I am officially starting a new series of blog posts called "Fast Food Fakin", where I will give you healthy alternatives to popular fast food items.

Lets be honest - fast food doesn't really taste that good, and you generally feel horribly immediately after consuming even a little. But as a nation literally raised on french fries, hamburgers, pizza and hot dogs it can be a very daunting task to get rid of these items from your diet, a necessary step to achieve optimal health.

There is however a bit of an upside - you don't have to stop eating pizza, tacos, hamburgers or even fries. You do need to stop eating them from a restaurant however. By making some adjustments to recipes, even the most sinful sounding dish can be made to be quite healthy. I eat all of these foods constantly and still stay healthy. Remember - restaurant food is rarely nutritionally dense, and you always have to wonder about how much the guy making $7 an hour really cares about your food or your safety. I would wager a large majority of what people consider the "24 hour flu" is really food poisoning from eating out constantly - trust me, you really wouldn't want to see in most restaurant kitchens on a busy night.

For this post, I will cover your typical fast food Taco. For comparison, I will give statistics for the Taco Bell soft taco. Before we look at numbers, let's see the recipe:

1 La Tortilla brand Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tortilla
1/4 Cup Cooked Pinto Beans
1/8 Cup Shredded Romaine Lettuce
1/4 Cup Morningstar 'Burger' Crumbles (Found in the vegetarian frozen section)
1 Ounce Shredded Low-Fat Cheddar Cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp corn starch

This recipe is simple, combine all the spices, the beans and the "burger crumbles" in a small saute pan and heat until the sauce comes to a boil and everything is hot.

Now, microwave your tortilla wrapped up in paper towel for about 20 seconds to get it nice and flexible. Add the "meat"/bean mixture and the lettuce and cheese to the tortilla and roll it up whichever way you prefer. Hopefully you already figured this all out but I figured I better explain just in case.

You will find this will be just as delicious as that fast food taco, in fact - the next fast food taco you eat probably won't taste as good as this one. And you don't have to feel guilty about eating these.

The first trick here is to get rid of all that saturated fat by using Morningstar "burger crumbles", there are many other brands out there, this is the one I prefer. The Pinto beans add some good protein and fiber to fill you up, but the real star here is the tortilla. This particular brand is a "low carb" type of tortilla, made mostly with oat bran and wheat gluten, very tasty and 13 grams of fiber in each one. If you are feeling really adventurous, you can use broccoli sprouts (or any other type) instead of the lettuce to add some powerful antioxidants to the mix, but I know most people think eating sprouts reminds them of eating grass.

And now let's take a peek at the comparison of nutrients, you will see that our version pretty much blows the fast food version out of the water in every category.



You may be thinking - hey, that's more calories than a taco bell taco. Only problem is you are literally getting three times the amount of food by weight as the fast food taco, and at 18 grams of fiber in each taco, one or two will really be all you need. I know when I used to frequent Taco Bell, I would usually need to eat around 5 or 6 tacos before I even started to get full (when I was a teenager, the 10-pack of tacos was my weapon of choice). And unlike the fast food tacos, this one will keep you full for hours.

You can substitute the spices above for a pre-made seasoning packet, but try to use the low-sodium version, the regular version usually has several times your daily intake of sodium. Cumin is the spice that really gives taco seasoning it's unique flavor. On a side note - you should make an effort to expand your spice portfolio at home, find a few good spices to help you wean yourself off a high sodium diet - I have grown to prefer my food without the traditional crust of salt so common in restaurants.

And one final note- be sure to drink a nice big glass of water after you eat one of these, really a wise idea anytime you are eating super high fiber foods. This is to help your body digest the food easily. It will also help you feel full longer, as those tortillas will soak that water up like one of those "miracle chamois towels" you see on late night infomercials.

This Blog Entry Was Posted On Monday, September 22nd at 10:09 pm