Low cal tacos

Oompa_Loompa
Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
My boyfriend and I are having tacos for dinner tonight. We'll prob be buying one of those packets that you use to make them but how can we keep it low cal? Which has less cals. Hard taco shells or soft shells. Really I'm the one concerned with keeping it low cal lol any suggestions?

Replies

  • coach_anaya
    coach_anaya Posts: 7
    I would want to say soft...just b/c I think the hard ones are fried. A soft shell that I ate the other day had 59 calories per shell. Plus, use either ground turkey w/seasoning or chicken instead of ground beef. Sounds yummy!
  • milesje
    milesje Posts: 40 Member
    Useing a soft corn tortilla instead of flower tortillas would be best. Soft vs hard taco shells (tortillas) - it will alway be better to use soft because the hard shells are deep fried! Hope this helps.
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
    Useing a soft corn tortilla instead of flower tortillas would be best. Soft vs hard taco shells (tortillas) - it will alway be better to use soft because the hard shells are deep fried! Hope this helps.

    where can i find the soft corn tortillas
  • aixela35
    aixela35 Posts: 13
    Old Elpaso Tortilla - Stand N Stuff Yellow Corm Tac... These are 130 calories for 2 shells


    Kroger - Wheat Tortilla Soft Taco Size...........These are 130 calories for one tortilla


    I would suggest using the Food Data base and look up different foods. They will give you the nutrition info on the page and you can make your decision from there. Plus I always look while in the grocery store too at the nutrition info on the packet. I use 96/4 ground beef instead of turkey cause I like the taste better and compared the two and there was not much difference.

    Good Luck
  • ka_42
    ka_42 Posts: 720 Member
    Sorry guys but I'm pretty sure hard shells are the way to go. We eat tacos all the time! Soft shells- even the smaller ones are like 120 cals each or more. Two Old el paso hard shells are 100 cals. Last thursday i had two tacos for 340 cals total :)
  • dinosgirl
    dinosgirl Posts: 157 Member
    Soft shells are definitely lower in calories than the hard ones - hard ones are deep-fried. And look for corn tortillas - they are lower in calories than the flour ones. They are usually found in the same area you would find any other tortilla (bread aisle?).

    Also - using ground turkey rather than ground beef will lower the calorie count. You can season it up with fresh garlic and onion plus a generous helping of chili powder and a sprinkling of cumin. Tastes great! If you want a little more heat on them, add half a harbanero pepper (or whole if you like REALLY spicy) - just don't touch your eyes when cutting it! They are really hot!
  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
    I really like the soft whole wheat tortillas, I don't miss the white flour ones at all.

    Use reduced fat shredded cheese too.
  • dinosgirl
    dinosgirl Posts: 157 Member
    Sorry guys but I'm pretty sure hard shells are the way to go. We eat tacos all the time! Soft shells- even the smaller ones are like 120 cals each or more. Two Old el paso hard shells are 100 cals. Last thursday i had two tacos for 340 cals total :)

    Hmmmm...I guess I am thinking in terms of homade ones - not store bought. Tacos are a staple in my family too! :smile:
  • ka_42
    ka_42 Posts: 720 Member
    Soft shells are definitely lower in calories than the hard ones - hard ones are deep-fried. And look for corn tortillas - they are lower in calories than the flour ones. They are usually found in the same area you would find any other tortilla (bread aisle?).

    Also - using ground turkey rather than ground beef will lower the calorie count. You can season it up with fresh garlic and onion plus a generous helping of chili powder and a sprinkling of cumin. Tastes great! If you want a little more heat on them, add half a harbanero pepper (or whole if you like REALLY spicy) - just don't touch your eyes when cutting it! They are really hot!

    Silly me- I wasn't thinking about the fried factor. I just looked it up and hard shelled tortillas that I use have 3g sat fat. Compared to the soft tortillas that have 1g. I think the hard shelled ones are made from corn and maybe that is why they're lower calorie. With the sat. fat issue- probably not the healthy choice.

    Thanks for sharing your seasoning suggestion. I have those seasonings yet I'm still using the little packets! :)
  • GingerSnark
    GingerSnark Posts: 153
    I bought ones that were whole grain recently, I think they were Ortega. Wasn't bad calorie wise. I had 2 tacos I recall.

    You can buy soft corn tortillas & bake them in the oven to get them hardshell. Crumple some foil around them & inside so they keep their shape.

    I used extra lean beef w/ reduced fat 2% milk cheese & salsa w/ some finely shredded lettuce. Fat free refried beans might work too as a filler.

    I just saw ground chicken at Meijer so that's even leaner. Better still, seafood tacos. Shrimp is the lowest fat. Play around w/ a recipe calculator like SparkRecipes to see how to tweak it the lowest.
  • scarecrow41
    scarecrow41 Posts: 116
    Mission Carb-Balance tortillas if you want to go flour or just go with the pre made hard corn shells (Taco Bell, Old El Paso, etc.)

