Hi, I made this dish last night (I am on Phase 1), and am wondering if it was ok for phase 1? Any feedback would be appreciated!

Extra Lean Ground Beef
chopped onion
chopped tomato
taco seasoning (Old El Paso)
Mexican Red Beans (no sugar)
low fat cheddar grated
full fat sour cream (dollop)

Thanks!

Oh, and any other Mexican type recipes would be appreciated! Maybe we can start a Mexican Recipes thread here.

I love Mexican Recipes. I'd contribute.

Sounds good but two things pop out at me:
- taco seasoning - Does it contain sugar or cornstarch? If so, !
- per the Phase I food list.

Check out the Recipe Section for other Mexican food recipes.

Hmmm... see, I looked at the reduced fat sour cream and it had sugar in it, whereas the full fat one didn't... thought i was doing what I should have... I thought SB encouraged you to stay away from light and low fat versions of certain things because they add sugar to add taste.... am I wrong?

Full fat sour cream has saturated fat. I guess the small amount of sugar in the FF or RF is the lesser of two evils which is why they say to use sparingly.

Thanks for the info! I will use the light from now on!

Wow, Allison, maybe I missed it, but I've never seen sugar in light sour cream. Here's a link to Daisy's light sour cream ingredients. No sugar. Here's a link to another page that lists a ton of light or red. fat sour creams. None have added sugar, but a few do have strange things like tapioca starch (not good) and gelatin.

Was sugar in the ingredient list or are you talking about grams of sugar on the label? All milk products will have grams of sugar because milk naturally contains lactose, so what you want to do with them (and with all things, actually) is look at the ingredient list for any added sugars.

Ruth's right--it's very hard to find taco seasoning that's okay for Phase 1, and technically safe for any other phase. I did find one once that was just spices, but I'm forgetting what the name of it was. Read the labels carefully. One easy way is to go to a local spice store and see what's in their mix. They often have taco seasoning mix that's just spices and nothing else. If you're intersted in making your own, check out the links for Taco Seasoning Recipes in the Recipe Forum.

Here's a great recipe from the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. It's also great for the cold weather and staving off colds and the flu. Enjoy...

Mexican Chicken Soup (linked to a thread in the Entrees-Phase 1 forum)

This is actually Venezuelan--but gosh, super yummy.

Diced Fresh tomatoes--5 or 6
Diced white onion
2 bunches cilantro cut fine
whatever meat or seafood you want
salt + pepper or some all-purpose seasoning from South or Central America

All you do is throw everything in a big pot and bring it to a boil and then immediately turn it down to a simmer and leave it alone for a while. Seafood is really quick--longer for chicken or what not. You can also sub beans for the meat but I know it's probably not a great option for SB.

Great recipes but please post them in the Recipe section so we don't lose them when this thread ages off the page. Remember to indicate number of servings.

For sour cream, I use a dollop of plain yogurt. If you don't like plan fat-free yogurt, you could mix yogurt and sour cream to lower the fat.

Here is a Mexican seasoning mix from about.com:

This all-purpose Mexican seasoning is perfect to add authentic flavor to ground beef for tacos or sprinkle on some chicken for the grill. This all-purpose seasoning can be also be added to salad dressings, stews or in with simmering pork. I suggest you try this all-purpose seasoning on just about everything!

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup dried oregano
* 3 tablespoons dried chile powder
* 2 teaspoons cumin
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 pinch ground cloves
* 1 pinch ground cinnamon

Preparation:
Mix together ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place such as a cupboard.

Beachies, thank you for sharing these great recipes! As Ruth said, however, please post the recipes to the recipe forum and then post a link to that thread here. That way, the recipes you've posted won't get lost when this thread gets old and drifts on to the 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) page. Okay?



By the way, I didn't think to ask earlier, but you have tried the incredible (and very P1 appropriate) Taco Bake, haven't you, Allison? It's awesome!