Southwestern Salad Bowls with Chipotle Mustard Vinaigrette {+giveaway}

Feeling fat? Jeans getting a little tight?

Me too. Too much carry-out.

Not feeling fat? Well, I don’t really need to hear about that, now do I?

Either way, everyone could use a “skinny” recipe here and there. In fact, it should probably should happen more often than carry-out ribs and cupcake shops. When Saucy Mama asked me to participate in her annual contest, I jumped right in. This year it is called “Skinny Mama – Cooking with Mustard.” Immediately after I said yes, I thought, holy cow I do NOT have time for this. But it was too late. I was lured in by the great prize which includes a spa day.

I NEED a spa day.

I mean, I really, really, really, really, really, really NEED a spa day.

PSSSSST: VOTE FOR ME! I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I could use a spa day. Oh–and these salad bowls are delicious and totally worth voting for. If I do say so myself. Click here to vote!

This recipe looks long but it is super simple and easy to throw together. You can even cut up your veggies, make your dressing, and make the tortilla bowls in advance. EASY.

Southwestern Salad Bowls with Chipotle Mustard Vinaigrette

For the tortilla bowls:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit.
2. Wrap 8 small flour tortillas in a paper towel and microwave on high for 20-30 seconds or until it they are soft and flexible.
3. Spray tortillas on both sides with non-stick cooking spray. Tuck tortillas into spaces in upside-down muffin tin so that they have a flat bottom. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown and crispy all over.

For the Vinaigrette:
3 teaspoons Saucy Mama Chipotle Mustard
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl with a whisk or a fork.

For the salad:
~ 2 cups leaf lettuce or romaine
~1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 whole red bell pepper, julienned
1/2 of a jicama, julienned
one 15 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

1. In a medium bowl, mix together lettuce and chopped cilantro.
2. In a separate medium to large bowl, mix together red pepper, jicama, black beans, tomato and green onions (optional–we added these on at the end because not everyone liked them). Add dressing to this mixture and stir to combine.

For the Greek yogurt topping:
one 6 ounce container of plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon of taco seasoning

1. Stir together.

To prepare Salad Bowls:
1. Place your baked tortilla bowl on a plate.
2. Fill about halfway with lettuce/cilantro mixture.
3. Add jicama/black bean/dressing mixture to the top of the lettuce.
4. Top with southwestern Greek yogurt. Garnish with more cilantro or green onions if you did not include them in your vegetable/bean mixture.
5. Enjoy!

Note: The challenge was to create a diet friendly or low-calorie recipe. This recipe comes in around 400 calories as prepared above for TWO salad bowls (may vary depending on brands and math, as I am not a nutritionist and sometimes am not so great at math). That means if you only eat one (for lunch, perhaps), you’re down to 200 calories. Not too shabby! You’ll be left feeling full, satisfied, and great about yourself.

Verdict: DELICIOUS. This is my kind of meal. If we’re excluding mac & cheese and popcorn, of course.
Husband’s take: He didn’t try this (and wouldn’t like it without meat), but other family members gave it their seal of approval.
Changes I would make: None. However, this would be easy to customize to your tastes and you could easily add meat (shredded chicken or ground turkey would be good). You could also add different vegetables or add some shredded cheese.
Difficulty: Easy!

Update: Giveaway has closed. Congrats to Geni!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: One winner will three full size bottles of Saucy Mama Mustard (pictured above).

To enter (REQUIRED): Comment on this post. Easy peasy!

For Extra Entries (MAKE SURE to leave an extra comment for each or they will NOT count):

1. Subscribe to my RSS feed or add your name to my email list (please confirm when you get the email asking you to do so).
2. “Like” Rachel Cooks on Facebook (My NEW Facebook page! Please double check to make sure you like this one and not my former page).
3. Follow @rachelcooksblog on Twitter (notice my NEW Twitter handle!).
4. “Like” Saucy Mama on Facebook.
5. Follow Saucy Mama on Twitter.
6. Follow me on Pinterest and pin this post. (If you aren’t on Pinterest, let me know and I’ll send you an invite!)

Up to 7 chances to win! Giveaway will close on the 4th of March (Sunday) at midnight EST and I’ll announce the randomly chosen winner Monday morning (3/5). Winner will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Prize will be shipped by Barhyte Foods.

Disclosure: I was provided with free mustard to create a recipe with, but no other compensation. All opinions are, as always, 100% my own. 

Also, I have a chance to win a spa package. Did I mention this?!? Vote for me here. Please?

Pretty please?

I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed a spa day.

Tagged as: low-calorie, mustard, saucymama