    Also, you can save some calories by making your own seasoning...its VERY easy and cuts out a ton of sugar and preservatives. Use a little bit of cheese and load up on greens, tomatos, veggies, etc.

    Finally, I never liked the taste of ground turkey in my tacos, so I use the 95% lean ground beef. Its usually a little more expensive but well worth it in the taste department.

    4 ounces of 95% lean ground beef: 6 grams fat, 24 grams protein
    4 ounces lean ground turkey: 8 grams fat, 21 grams protein
  • etarre
    etarre Posts: 147 Member
    If you use toppings, also beware of full-fat sour cream...

    To add to the last post, ground turkey comes in several different types, and if you don't mind the taste of turkey, you can get ground turkey breast (sometimes sold as extra-lean), which has less fat than regular ground turkey. The package says it's something like 97 or 98% fat free.
  • amberc1982
    amberc1982 Posts: 468 Member
    I would say your best bet is soft shell corn tortillas. The hard shells have less calories but they are fried. It's funny that I saw this post because I had just text messaged my husband and told him that I was making tacos with the ground beef I took out this morning.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Mission Carb-Balance tortillas if you want to go flour or just go with the pre made hard corn shells (Taco Bell, Old El Paso, etc.)

    Also, you can save some calories by making your own seasoning...its VERY easy and cuts out a ton of sugar and preservatives. Use a little bit of cheese and load up on greens, tomatos, veggies, etc.

    Finally, I never liked the taste of ground turkey in my tacos, so I use the 95% lean ground beef. Its usually a little more expensive but well worth it in the taste department.

    4 ounces of 95% lean ground beef: 6 grams fat, 24 grams protein
    4 ounces lean ground turkey: 8 grams fat, 21 grams protein

    Ground turkey is higher in fat content than most of us realize because they grind both the white and dark and mix it together :noway: and sometimes you're only buying the dark meat ground up. Of course we don't know because the pkg. doesn't usually say. If it's ground white turkey only, it's very easy to tell by the price, how it looks, tastes and they definitely make a point to label it that way.:tongue:

    It was news to me:huh: when someone pointed that out to me sometime back. Thus why a roll (lb.) of ground turkey can be purchased for .88 cents and the white ground turkey more like $3.99 a lb.
  • dinosgirl
    dinosgirl Posts: 157 Member
    Soft shells are definitely lower in calories than the hard ones - hard ones are deep-fried. And look for corn tortillas - they are lower in calories than the flour ones. They are usually found in the same area you would find any other tortilla (bread aisle?).

    Also - using ground turkey rather than ground beef will lower the calorie count. You can season it up with fresh garlic and onion plus a generous helping of chili powder and a sprinkling of cumin. Tastes great! If you want a little more heat on them, add half a harbanero pepper (or whole if you like REALLY spicy) - just don't touch your eyes when cutting it! They are really hot!

    Silly me- I wasn't thinking about the fried factor. I just looked it up and hard shelled tortillas that I use have 3g sat fat. Compared to the soft tortillas that have 1g. I think the hard shelled ones are made from corn and maybe that is why they're lower calorie. With the sat. fat issue- probably not the healthy choice.

    Thanks for sharing your seasoning suggestion. I have those seasonings yet I'm still using the little packets! :)

    Seasoning them yourself is really easy - and cheap! I also use this "taco" meat for burritos and taco salad.

    And I also think the whole hard/soft shell tacos is a preference thing. The hard shells do tend to have more fat - but all in all they aren't horrible for you as long as you pick the right ones (some have upwards of 7g of fat - 5g saturated). :happy:
  • rjadams
    rjadams Posts: 4,029 Member
    If you choose to use ground turkey be sure to get very lean turkey 97% lean.. the regular stuff is worse for you than lean ground beef and doesn't have as much flavor.
  • dinosgirl
    dinosgirl Posts: 157 Member
    If you choose to use ground turkey be sure to get very lean turkey 97% lean.. the regular stuff is worse for you than lean ground beef and doesn't have as much flavor.

    I forgot to put "lean" in on my post. Thanks!
  • B4its2L8
    B4its2L8 Posts: 80 Member
    I eat tacos all the time. it is my favorite food to have on hand. I fix what ever shells for the rest of the family and then I skip the shell all together and just make a taco salad. I measure my meat and pile on the veggies. That way I don't feel like I am missing out on anything. Just a suggestion. I have made them with lean ground beef, turkey and shredded chicken.
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
    Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone!
  • workingitout
    workingitout Posts: 105 Member
    I love to make mine a delicious taco salad while my family eats crunchy tacos. I go heavy on a really nice lettuce - whatever looks freshest at the store, then I measure my taco meat and black beans, just a sprinkle of cheddar, plenty of salsa, sometimes a measured amount of light sour cream or light ranch dressing if I have the calories available. Yum! I don't feel like I'm missing a thing without a shell.
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