Burritos

Why in the world would I start a blog? I love to cook--I hate to gain weight. I love my sister--a fabulous baker who also hates to gain weight. That is the main reason for this blog. I cook quite a bit, but I hardly ever go by the recipe. I am always shaving off some fat/calories and changing things up just enough that I can't remember how to cook it again. So I am going to start writing things down, so I can make the same recipe twice and so that my sister (who loves to bake, but hates to cook) can think of something to cook for dinner.

OK, sis--here are the basics: olive oil, olive oil cooking spray, regular cooking spray (like Pam), herbs (buy one of those pre-filled spice racks on clearance or plant a little herb garden), lemon juice and lime juice (buy fresh fruit or the bottles to keep in the fridge), brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas--you need this stuff in your house all the time.

Tonight, we had an old stand-by at the Atkinson house: Burritos! Yes, burritos--does not sound healthy, but actually very easy to eat burritos that are pretty healthy--here we go:

• Whole wheat tortilla
• Grilled chicken (leftover chicken from grilling this weekend--also grocery store rotisserie chicken works great for this purpose)
• Black beans (again, we had leftover homemade beans from this weekend, but canned black beans are good. I especially like Ranch Style brand black beans--seasoned well straight out of the can)
• Salsa ( I like Pace chunky or the Sam's choice equivalent)
• Cheese (optional--if you are trying to lose weight, just skip it or use fat free cheese--not so great by itself, but not bad mixed in with lots of other ingredients and saves a lot of calories)
• Greek yogurt (a new favorite--sometimes you have to look for it--make sure you get the fat free version--tastes very much like sour cream, but NO fat! Fat free sour cream SUCKS, but light sour cream is not bad. Overall, Greek yogurt is healthier because no fat and quite a bit of protein)
• Grilled vegetables (again, leftover from this weekend, but easy to cut up some onion and bell pepper and saute with a little olive oil spray to add some nutrition and taste to your burrito. It is a nice addition, but don't forget you are getting some vegetables in the beans and the salsa if you don't have more veggies)

Just pile the ingredients on the tortilla and pop in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Eat with a fork--it will fall apart, but very tasty. If you want to go a little lower carb--cut out the tortilla and pile the ingredients on a bowl of lettuce and eat it like a salad. Also, you can smash up the beans or buy "refried" style black beans if you like that taste better--just look for fat-free or low-fat labels.

What am I going to feed my kids? My answer is almost always--THE SAME THING! They are smaller than you and you can make them do what you want! HAHA! Actually, this adapts easily for kids: chicken, beans and cheese on a tortilla--just make a little quesadilla with your cooking spray and let them dip it in salsa or the Greek yogurt (yes, my kids like to dip in sour cream or Greek yogurt--I am not making this up)

Do as I say--not as I do! Do not follow healthy burrito with leftover birthday cake no matter how depressed you are that your baby turned 5 this weekend! Not worth the calories--throw it away!