat and told my "picky eaters" that it was a bean dip. And needless to say, we ate it as a dip. I failed to mention that they were eating tempeh. They loved it!
    Bridget

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  2. Sometimes you just have to be sneaky!! Awesome idea...and I bet it was an amazing dip! Next time I just may do it that way!! (Would be an awesome layer to that mexican dip with all the different layers to it...) I might just have to try that out!

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