Celebrate National Nachos Day with Weight Loss
National Nachos Day can make your mouth water, but caving into temptation can land you in hot water. At least, it can set you back in your weight loss journey, unless you choose wisely. Believe it or not, you can have your cheesy, crunchy goodness without guilt, and with a dose of protein! The BariatricPal Store has ideas to let you join the fun with no regrets.
The Cheesiest Sauce
Nacho sauce is, at best, a fatty glob of greasy cheese. At worst, it’s a cheese-flavored concoction of starch and other thickeners. Make your own cheese sauce in minutes! Protein Cheese Sauce has only three ingredients, and the entire recipe has only 151 calories. It is fat-free and has 29 grams of protein. Way to save your arteries!
A Low-Carb Crunch
Those tortilla chips holding up that load of cheese can be a starch-laden vehicle to deliver artery-clogging trans fats, but they do not have to be. Get your crunch instead from Protes Protein Chips, which are vegan sources of high-quality pea protein. Each serving has 15 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber. You can also get your crunch from:
- Protein Potato Chips
- Protein Toast
- Baked kale chips
Toppings to Die for
Some nacho toppings are to die for, almost literally. Hint: ground beef and full-fat sour cream probably won’t increase your life expectancy. No way do nachos need to be boring, though! What about…?
- Fat-free sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Protein Salsa
- Olives
- Jalapenos
- Lean ground turkey with Mexican seasonings
Subs to Consider
Sometimes, a close swap will do the trick. BariatricPal Nacho Cheese Pasta Protein Entree has four kinds of real cheese to give you the cheesy goodness of nachos, and you don’t even have to get your hands dirty because it’s a fork food! This protein entrée has 140 calories and 15 grams of carbs.
On the other end, you can get a crunch anywhere with a ready-to-eat finger food, such as Chili Nacho Protein Chips. These chips have a cheesy flavor with a kick from real chili. Ditch the carbs and embrace the protein, since each serving has 12 grams. They also have 4 grams of fiber to help keep you full.
