Main Meal

Name: Instant Pot Taco Meat - Keto/THM S
Ingredients: 2-3 lbs ground beef; 1 cup water; 1 cup beef broth; 2-3 Packets Taco Seasoning (1 pack per lb) ((If using homemade, use 2 tablespoons of seasoning for each lb of beef))

Instant Pot Taco Meat – Keto/THM S

September 17, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

This Instant Pot taco meat is seriously the best that you will ever make! And the best part – it works for your Keto, low carb or Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle.

My goal to start using and loving my Instant Pot has slowly been becoming a reality. I’ve made chicken stock, shredded Mexican pork, sous vide eggs, southern style veggies and even some desserts.

And I’m kinda loving it. Finally! I thought it would never happen. But I keep finding myself trying to figure out another recipe to throw in my Instant Pot. I even got rid of my crock pot last week (gasp)! Ok truth be told, I dropped the lid and it broke so it wasn’t really usable anymore but I got rid of it nonetheless.

So when I was scrolling Pinterest and saw a Taco Bell style taco meat in the Instant Pot, I had to try it. I’ve been a Taco Bell fanatic for as long as I can remember and anytime someone claims a copycat recipe I’m in.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Instant Pot Taco Meat – Keto/THM S

The pin that I saw was written at the blog The Salty Pot. I followed the directions meticulously (subbing in my own seasoning) and it turned out great! I made some small changes to the original to make it work for our family & our Trim Healthy Family lifestyle.

And I’m telling you, it is good. I don’t know if it is Taco Bell good (because can anyone ever reach that greatness??) but I think you will enjoy it. My husband claimed it to be the best taco meat that I had ever made. The cooking process really infuses the meat with the Mexican seasoning blend giving it much more flavor than letting it simmer 5 or 10 minutes on the stove.

The recipe does have a couple of steps and isn’t exactly a quick recipe. But since it is made in the Instant Pot, you can set it and forget it. It is also a great recipe to make ahead and freeze. More details on how to do that in a minute.

Step 1: Cooking the Ground Beef

You can use frozen or fresh ground beef in this step. Which is great if you are like me and forget to thaw out your meat!

Frozen Instructions: Add 2-3 lbs frozen ground beef and 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot. Seal and set manual high pressure to 30 minutes. Quick release when complete.

Fresh Instructions: Add 2-3 lbs fresh ground beef and 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot. Seal and set manual high pressure to 8 minutes for 2 lbs or 10 minutes for 3 lbs. Quick release when complete.

Step 2: Break up the Cooked Beef

Using a meat masher, break the cooked beef up into small pieces. The first key in my opinion to Taco Bell style beef is that the meat is broken up into very small pieces.

Now drain the water & grease from the beef.

Step 3: Taco Seasoning

Now it is time to season the Instant Pot taco meat. Add 1 cup of beef broth and 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning for every pound of ground beef. If you want to use a store bought packet of seasoning, that is 1 packet per pound.

If you are a Keto or Trim Healthy Mama, try this healthy homemade taco seasoning. You can make a big batch in just a couple of minutes.

Seal the pot & place on manual high pressure for 30 minutes.

Step 4: Saute if Needed

I found that if you use 3 lbs of beef, you don’t really need to do this step. There will be a small amount of liquid left but I left it so that when I warm it back from frozen, there will be a bit of liquid.

If you use only 2 pounds or want to eat right away vs. freezing, you need to get some of that liquid to evaporate. Turn the pot off & then turn it back on by pushing the saute feature. Allow the liquid to cook off for approximately 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Step 5: Freezing

If you want to freeze the Instant Pot taco meat for an easy meal later on just let it cool after step 4. Divide it into gallon size ziplock bags in portions that meat your family’s needs.

Label your bag and lay it flat to freeze.

To reheat, thaw in fridge and warm it in a skillet or in the instant pot on the saute setting. If you got rid of most of the liquid in the original cooking process, you may want to add 1/4 a cup of beef broth when warming.

Serve the meat with your favorite taco toppings.

