Food Fix: Healthy Choice Nachos

We all get cravings. Some more than others, but when the craving for something salty, filling and delicious hits...nothing hits the spot like NACHOS! And that's certainly no exception when you're trying to eat healthy.

(Healthy Choice Nachos)

Recently I've began watching not only my calories, but my carbohydrate intake. And it's always a good idea to keep an eye on fat and sodium as well. No easy task sometimes. But this Food Fix works on all those fronts, while taking care of that pesky craving for nachos.

A couple of smart substitutions, combined with potion control help make this one a winner. For your chips, look for unsalted, whole grain options, these have less sodium, and are a better all around option. Remember to pay attention to the serving size, my tortilla chips are 150 Calories per 10 chips.

If you're someone who normally makes nachos with a pile of taco ground beef, try using chicken breasts instead. You can feel free to cook up a chicken breast yourself before making your nachos, or as a quick and easy solution, there are many fresh or frozen options of precooked all white chicken strips or pieces readily available at your local grocery store. (TIP: Try to stay away from the processed chicken bits or anything battered, they are less nutritious and add extra calories and/or carbs). (EXTRA TIP: You can also go the vegetarian route and try this out with some soy-based veggie ground round, simply prepare as you would your traditional ground beef).

Use as many fresh veggies as you'd like, the more the merrier! I sliced up fresh white mushrooms, an assortment of grape tomatoes, red bell peppers (diced), and jalapenos. Feel free to add different colors of peppers, onions, olives, etc. whatever flavors you love.

For the cheese, you can use whatever tickles your fancy, you can't go wrong with a nice Tex-Mex blend. I used a marble cheddar because that's what I happened to have on hand. Using a low fat or a light cheese will help shave off even more calories and/or fat, but no matter what cheese you choose to use, don't forget your portion control. A serving of cheese should typically be 1 ounce, if you don't have a kitchen scale, you can eyeball it, it should be roughly the size of an average index finger. A little really does go a long way here since we're not just covering a huge plate in cheese, we'll be sprinkling just a little on each chip.

To assemble your nachos, place each chip on baking sheet, and stack your ingredients as neatly as possible to avoid wasting goodies that have fallen and stuck to the pan. The order makes little difference, but I prefer the cheese near the top so that it melts nicely over all of our toppings. Once finished, it should look something like this...

(Assembled Healthy Choice Nachos before baking)

Pre-heat oven to 350F and place sheet carefully inside, baking until nice and hot throughout and cheese has fully melted (approx. 7-10min depending on your oven). Plate and serve!

(Healthy Choice Nachos and Lemon-Lime Water)

You can eat these on their own, or you can serve with a little dollop of sour cream and salsa. Remember to keep up the healthy choices and go for a fat-free or light sour cream, and a salsa without too much sodium (TIP: If you're feeling really adventurous, you can always make your own fresh salsa).

(Healthy Choice Nachos with Sour Cream and Salsa)

Healthy choice nachos can fit into most anyone's diet, and each and every chip is loaded with flavor, no more plain jane chips left over at the bottom of the nacho pile! I hope you try this out, it was a big hit in our household. Enjoy!

Flix: The Hunger Games, Get Your Tickets!

As many of you know, "The Hunger Games", (a popular series of young adult books by Suzanne Collins) are being given a Hollywood makeover via Lionsgate, and made into film. The first book's film adaptation, "The Hunger Games", starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, (as well as Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz and many more), will have it's North American release on Friday, March 23rd, 2012. And tickets are on sale NOW! Depending on your theater, tickets were made available Tuesday Feb.  21st, or in our case here, Wednesday Feb. 22nd. I anticipate a big opening weekend, based not only on the popularity of the books, but also the media buzz, so I'd strongly advise getting your tickets early if you want to attend opening night or opening weekend.

On Saturday March the 24th, I'll be seeing the movie with my partner and two of our close friends, having read the books, we all have high hopes and expectations for the film. If the trailers are any indication of what the final product will be like, I don't think we'll leave the cinema disappointed. Watch the second trailer via IGN below.

More The Hunger Games Videos

Food Review: Burger King NEW Fries

(Burger King NEW Fries)

You may have seen the ads, posters, or the latest coupons, but in case you've missed it, Burger King has NEW FRIES. The claim is simple, "Thicker cut, more flavour".

I'll start by saying that I've never been a fan of BK fries. Around here we have three burger & fry joints, McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King. In my humble opinion, McDonald's has always had the best fries of the three. And this is coming from someone who NEVER buys shoestring or thin cut fries from the grocery store, always opting for the thicker cut versions. But there's just something about McDonald's fries that make them a hit with nearly everyone, even people like me, who aren't "Fry Lovers". They're delicious.

At a distant 2nd, we have Wendy's fries, with their newer sea salt version. They're fine, and definitely an improvement over their older fries, but what I like most about Wendy's, is the number of options they have for sides. So when I do visit, I'll more often than not, opt for a baked potato, or a small chili. Sometimes I'll go with nachos or a side salad, but it's very rare for me to actually choose to have their fries.

