Enchiladas Lightened Up

Honey Lime "Chicken" Enchiladas

I love Mexican food. Unfortunately, much of it is chock full of fat and salt.  How to make a dish that's lower in both and still tasty?  Veggie protein and a spicy, no salt sauce with veggies on the side instead of refried beans and rice.

You will need:
3 cups of chopped veggie protein source such as tofu or "chicken" strips
lime juice
tortillas
quesadilla cheese (or use low fat cheddar/jack)
honey
spices
a jar of green taco sauce (or can or enchilada sauce).

Preheat oven to 400 F and spray an 11 x 7 pan with non-stick spray (or place an additional 1/2 cup taco sauce in the bottom if you have enough).

In a small bowl mix:
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup honey
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 good pinches of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Penzey's roasted garlic powder (or a small spoonful of minced garlic).
a dash of white  pepper

Toss  protein source in mixture and stir until coated with the sauce

Get out 9 corn tortillas, warm them first wrapped in a moist towel in the microwave for a minute or in a pan.  If you try to roll up cold store bought ones they often split.

In each tortilla -  place  1/3 cup of the chicken mixture, When enchiladas are all rolled up -  top with the bottle of the green taco sauce, or use a 10 ounce can of green enchilada sauce. Sprinkle the top with one cup of Quesadilla cheese (often found with the tortillas that are in the refrigerated section of the supermarket).

Bake 20-25 minutes - until heated through and the cheese melted.

Serve topped with Rotel and/or some veggie sour cream substitute. Each enchilada is just under 300 calories. My husband ate two, but one with veggies on the side was plenty filling for me.  With my other meals being a smoothie w/fruit and low sodium, homemade soup with a piece of whole grain bread I was still well under 1500 calories for the day and had leftovers for another meal with my husband.