More Healthy Low Carb / THM S Mexican Recipes:

30 Min Salsa Verde Chicken with Queso Cauli Rice

Keto Cheese Enchiladas (No Tortilla)

Instant Pot Shredded Mexican Pork

Low Carb Pork Belly Tacos with Siracha Mayo

Instant Pot Taco Meat - Keto/THM S

Servings

Ingredients

2-3 lbs ground beef
1 cup Water
1 cup beef broth
2-3 Packets Taco Seasoning (1 pack per lb) (If using homemade, use 2 tablespoons of seasoning for each lb of beef)

Servings

Ingredients

2-3 lbs ground beef
1 cup Water
1 cup beef broth
2-3 Packets Taco Seasoning (1 pack per lb) (If using homemade, use 2 tablespoons of seasoning for each lb of beef)

Instructions

Place the fresh or frozen ground beef in the instant pot with 1 cup of water.
Set Manual pressure to high, seal and cook 30 minutes if beef is frozen. Follow the same process but set the time to 8-10 minutes if the beef is fresh. (8 mins for 2 lbs, 10 mins for 3 lbs)
Quick release the pressure & break up the ground beef into small pieces.
Drain off the water and grease from the Instant Pot.
Add 1 cup of beef broth and taco seasonings to the pot.
Set manual pressure to high, seal and cook for another 30 minutes.
If you used 3 lbs of beef, most of the liquid should be absorbed after a quick release of pressure. If you used 2 lbs or have excessive liquid with 3 lbs turn on the saute feature. Saute for 10-15 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently.
To Freeze: allow the meat to cool. Separate the taco meat into portions that will feed your family and place into freezer bags. When ready to use, thaw the meat in the fridge. To warm, simply use the saute feature on the Instant Pot or add to a skillet on the stove. You may need to add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water or beef broth while heating.

Instant Pot Green Chili Mexican Pork – THM FP

August 27, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

This Instant Pot green chili Mexican pork is a quick and easy way to get seasoned pulled pork to use in tacos, enchiladas, stuffed peppers and more. It can even be made into a freezer meal for those super busy weeknights.

A Trim Healthy Mama FP recipe is always welcome in our house! A fuel pull is kind of a blank canvas that can be shaped into whatever type of Trim Healthy Mama meal that you want. And this Instant Pot green chili shredded pork will give you a great start to your favorite Mexican meal.

Stuff a bell pepper with black beans, brown rice and green chili shredded pork for a yummy “E” meal with healthy carbs. Or load up a low carb tortilla with sour cream and cheese for a pulled pork taco that is a perfect “S” or low carb meal. We also love it in enchiladas or even as a salad protein.

And since this recipe is low fat and low carb, it works for many different healthy lifestyles. Whether you follow a low fat diet like Weight Watchers or a low carb lifestyle like Keto, this recipe will work for you!

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Instant Pot Green Chili Mexican Pork – THM FP

I have been making this seasoned pulled pork in the crock pot for years. It is really versatile and with only 3 ingredients it is a simple weeknight meal that the whole family will love.

But since it takes around 8 hours in the crock pot, I wanted to see how it would fair in the Instant Pot for those evenings that I forgot to worry about dinner! Does anyone else meal plan like a crazy woman and still end up at least one night a week staring in the pantry at 5:30 with zero ideas? I don’t get it but it happens to me often.

So I pulled out that big pressure cooker that I’m determined to love (even though it wasn’t love at first sight) and dumped in the pork and sauce. And in just over half an hour we had a successful shredded pork dish.

THM Enchilada Sauce

Let’s talk enchilada sauce before we go any further.

Many of the store bought varieties include things like food starch, flour, caramel color and sugar. All of which we don’t want in our pork. Why do they do that?! We just want something easy that we can buy for busy weeknights.

So no one that manufacturers enchilada sauce asked me and it is what it is at the store. But I really wanted this to be drive thru Sue friendly like those instant pot dump meals that we loved pre-THM.

So while there is not a perfect THM on plan store bought enchilada sauce, the one that I used is the best that I could find and I’m ok with it. If you have read the 5 things I don’t do, you will know that A. I’m not a purist & B. an off plan oil doesn’t make me cringe so long as everything else is on plan and that it is not the first ingredient.

That is the case with this sauce. It uses cottonseed oil which is a vegetable oil and not on plan. The oil is the 4th ingredient and the numbers work so I use it. However, I don’t want to mislead you. An off plan oil makes it off plan regardless of the numbers because ingredients trump numbers on THM.

If you want something that is totally on plan, try Darcie’s enchilada sauce with this recipe. It is simple and could be frozen ahead of time to make life easier later.