So where did that leave the old Burger King fries? In the dust. You could tell they were trying to go for a crispy fry, but the texture was just odd and not favorable, it seemed overly processed somehow. When I did go to Burger King, it wasn't for the fries (it was for the Angry Whopper, which I love), and even though I'm not a fan of onion rings, I'd sometimes order them instead, just because I had no interest in the french fries.

(Large Size Burger King New Fries)

Today we picked up a take out order of the thicker cut new fries, and upon first glance, you could definitely tell at least one part of their claim was true. They ARE most definitely thicker cut. And quite frankly, they looked pretty darn good. My boyfriend had a large fry and I had a medium with my meal. His amount looked ample, but because each fry is larger, I definitely noticed when looking at my medium stash of fries, you aren't getting as many fries in your "Frypod" as before, because each fry is larger, it simply isn't going to hold as many,. But this isn't a deal breaker by any means, it's about the taste...

So how did they taste? They were surprisingly good. I didn't have high hopes for these, but they are a vast improvement over their old fries. They were hot and fresh (despite the short drive home). They had a nice crispness on on the outside (without being at all overcooked or burnt) and were fluffy on the inside. They were flavourful without being over seasoned/salted. They had a better taste and texture and in my opinion just an all around better fry than what they previously had to offer. They get a big thumbs up for that. Another thing I liked about the thicker cut, was that the larger fry enabled you to easily pick up copious amount of ketchup, and I'm big on dipping and dunking my fries into various sauces. By the end of the meal my tummy was full and happy.

Does this BK New French Fry change it's previous rank of dead last in the fry race? I think so. Even though McDonald's still holds the title of Fry Champion, I think BK edges it's way into 2nd, beating out Wendy's as the runner up. Check out more photos below of Burger King's New Fries, and be sure to tell me what you think of them. Have you tried them yet? What's your favorite fast food french fry? Leave a comment below, and thanks for reading!

(Medium Burger King New Fries)

(Closeup New BK Fries)

(Closeup New BK Fries)

(Plated Medium BK New Fries and Angry Double Whopper)

Fast & Easy Pizza

Everyone loves pizza. It's completely customizable, you pick the toppings, the sauce, and even the crust that YOU like. No wonder it's one of the favorite foods of the masses.

Pizza is great for dinner. But if you're like me, you often find yourself with the hankering for pizza at lunchtime or even as a snack. However, it's not exactly wallet friendly to order delivery just for myself, and I personally don't want to put the effort of making homemade pizza from scratch just for lunch or a mid-afternoon snack (since my time and effort in the kitchen is reserved mostly for dinner). It's during those times that I opt for some quick and easy variations on a traditional pizza, using things I have on hand.

Here are two substitutions for traditional pizza crust that will make pizza at home, much less of a chore. Things that you might have sitting at the ready in your pantry or bread box!

Option 1: Flat'za
For thin crust lovers, try making your pizza on a tortilla wrap! It cooks up crispy and delicious in minutes. Pre-heat your oven to 400F (I use a high heat, because we're just quickly warming and melting, nothing really has to bake). No need to grease or oil your pan, just place your wrap on your pizza pan, top with your favourite pizza sauce, add your toppings including cheese of choice. Pop into your hot oven for about 5 min, turn up to broil/grill to get the cheese melty and bubbly and watch closely so it doesn't burn. Depending on your oven it can take 2-5min on broil to get the top to your liking.

(TIP: I suggest standing by the oven and keeping close watch, as it's super easy to burn things by just going a minute over on broil, since the top is blasting down high heat!) 

(Flat'za Style Pizza)

On my Flat'za I used about 1 1/2 Tbsp of original Ragu (bottled spaghetti/pasta sauce), topped it with fresh garlic, grape tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, low fat mozza, crumbled feta, red chili flakes and Italian seasoning.

Option 2: Naan Bread Pizza
For those of you who haven't tried naan, it's an South Asian/Persian/Indian flatbread traditionally made in a tandoor oven. And it's delicious! It resembles a pita bread, but it's much softer than most grocery store varieties of pita. It's become widely available in most grocery stores in the past 2 years, and can be found near the other flatbreads (such as tortilla wraps). You can use regular naan, or opt to use garlic naan for your pizza, both work well, depending on how garlic-y you like your food. Use it just as described with the Flat'za, but since it's a thicker style flatbread instead of super crispy, you'll have a crust that's softer and more filling. This will appeal more to those who like regular, non-thin crust varieties of pie.

(Pizza on Naan Bread)

On my Naan Pizza I used what I happened to have on hand that day. The same Ragu pasta sauce as my base, topped with two light and lean deli shaved slices of black forest ham, fresh mushrooms, red peppers, low fat mozza, low fat mild cheddar, slices of hot house tomato, crumbled bacon, and a couple shakes of Club House Italiano one step seasoning.

Slicing a few fresh veg, grabbing your deli meats, and shredding some cheese, while the oven preheats, are your only prep steps. (TIP: Save even more time by buying pre-shredded cheese blends!)

Don't have flatbread on hand? Try making your pizza(s) on burger buns, sausage/sub/hot dog buns, bagels, English muffins, etc.

Another great tip, don't want to use your conventional oven? These all work great in toaster ovens too!

I hope you enjoyed our Fast and Easy Pizza! Stay tuned for more recipes, food ideas, and reviews from Food-N-Flix!