Skinny Taco Salad Lettuce Boats

Something in my mind is telling me it's Summer time... I know in my heart that we're not quite there yet but because of the almost-everyday-sunny days we've been having here in the Pacific Northwest my mind has been tricked into thinking it's time for Summer food!

Here is a little view of the amazing sunsets we've been having in the upper-left USA-

Something about the sun makes me think I need fresh fruit and veggies, this is not a want but an absolute need! Also, I might add, it is of utmost importance that the fresh produce be served within other produce as often as possible. These little taco salad lettuce boats are setting the perfect example for all other Summer dishes to follow... They set a high bar indeed.


I'm not sure if these would be considered a "low calorie" food but there are some seriously good choices to be made in this recipe so I obviously titled them "skinny."

Lets get in to counting the calories in this recipe, shall we? Mind you, these numbers are all my best estimation based on information I've found, not a scientific source!

Greek yogurt- 33 calories
Romaine lettuce (6 leaves)- 15 calories
Cherry tomatoes (12 tomatoes)- 36 calories
Green Onions- 4... so basically none!
Lime Juice- NONE! YAY!
Cilantro- NONE! HUZZAH!
Lean Ground Turkey- 220 Calories
Taco Seasoning- 15 Calories
Total: about 323 Calories for the whole recipe

Now cut that in half since this recipe serves two and you've got yourself a pretty light snack, or a main dish! Whatever you feel like!


You would think the fillings are the stars of the show but really the Greek yogurt with lime juice and fresh cilantro on top is the unsung hero of this dish. I built this whole recipe around this idea I had for the sort of sour cream alternative.

Greek yogurt, fresh cilantro, and lime juice all mixed together make a perfectly cool and creamy topper for the boats. The tangy-sour lime juice with the fragrant cilantro leaves you wanting for nothing and makes it a lot easier to nix the heavy sour cream and cheddar cheese which usually accompany any taco salad.

The cool thing about this snack is that you can top them with whatever you love! I kept it pretty simple with green onions and grape tomatoes but you could use pepper, jalapenos, olives, salsa, black beans, or anything you can think of!

Here they are all assembled! After this I dolloped on about 1/2 Tablespoon of the Greek yogurt mixture and a little chopped cilantro on top of each and they were good to go! The combination of the fresh lettuce leaves and filling create the perfect crunchy, fresh, filling bite followed by the creamy yogurt with lime and cilantro to finish.

Here is how to get these babies going:

Serves- 2    Prep-5 minutes    Cooking- 10 minutes    Total Time- 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound lean ground turkey
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning
• 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped cilantro
• Juice of one lime
• 10-15 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or chopped
• 2 green onions finely diced
• 1 head of romaine lettuce

Instructions:

1. Cook turkey according to directions on taco seasoning packet
2. Allow turkey to cool
3. Prep onions, tomatoes, lime, and cilantro
4. While turkey is cooling mix Greek yogurt, lime juice, and roughly chopped cilantro, set aside
5. Cut rood end of romaine lettuce head off, peel leaves apart
6. Assemble taco salad boats by scooping some turkey into each lettuce leaf and adding toppings as desired

You can always make a couple of these up and save the taco meat for another day and another recipe. Follow your heart :)

A little behind the scenes look at how I set up a photo

You can find this recipe on ZipList right HERE

Enjoy amigos!