Update: I did find this store bought & on plan sauce at Target. It is 100% on plan & I’m going to try it out the next time that I make this Instant Pot Green Chili Mexican Pork recipe. You would need to use 2 cans of sauce if using this variety.

So exciting to have a completely on plan, store bought enchilada sauce!

Ingredients for Instant Pot Mexican Pork

Like all my favorite dump and pressure cook meals, you only need 3 ingredients for this shredded green chili pork.

Pork Tenderloin (2 pack)
Green Chilis
Enchilada Sauce

Pressure Cooking Green Chili Pork Tenderloin

The instructions for this recipe couldn’t be easier! Dump in 15 oz of Enchilada sauce, 1 can of chopped green chilis and two pork tenderloins into the Instant Pot. I use the pork tenderloin that comes 2 to a package.

Select the manual pressure cook option and set it for 35 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes and then quick release after that.

Shred the pork and allow it to soak up some of the leftover enchilada sauce. You can add additional sauce if needed. I usually get the big can and then save the extra for these no tortilla enchiladas.

You can serve it with shredded cheese to make it Keto/Low Carb or a THM S meal. Or you can eat it as written as a THM FP or low fat meal.

Here we made it into enchiladas by just adding the shredded green chili pork and shredded cheese into a low carb tortilla. Then topped the pan of enchiladas with more enchilada sauce and additional cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Another option is to stuff this shredded green chili pork into a bell pepper for an E meal. Add in a 1/4 black beans and corn. Place the stuffed pepper into the instant pot with trivet and 1 cup of water at the bottom of pot.

Cook on manual pressure for 10 minutes. Add a small sprinkling of cheese on top and let it melt so that you don’t go into XO.

Does It Freeze Well?

Instant pot green chili Mexican pork freezes beautifully!

I use the package that has two tenderloins per package. One of those tenderloins feeds my family of 4 so I use this recipe as an easy meal prep and freezer prep opportunity.

Shred the first tenderloin and feed your family dinner. We love to take this pork and use it to make enchiladas or stuffed bell peppers!

Shred the second tenderloin and let it cool in the leftover sauce in the Instant Pot. Once cool place the pork and about 1/3-1/2 a cup of the enchilada sauce that it cooked in, into a gallon freezer bag.

When you are ready to use it, place the shredded pork in the fridge while you are at work. Once you get home it should be thawed and ready to use.

I hope you enjoy this Instant Pot green chili Mexican pork low carb recipe! Let me know your favorite way to use the shredded pork.

Zevia Cola Memphis Style Pulled Pork, Crockpot Recipe – THM FP

Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Instant Pot Bone Broth

Instant Pot Green Chili Mexican Pork - THM FP

Servings

people

Ingredients

1 cup Enchilada Sauce (more to toss in after cooking if desired)
4 oz Green Chilis
2 pork tenderloins

Servings

people

Ingredients

1 cup Enchilada Sauce (more to toss in after cooking if desired)
4 oz Green Chilis
2 pork tenderloins

Instructions

Place the pork tenderloins into the Instant Pot.
Dump in the enchilada sauce and green chilis.
Set the pressure cooker to high pressure and 35 minutes using the manual setting.
Allow the pressure to naturally release for ten minutes and then fast release after that.
Shred the pork and toss it in the remaining enchilada sauce (adding extra if needed).
Freeze any leftovers in a gallon zip bag for future meals that will be very easy to prep.

Low Carb Tortilla Pizza – THM S

July 24, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Learn how to make a low carb tortilla pizza in just minutes by using a store bought “crust” that is so much cheaper than other Keto pizza crusts.

Tortilla pizza has been in my life since my college days. They are cheap, easy and taste so good. All the things that a broke college student appreciates.

So since I’ve been eating this meal for so many years, I just figured everyone knew about these little gems. Imagine my surprise the other day when I saw in a Facebook group that there are tons of people that didn’t know how to make tortilla pizzas! If that is you, your pizza life is about to change for the better!

Full disclosure, I don’t eat my pizza the same way that I did in college anymore. I’ve traded in my carb laden version and now enjoy a low carb tortilla pizza with some veggies and still some pepperoni too (A THM S Meal)!

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Low Carb Tortilla Pizza – THM S

I’ve eaten pizza bowls and pizza toppings on pizza for easy Keto/THM S meals. But sometimes you just want to be able to pick up a piece of pizza with your hands but still stick to your low carb lifestyle!

