Low-Cal Cinco de Mayo Treat

Don't let the festivities throw you off course. Although typical restaurant style Mexican food can be unhealthy, it's not hard to lighten up your favorite Mexican dishes. For starters, try low-fat milk products in recipes that call for the full fat versions. It can reduce the caloric intake by almost half! And skip the fried tortilla chips. Instead, use baked pitas for dips like this Mexican Fiesta Dip. Hint: Substitute fat-free sour cream and low-fat cheddar cheese for an even lighter version of this excellent Cinco de Mayo crowd-pleasing appetizer.

Mexican Fiesta Dip

Ingredients:
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (16 ounce) jar taco sauce
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 tomato, cubed
2 green onions, sliced
1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
Cooking Instructions

1. Crumble ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, mix in the taco sauce and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix the sour cream, cream cheese and taco seasoning mix. Spread the mixture into a medium serving dish.

3. Layer the sour cream mixture with beef mixture, cheddar cheese and lettuce. Top with tomato, green onions and black olives.

Makes 64 servings. One serving is two tablespoons.
Nutrition facts (per serving):
99 calories, 8.1 grams fat, 141 mg sodium, 1.5 grams carbohyrates, .1 grams fiber, 4.8 grams protein.