When you're searching for movie night meals, couch-friendly nachos are an obvious choice.
Trouble is, they aren't very friendly to your waist. A small serving can pack as much as 600 calories and more than 30 grams of fat. And when you are noshing in front of a great flick, who's really going to stop with a small serving?
But it's easy to remake this Mexican-American favorite, taking it from nutritional flop to mega star.
Start from the bottom by replacing fried tortilla chips with baked. While you can buy baked chips, they still are high in fat and sodium, and tend to be brittle. Making them at home is easy, lets you control the fat and salt, and produces sturdier chips.
Next, instead of a layer of fatty browned meat, these healthy nachos call for canned fat-free refried beans, which are filling, low in calories and loaded with healthy fiber. For a variation, you can use a can of whole black beans (be sure to rinse them).
Convenient chopped green chilies from a can or jar are layered with the beans and chips. For a more deluxe version, substitute home roasted or grilled poblano chilies. They add a smoky flavor and just a bit more heat.
Reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend stands in for regular cheese or prepared cheese sauce. Reduced fat cheeses can lack flavor and don't always melt well, but work fine in a dish such as nachos, where you are loading on salsa and other flavorful toppings.
It's best to avoid fat-free cheeses, which melt poorly and often have inferior flavor.
Once the cheese has been melted over the chips and beans, the dish is topped with plenty of salsa, fresh scallions, chopped cilantro and a dollop of reduced-fat sour cream.
Other fresh veggies, such as chopped lettuce, corn kernels, diced fresh tomatoes, diced bell peppers and chopped red onion, also can be added. Fresh vegetables help to stretch out the dish by making more servings that have less fat and calories.
Guacamole is a nice addition to nachos, but is high in calories. The fat in avocados, however, is healthy. So if you want to add some, consider dicing up a whole avocado and sprinkling it over the nachos so you don't end up with too much in one bite.
Healthy Nachos
1 batch baked tortilla chips (see recipe below), about 9 ounces
1 (15-1/2-ounce) can fat-free refried beans
1 (7-ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 cup reduced-fat shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup finely sliced scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup light sour cream
* Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
* In a pie plate or shallow casserole dish, spread half of the chips.
* Top the chips with half of the refried beans, a spoonful at a time, and sprinkle with half of the chilies and salsa.
* Top with the remaining chips, and another layer of refried beans, chilies and salsa.
* Sprinkle the cheese over the nachos, then bake until the cheese has melted, 5 to 10 minutes.
* To serve, sprinkle the nachos with the scallions and cilantro and top with sour cream.
Nutrition information per serving: 226 calories; 66 calories from fat; 7 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 14 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrate; 9 g protein; 5 g fiber; 961 mg sodium.
Makes 8 servings.
Baked Tortilla Chips
Twelve 6-inch corn tortillas
1 tablespoon canola oil
Salt, to taste
* Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
* Line 2 baking sheets with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
* Using a pastry brush, lightly coat both sides of each tortilla with the oil.
* Make a stack with the tortillas, then cut them into quarters.
* Spread the chips in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets.
* Season with salt, then bake until the chips are crisp and golden, about 12 to 16 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving: 94 calories; 26 calories from fat; 3 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 1 g fiber; 185 mg sodium.
Makes 8 servings.