And you don’t want to have to have 10 special ingredients to make some pizza crust that takes 30 minutes to make and may or may not be good. I can’t stand wasting time and money.

That is where the low carb tortilla pizza comes in. A perfectly crispy and thin crust lathered in sauce covered in melted cheesy goodness. It will cure all your pizza cravings!

What You Need to Make A Quick Tortilla Individual Pizza

Low Carb Mission Tortillas This is your Low Carb THM Pizza Crust
Pizza Sauce (Sugar Free)
Shredded Cheese
Toppings

The fun thing about these pizzas is that everyone in the family can make their own. Which is great in our family because my husband likes meat and cheese. Give me all the onions and olives. And then my kids like cheese.

It is nice for us to all be able to put the things that we like onto our personal pizzas. Plus my kids think it is so fun to make their own.

What Toppings Can You Use?

You can top your low carb tortilla pizza crust with whatever toppings that you normally like on your pizza!

Meat Ideas:

Pepperoni
Cubed Ham
Browned Hamburger Meat
Italian Sausage
Salami
Rotisserie Chicken
Bacon

Veggie Ideas:

Onions
Olives
Bell Pepper
Mushrooms
Roma Tomatoes
Fresh Spinach
Banana Peppers
Jalapenos

Just remember that if you are doing keto that the veggies have some carbs so you will want to take that into account when making your pizza.

Trim Healthy Mama’s you can have pretty much any of these just don’t overdo it on the tomatoes or the onions.

This is also a great meal to make when you have some leftovers in the fridge. The possibilities are endless. Grilled chicken leftovers with a little red onion, sugar free bbq sauce and mozzarella sounds amazing!

Leftover taco meat, olives and cheese would be a great Southwestern style pizza. Or just stick to the classic cheese and pepperoni for a more traditional approach.

Making A Low Carb Tortilla Pizza

So just when you thought life couldn’t get any better now that you have a delicious thin crust pizza, I’m going to tell you how easy these little pizzas are to make.

They are so easy! We eat them a lot for lunch or a last minute dinner for a busy weeknight.

In just around 10 minutes, you can have a yummy, cheesy pizza ready to eat. Hey, that’s way quicker than ordering delivery!

Toast the Tortilla

The first thing you want to do is toast your tortillas in a preheated oven at 350 degrees.

This will help crisp up the crust to that it will be portable and not soggy.

Toasting the tortilla is pretty much the most labor intensive part of the whole pizza making process. Just throw it right on the rack. No need to waste a baking sheet.

You need to watch it closely to make sure they don’t burn. And they burn pretty quick (don’t ask me how I know!)

I typically toast it for 3-5 minutes until lightly browned and firm. It should resemble more of a flat tostada shell after toasting vs. a soft taco shell.

Sauce & Toppings

Once the low carb tortilla is toasted, apply the sugar free pizza sauce. A couple of tablespoons will be plenty. Don’t go overboard with the sauce to avoid soggy crust.

Add cheese, meats and veggies. Return to the oven and cook for about 5 additional minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Remove from the oven and cut into slices.

Enjoy your low carb tortilla pizza and an ice cold Zevia cola for a treat that feels sinful but is totally on plan!

Want more easy Low Carb/Keto/THM S Meals?

Low Carb Tortilla Pizza - THM S

An individual thin crust pizza piled high with cheese, meats and veggies. Great for low carb, dirty Keto or Trim Healthy Mama lifestyles.

Servings

Personal Pizza

Ingredients

Servings

Personal Pizza

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.
Place the low carb tortilla directly on the rack and let it toast for 3-5 minutes. Watch it carefully so that it does not burn.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of pizza sauce.
Sprinkle the cheese on until it is covered to your preference.
Pile on the cooked meats and vegetables.
Place the pizza in the oven and cook for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted.
Cut into slices and serve.

Crack Chicken Crescent Bombs

August 25, 2018 by Stacy Craft 4 Comments

Crack chicken crescent bombs are stuffed with cheesy chicken, crisp bacon and ranch. Your entire family will beg you for these little pockets of goodness!

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Chicken puffs are a staple at our house. Shredded chicken, some combo of cheeses as a binder and then something to create some interest.

In this case it is bacon, can’t go wrong with bacon. We usually call these “puffs” but after making this newest creation, a new name was warranted.

