Lemon-Pepper Tuna Nicoise Salad

This refreshingly light salad is a definite must-have again lunch in my rotation for only 247 calories!  I wound up using diced and seasoned refrigerated potatoes (by the hashbrowns in the dairy aisle) because not a single store had the refrigerated potato wedges the recipe calls for, but a potato is a potato and these had an extra kick of spice that really kicked up the flavors this time around!  I just fried up the whole bag and divided it up saving a serving for my youngest's breakfast and then put about 2 oz into each salad container.

(Only 3 servings pictured because I ate the 4th!)

Ingredients:

2 tsp butter

2 cups refrigerated potato wedges

6 cups mixed salad greens

3 2.6-oz pouches lemon-pepper or herb-seasoned chunk light tuna

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced

2 Tbs white wine vinegar

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp Dijon-style mustard

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions:

In a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat and add the potato wedges.  Cover and cook about 15 minutes or until golden brown flipping or stirring occasionally.  Cool completely.

In four salad containers, if portioning out, evenly layer salad greens, tuna, tomatoes, egg slices and potatoes. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours. 

In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, mustard and black pepper. 

Divide among four small containers if portioning out in advance. 

Drizzle on dressing portion over the one salad portion.  Cover and shake or toss with a fork to combine.

YIELDS:  4 servings

SERVING SIZE:  ~1-1/2 cups greens, 1/2 c potatoes, 2 oz tuna, 1/4 c tomatoes, and 1 Tbs dressing

Nutritional Information:  247 calories, 12 g fat (3 g sat fat), 125 mg chol, 543 mg sodium, 14 g carb, 4 g sugars, 4 g fiber, 20 g protein

Chicken Carne Asada Tacos

In the past I've always made these tacos by sets of 2 for 413 calories, but this time because I found these super cute teeny street taco shells, I went with 3 teeny tacos for 300 calories!  This saves you 113 calories!!  Two of the regular size corn tortilla shells is 100 calories and you add more of everything into each compared for even more calories, but there are only 90 calories for three corn tortilla shells into which you fill less as well!

Instead of assembling in the below-listed quantities/measurements, I put 1 oz of chicken in each tiny shell, divided up a Tbsp of the Cotija cheese between all 3, and put in one thin slice of avocado in each as well, which didn't even amount to a whole ounce of avocado overall.

Ingredients:

Marinade:

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 tsp sugar 1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium red onion thinly vertically sliced

Meat:

1-1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into thin strips
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray

Fixings:

8 (6") corn tortillas (or do the 3 small street taco size as mentioned above)
1 cup diced peeled avocado
1/2 cup (2 oz) crumbled Cotija cheese

Instructions: 

Marinade: Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl stirring until sugar dissolves. Place onion in a small saucepan; cover with water. Shock the onions by bringing to a boil, then drain and plunge into ice water to quickly cool and stop the "cooking" process. Drain onion and add to juice mixture. Chill until ready to serve.

Meat: Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Sprinkle chicken with oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper; toss to coat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned and done, stirring occasionally.

Tortillas: Heat tortillas according to package directions. I heat using nonstick spray in a skillet and browning both sides.

Assembly for 2 tacos: Divide chicken evenly among tortillas. Drain onion and divide evenly among tortillas. Top each tortilla with 2 tablespoons avocado and 1 tablespoon cheese and fold.

 ***Assembly for 3 street tacos: 1 oz of chicken per taco, 1 oz avocado thinly sliced and divided between all 3 tacos, 2 tsp of Cotija cheese divided between all 3 tacos and a couple of pickled onions per each taco. 294 calories here!

Yields: 4 servings
Serving Size: 2 Tacos

Nutrition Info (2-Taco version): 413 Calories; 17.1 g  Fat (sat 5.2 g, mono 7.1 g, poly 2.7 g); 33.4 g Protein; 33.6 g Carb; 4.9 g Fiber; 123 mg Cholesterol; 3.2 mg Iron; 825 mg Sodium; 237 mg Calcium