Friday night, I made fish tacos for dinner with roomie. We’ve been going out to eat a lot during the weekend so we decided to make one of our favorite dinners. Mangos were on sale for 50 cents at Whole Foods which inspired the meal.
For the salsa, I chopped up 2 mangos, 1/4 cup of cilantro, juice from 1 lime, 1/2 a jalapeño, 1/2 cup chopped onion (white but should have been red), 1/2 of a chopped tomato, salt and pepper to taste. We pulsed it a few times in my food processor.
I bought tilapia from the fish department as the meat of the dish. Roomie battered his in flour and spices before sautéing it in a skillet. I baked mine with spices at 400 for about 15 minutes for a gluten free alternative. He mixed together lime juice, cilantro and greek yogurt for a creamy topping that he loves to make and I’ve convinced him to use greek yogurt over sour cream. He topped his as well with cabbage for crunch.
I made a deconstructed fish taco, mainly because I was really excited about a quinoa dish I got at the salad bar. It was black beans, corn and peppers mixed with quinoa. I added extra mango salsa too. To keep my meal from being overly carb heavy, I opted to layer the chopped cabbage on the bottom.
Next I added my baked tilapia with a little bit of the lime yogurt and the quinoa mixture on the side. I wished I had a ripe avocado for some heart healthy fats but sadly the one I bought was not ready.
Lastly, I loaded up on the amazing mango salsa and plenty of cholula for spice. It was amazing and only cost about $20 to make for the both of us. The majority of that money coming from the fish and my salad bar creation. Eating in saved us about $40 at least this Friday night.
Benefits: In addition to saving money, my meal was also gluten free which is always a toss up when it comes to Mexican. As part of the Tone It Up diet plan as well, the carbs were lower for my evening meal. If you are trying to lose weight or watch it at least, eating your carbs earlier in the day is best as you need them for energy to fuel through your busy day. As the day winds down, you don’t need as much. You need more protein to repair and rebuild your muscles and body while you sleep. I’m not a carb-o-phobe, I just prefer them earlier in the day. For more gluten free tips, check out the Udi’s Community to share your recipes and learn your options.
My Man Challenge
Roomie has challenged me to eat like him for a week. This means, no funny quinoa side dishes instead of tortillas. Beer. Pizza. Meatball subs. No dessert or mini cupcakes. No snacks. No green juice. Just three meals a day. Would you do it? Would you try your man’s diet for a week if he challenged you?