Adding crack chicken to our ordinary puffs made them much more than just a puff. Welcome, crack chicken crescent BOMBS. Because, well, these things are the bomb!

If you read 2.7 seconds on this site, you know that my 4 year old is in that “I only eat chicken nuggets, mac n cheese and McDonald’s” phase. Or I should say that is the phase she wants to be in!

I don’t usually agree with that phase so we negotiate. I find if she tries something she usually likes it so we just have to win the battle to try the new food. Ya’ll she loved these!

Crack Chicken Crescent Bombs

Let me tell you about these amazing crack chicken crescent bombs. You have probably had crack chicken or at least seen it all over Pinterest.

Crack chicken is shredded chicken, cream cheese, a little cheddar, ranch and some crumbled bacon. There is nothing bad about crack chicken. But you really take it up a notch when you turn the crack chicken into a crescent roll bomb!

Prepare Your Crack Chicken

You can make your crack chicken in a variety of methods. I used my new Instant Pot to make my chicken. But you can also use your crockpot or even a rotisserie chicken.

Using the instant pot, place a package of chicken thighs or chicken breasts into the pot. Add half a cup of chicken broth and a tablespoon of ranch mix on top. As a side note, we really prefer boneless/skinless thighs in this recipe!

For the instant pot, I use the poultry setting and cook for 15 minutes on high pressure. Allow the pressure to release naturally. While your chicken is in the instant pot, set out your cream cheese so that it can soften up a bit.

Cook your bacon while your chicken is cooking. You could use the packaged real bacon bits but actually making the bits will really increase the flavor in your crack chicken crescent bombs.

The Crack Chicken Mixture

In a large bowl, shred your cooked chicken thighs. Next, add the cream cheese, shredded cheese, bacon bits and 1 tablespoon of ranch seasoning to the bowl and mix it all together.

Take one crescent roll triangle and press it out with your fingers just a little. You don’t want to make the dough too thin, but if you press it out a little, it helps get a nice seal on your “bombs.” And let’s face it, no one wants their crack chicken crescent bombs oozing out all their awesome filling so that seal is important.

I usually try to get about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons into each crescent. Then wrap it up like a crescent roll but instead of leaving the edges open, you want to pinch all the way around to make a nice seal. Just keep tugging on dough until you get all the filling contained.

Place the crack chicken crescent bombs on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. I usually flip mine over after about 10 minutes so that both sides get browned. I think it helps to make sure you don’t end up with doughy crescents too!

Serve these cheesy crack chicken crescent bombs with mashed potatoes and a big green salad or some green beans.

Especially if you do the chicken in the Instant Pot or Crock pot, you can have this dinner on the table quicker than the pizza delivery guy can get to your house!

We don’t usually have leftover chicken puffs but if you do, they heat up really well for lunch the next day.

Well, if I’m being honest, they heat up well for breakfast too! Surely I am not the only one that likes dinner food for breakfast! A

nd if you cook up some extra chicken in your instant pot, check out 5 things to do with your leftover chicken.

Crack Chicken Crescent Bombs

Keyword

Main Entree

Servings

Ingredients

1 Package Boneless/Skinless Chicken Thighs (6-7 thighs)
1 Envelope Ranch Dressing Mix
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
4 strips Crisp Bacon Crumbled
1 Cup Shredded cheddar cheese
1 Block Cream cheese softened
2 packages Refrigerated Crescent Rolls

Keyword

Main Entree

Servings

Ingredients

1 Package Boneless/Skinless Chicken Thighs (6-7 thighs)
1 Envelope Ranch Dressing Mix
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
4 strips Crisp Bacon Crumbled
1 Cup Shredded cheddar cheese
1 Block Cream cheese softened
2 packages Refrigerated Crescent Rolls

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Add chicken thighs, chicken broth and 1 tablespoon of ranch mix (1/2 package) to the instant pot. Cook using the poultry setting on high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow steam to release naturally.
While the chicken is cooking, cook your bacon until crisp and tear it into bits.
In a large bowl, shred your cooked chicken thighs.
Add the softened cream cheese, shredded cheese, bacon bits and remaining 1 tablespoon of ranch mix to the bowl.
Mix well until all items are incorporated.
Place 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the center of each crescent roll triangle.
Roll the crescent roll up and pinch the ends together to create a seal around the edges.
Place the prepared chicken bombs onto a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
Cook the crack chicken crescent bombs for 15 minutes.

