Quesadillas are a standby meal for many people -- no matter where you get them, they're typically fairly satisfying and decent tasting. After all, how can you go wrong with some cheese and perhaps a bit of meat and vegetables baked between tortillas? Even if the quesadilla is bland, the salsa and sour cream that comes with it is sure to spice things up. Really, It's a fairly fool-proof dish.

But taste isn't everything, especially if you're watching what you eat. And as a rule of thumb, anything that lists cheese as it's main ingredient is probably not the best choice calorie-wise. But how bad are quesadillas? I picked a fairly average-sounding dish -- the Fajita Steak Quesadillas with guacamole from Chili's -- and did a bit of investigating. What did I find? Cast your vote:

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I'm not sure if I want to make this recipe more for my kids or for me. Containing just 115 calories per serving, along with 5 g protein, 3.5 g fat, 143 mg calcium, 14 mcg folate, 1.5 g fiber, and 18 g carbohydrates, this light little treat is quite temping. But it caught my eye because of my kids -- with whom I was sitting in the pediatrician's office while reading Toddler Magazine -- so I'm going to test it out on them one of these days. And yes, I'll be sampling it too.

Apple and Cheese Quesadilla

Here's what you need:

• 1/3 cup finely diced Gala, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, or Cortland apples
• 8-inch whole-grain flour tortillas
• 1 tablespoon apple butter
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded cheese
  

Here's what you do:

• Spread apple butter almost to the edge of of two tortillas.
• Sprinkle half of each tortilla with shredded cheese and diced apples.
• Fold tortillas in half and heat in hot skillet with nonstick spray for 2 to 4 minutes per side, until tortilla is browned and cheese is melted inside.
• Cool and cut into bite-size pieces.
• And then finally -- enjoy!

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I love Tex Mex food, especially when it's loaded with my favourite ingredient: Cheese. But cheese isn't the healthiest thing out -- it's quite calorie-dense and it's loaded with fat -- so typically it's a diet no-no. But let's say you're craving some Tex Mex-style food so you head to the nearest chain establishment, say ... Chili's. There are a lot of menu items that sound like they could be healthy-ish and you end up going with something that doesn't look too bad -- a serving of the Chicken Fajita Quesadilla. Fajitas on their own are pretty good for you -- they're basically veggies and some kind of meat served sizzling hot with tortillas, right? And while quesadillas aren't exactly low-cal, you're going to treat yourself tonight. Just how many calories will this meal set you back?

A) 560 cal, 15 g of fat
B) 880 cal, 32 g of fat
C) 1000 cal, 67 g of fat
D) 1830 cal, 95 g of fat

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