Recipe Rehab: Chicken Enchiladas

Skinless chicken breasts wrapped in a tortilla blanket, smothered with a spicy enchilada sauce and topped with a thick blanket of cheese is the typical description for chicken enchiladas. This popular Mexican-inspired dish starts on a good note with the lean protein, but then goes downhill from there with low fiber tortillas, high sodium sauce, and culminating with high-calorie cheese topping. Traditionally, nearly half of the calories in enchiladas come from fat.

The lean protein isn't the only element of this dish I'm keeping. Eating spicy foods has be shown to help speed up metabolism and control portion sizes, so I will be sure to keep the spice in my rehab. However, I will reduce the sodium in the spicy sauce by making my own salsa fresca. Additionally, I will swap in corn tortillas for their higher fiber content and add beans and vegetables to the filling to boost the nutrition content of this dish.

Serve with nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and you will love the way this spicy dish warms up a cool evening.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound skinless chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, halved and sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup low-fat Monterrey jack cheese, shredded

Sauce

• 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red Serrano chili pepper (seeds removed), finely diced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• Dash salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Boil the chicken breast until cooked through. Remove from water, cool, and shred with two forks.

2. Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add onions and peppers and sauté until onions are translucent.

3. In a medium bowl mix together the shredded chicken, sautéed vegetables, and black beans. Season with cumin, garlic powder, and hot sauce. This is the filling for the enchiladas.

4. To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until finely diced.

5. Coat the bottom of a 9- by-13 inch casserole dish with about 1/2 cup of the sauce. Microwave the corn tortillas for about 30 seconds to soften them. Fill each with about 1/2 cup of chicken filling, wrap and place seam side down in the casserole dish.

6. Once all tortillas are filled, top the dish with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree F oven until the cheese melts.

7. Garnish with additional cilantro, chopped scallions, and nonfat Greek yogurt.

Serves: 6

Nutrition Content (per serving): 360 calories, 13 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 48 g carbohydrates, 11 g fiber, 16 g protein, 130 mg sodium, 160 mg calcium

If you like spicy Mexican food, try my Mexican Lasagna!

Readers, I would love to hear from you! Please send me your most favorite fattening recipes that need a RECIPE REHAB! Everything from your mom's meatloaf to your kid's favorite dessert -- let me lighten it up.

Celebrity dietitian and motivational life coach Tanya Zuckerbrot, author of www.ffactordiet.com and founder of www.skinnyandthecity.com, has helped thousands of people lose weight and keep it off with her program. Her philosophy? Tanya belives you should never sacrifice taste, even when you're eating healthy foods. Have a recipe in need of rehab? Send us your recipe!