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I’m pretty sure the first meal my husband ever cooked for me was tacos. It’s been a quick and easy staple in our house throughout our nearly nine years together, and it’s easily one of my favorite meals we make.
Taco night has seen many variations for us with sides in particular, but since we’ve pared down our prep process, opting for much quicker meals, we’ve come to this crazy easy spread for taco nights. Below, I’ve outlined all of our ingredients and our process for a perfect, simple, healthier taco night.
The most important thing about this simple, healthier taco night recipe for me is that it has pretty much endless flexibility. I’ve used different sides and meats, but the end point is always the same – simple, healthy, delicious.
A few notes on ingredients:
We aren’t terribly picky about brands, so we don’t have a go-to anything for this meal except the hot sauce, really – the Cholula is a non-negotiable.
The main musts for us have more to do with the quality of ingredients. For this healthier taco night spread, we opt for the leanest ground beef we can get – 96% – 4% is preferred, but if that’s not available I’ll go for 93% – 7% (I never go lower than that, though). Having to be a bit extra heart health conscious, I’ll always opt for lower fat and lower sodium if at all possible to help keep cholesterol levels in check.
That being said, another must for me is low salt or no salt added for canned goods. If you’ve ever paid attention to your nutrition labels, you know the sodium content in canned goods can be off the charts. For a variety of reasons we don’t go for anything that has a bunch of added sodium and for canned goods, broths, and soups especially, we look specifically for no salt added, unsalted, low sodium, or reduced sodium options.
The final must for me are carb smart, low carb, or keto-friendly tortillas. I’m an endomorph who is prone to putting on weight very easily, particularly when higher levels of carbohydrates are invloved. I’m not opposed to regular tortillas, wraps, burritos, or shells, and will have them occasionally, but if we’re having tacos or fajitas with any regularity I’ll make sure we have some of the Mission Carb Balance tortillas on hand. My husband prefers the flour ones, whereas I usually go for the whole wheat. (Side note: these are also great for turning a sandwich into a wrap if that’s something you might enjoy – I often have one of these with some low-sodium deli turkey and mustard or mayo for lunch.)
Tracking It:
If, like me, you’re early on in a weight loss and fitness journey and you are using Weight Watchers, in particular, to track foods for their points value, I’ve included the general points values you can expect from each part of this meal as well as the overall value of what I would typically have as a serving. The best thing about this simple, healthier taco night is that it’s quick and easy and I don’t feel bad about having some of my favorite foods that can often be calorie-heavy with low nutritional value.
If you are on the fence about Weight Watchers and want to learn more about how it works use this link. Still unsure? Leave a comment below and I’ll see if my user experience can help.
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The Crow’s Nest Taco Night
Serves: 5, Cook time: 15 minutes
Total Recipe Points: 14
Points per Serving: 6
Ingredients:
- 1 pound lean ground beef (96% – 4% or 93% – 7% if possible, or sub in your other favorite ground meat or meat alternative – I’ve also made this recipe with 99% lean ground turkey)
- Total Points: 12
- Points Per Serving: 2
- 1 15.25oz can no salt added (or low sodium) black beans, undrained
- Total Points: 0
- Points Per Serving: 0
- 1 15oz can no salt added (or low sodium) whole kernel corn, undrained
- Total Points: 0
- Points Per Serving: 0
- 1 Tbsp chili powder (more or less to taste)
- Total Points: 0
- Points Per Serving: 0
- 1/2 Tbsp Cholula hot sauce (or hot sauce of your choice)
- Total Points: 0
- Points Per Serving: 0
- 1 tsp ground black pepper (more or less to taste)
- Total Points: 0
- Points Per Serving: 0
- Mission Carb Balance Tortilla, any variety
- Total Points (1 tortilla): 2
- Points Per Serving: 2
Toppings:
- Iceberg lettuce
- Total Points: 0
- Points Per Serving: 0
- Diced tomatoes (any variety)
- Total Points: 0
- Points Per Serving: 0
- Fiesta blend cheese (lower fat if possible)
- Total Points for 1/3 cup of what we typically use: 5
- Points Per Serving: 1
- Light sour cream
- Total Points for 4 Tbsp WalMart brand: 3
- Points Per Serving: 1
- Salsa
- Total Points: 0
- Points Per Serving: 0
Instructions:
1. If you usually add oil to your pan to keep ingredients from sticking, spray the pan you will be using to cook your meat.
2. Turn the stove to medium-high heat to let the pan heat up. Once you can feel a bit of heat coming from the pan or add a few drops of water and they sizzle, add your meat to the pan and begin cooking.
3. Add chili powder, hot sauce, and ground pepper to your meat.
—Note, this is more to taste for me than actual measuring, so if you like things on the spicier side feel free to add more or less if you don’t. Leaving the seasonings out completely also works if that is your preference.
4. While the meat is cooking, add your corn and beans to two separate pots. Add hot sauce, chili powder, and ground pepper to the beans if you would like some extra seasoning.
—Note, I do not drain either of these to let them cook a bit more evenly, but I do drain off as much of the liquid as possible before serving or while spooning out to serve.
5. Cook ground beef to desired wellness and heat corn and beans through.
6. Remove all from heat and assemble tacos as desired.