7 Layer Dip Tostada Tower

June 13, 2020 by Stacy Craft 2 Comments

A 7 layer taco dip layered between baked tostada shells for a low fat and delicious lunch or dinner.

Mexican food is my favorite and I’m not willing to NOT eat it while I’m trying to eat healthy. So what do I do?

Take my favorite meals and trim them up so that they fit into my healthier lifestyle!

Last week these Keto/THM S Cheese and Onion enchiladas were on my plate. This week were these Ah-mazing low-fat 7 layer dip tostada towers!

Wondering why I flip flop between Keto & Low Fat/Healthy Carb meals? Because I’m a Trim Healthy Mama! You can read about how THM helped me lose 60 lbs postpartum here.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

7 Layer Dip Tostada Tower

If you love 7 layer taco dip, this simple recipe turns your favorite appetizer into a meal without making you feel any guilt.

Why? Because this stack of double layered tostadas is filled with healthy carbs, low in fat and filled with delicious Mexican flavors.

THM E/Weight Watchers Low Point Ingredients

This recipe fits in a Trim Healthy Mama E Meal (Or WW) because it is low in fat and has healthy carbs.

Baked Tostada Shells
Laughing Cow Cheese
Fat Free Refried Beans
Lettuce/Tomatoes
Non-Fat Greek Yogurt (Sour Cream Sub)

And I am telling you it was so good! Often times these low fat THM E meals leave people feeling dissatisfied. Not the case with this 7 Layer Dip Tostada Tower!

It tastes sinful but it’s not.

Wait, We can have Tostada Shells on THM?

Yes, Ma’am! I know I just made your day.

The key is finding tostada shells that are baked. These are the ones that I used and i found them at my normal grocery store.

How To Make the Mexican Tostadas

Warm the tostada shells in the oven for a few minute to warm and crisp up.

Heat the Fat Free refried beans and enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan.

Assemble the Tostadas – Serving for 1

Spread 1/2 Laughing Cow Cheese on one tostada shell.

Spread 1/2 cup of the bean/enchilada mixture on top of the Laughing Cow.

Next add on shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes. Rotel tomatoes would be yummy and save some chopping time.

Layer 5 is salsa! I had salsa verde on hand from making Salsa Verde Queso Chicken but you could use a traditional red salsa as well.

Layer 6 is Non-Fat Greek Yogurt that takes the place of sour cream.

Layer 7 is a teensy tiny amount of shredded cheese (1 TBSP is what I use). You get plenty of cheesy flavor from the Laughing Cow but the little sprinkling of cheddar is visually appealing to me because cheese is life.

And tacos, enchiladas, tostadas and nachos all need cheese, right?

After layer 7, start again to build the perfect 7 layer dip tostada tower. In order to keep the fat and carbs within E territory on Trim Healthy Mama, you will want to keep your Mexican tostada stack to 2 layers. So 2 tostadas stacked high with all 7 layers.

THM E Fat & Carb Limits

For an E meal you are looking for the following:

Healthy Carbs – Up to 45 g

Fat – 5 g

If you keep the beans to 1/2 cup total and 2 baked tostada shells, you will be at around 42 carbs. Perfect for an E meal.

The fat in a Pepper Jack Laughing Cow Cheese is 1.5 grams. No fat in the beans, shells, lettuce, tomato or yogurt. Keep your shredded cheese to 1 Tbsp total and you will stay below the fat maximum for an E meal.

If you only use the shredded cheese on the top layer, it will give the illusion of more cheese. Kinda like the trick to eat your meal on a salad plate to make you feel like you are getting more food because your plate looks fuller.

7 Layer Dip Tostada Tower

Servings

Ingredients

Toppings

Servings

Ingredients

Toppings

Instructions

Combine 1 can of fat free refried beans with 1/2 a can of enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan to warm.
While the beans/enchilada sauce are warming, warm the desired number of tostada shells in the oven at 350 degrees for about 4-5 minutes.
Take one shell and spread 1/2 of a pepper jack Laughing Cow Cheese triangle.
Next, top the shell with 1/2 cup of the warm bean/enchilada sauce mixture.
Add on desired toppings: Lettuce, tomatoes, greek yogurt (sour cream sub) and salsa.
Place a second tostada on top and repeat layers.
Finish with a small amount of shredded cheese.