March 11, 2012

The Burrito Unrecipe

I worked most of the afternoon carefully beating egg whites until they were perfectly glossy and fluffy, then forming the glossy foam into flawless little single-serving sized nests. Then, I slowly baked them at precisely the correct temperature in my calibrated oven, and let them cool in the oven, as is required. When I gingerly removed them from the oven, they were immaculate. In fact, I am quite certain I heard a chorus of angels singing with glee. They were that nice. Then, I attempted to assemble the pavlovas. After wrestling with the sticky, collapsing nests from hell, and losing badly, the end product was less than attractive. "Hideous" and "atrocious" might be better descriptive words.

This, my dear blog reader, is why you are getting a nice photo of my dinner. A burrito. Now, I know I don't need to give you a recipe to make a burrito because none is required, so let this just serve as a reminder that burritos are good (and can be healthful!)...and pavlova is evil...and difficult to get out of your hair.


Burritos - good. Pavlova - bad.

Tips for making healthful burritos:
  • Use 95% lean ground beef (or grind your own lean sirloin if you can).
  • Use a paper towel to carefully sop up the hot fat as it melts out of the beef. You want the protein, not the fat.
  • Use only a bit of olive oil in the pan to fry the onion before adding the ground beef.
  • Add a can of whole garbonzo beans to the cooked meat mixture - it is a great way to add fiber and slow-burning carbs, which can help you feel full longer.
  • Use a low-sodium taco seasoning.
  • Go really easy on the cheese and fat-free sour cream; load up on fresh tomatoes, green pepper, and lettuce.
  • Use a small, low-carb wrap. I buy La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious tortillas - at only 3 net carbs, 7g fiber, and 50 calories, they are a good choice.

Nom nom nom!

5:00

P.S.: If one of you makes a pretty pavlova, leave a comment on this post when you do. I will not only give you a large non-existent medal, I will also post a link to your blog, and will even post a photo of my disastrous attempt. LOL
.