Enjoy a south-of-the-border twist with fewer calories.
Mexican food is wonderful in the summertime with an ice-cold cerveza or an oversized salt-rimmed Margarita. Who wouldn’t love some tacos smothered with cheese and guacamole, covered in sour cream?
Well…maybe Mexican food isn’t that great an option in the summertime when you have a bathing suit to fit into. Worry not, beachgoers, we’ve got a healthy, delicious alternative to high-calorie, south-of-the-border-fare using Starkist Creations’ Sweet and Spicy Tuna. Try it out at your next fiesta. This is anything but your basic can of albacore.
Southwest Tuna Salad
– 1 (5-ounce) pouch StarKist Creations Sweet & Spicy Tuna
– 1 (15-ounce) can black beans
– 8-ounces low-fat ranch dressing
– 6 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded
– 1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
– 1 (16-ounce) jar salsa
– 10 ounce lettuce, washed and torn
Mix ingredients and serve on top of lettuce. Serves 6.
If you eat a lot of ice cream, try moving to lighter sorbets for the summer. The pure flavors are more in keeping with the spirit of the summer, especially if you buy artisan flavors bursting with seasonal fresh fruit. Sorbet has fewer calories, and the absence of milk or cream makes it fat-free and cholesterol-free (although some products are milk sherbets, made with a bit of dairy—read the label). Plus, the pretty colors look jewel-like when served in a martini glass or wine goblet.
Read about Wine Cellar Sorbets, a NIBBLE Top Pick and a truly different spin on sorbet.
For ice cream lovers, take a look at everything you need to know about Gourmet Ice Cream.
Remember Chunky, the trapezoidal chunk of milk chocolate packed with nuts and raisins? Nestlé still makes it, but it’s been improved upon by Lindt. The company has just released a Raisin & Nuts bar with hazelnuts and almonds, as part of its Classic Recipe line.
The creamy Swiss milk chocolate, crunchy nuts and chewy raisins hit the spot. That the bar is made in a flat, scored 4.4-ounce size instead of one big chunk enabled us to enjoy it with our afternoon latte over a period of several days.
Read our review of the Lindt Excellence line, the company’s connoisseur chocolate bars.
Fruits don’t have to be exotic to seem like a special dessert. While a dish of star fruit, mango and papaya may be a treat, so is an architectural sculpture of everyday fruits. A glass dish of melon balls rimmed with vertical quarters of strawberries and dotted with a few berries is a treat for the eyes and the palate. Wine goblets are also a great showcase for fruit salads. You can sprinkle the plain fruit with a few drops of liqueur or top with some sorbet or fruit curd.
It’s Caviar Day, but don’t worry—you can celebrate without taking out a second mortgage. Pressed caviar is made from the ripest beluga, osetra and sevruga eggs that were broken or otherwise damaged in handling. The eggs are pressed together until they become like a spread, and are sold for substantially less money than regular caviar. Because three pounds of eggs are made into one pound of pressed caviar, it is much oilier, saltier and more pungent than whole caviar eggs; but many people find it a good substitute for a pricier caviar fix. A bit of crème fraîche can diffuse the saltiness. Try some on toasted brioche, and see if you agree. Pressed caviar also works well in canapés (we like it with slices of foie gras terrine).
Read more about caviar and affordable serving suggestions in our Caviar Section.
For any fish lover, our Gourmet Seafood page is a must read!
