Recipes

Happy Almost Cinco de Mayo!! To celebrate Cinco de Mayo I am heading down to San Diego for the weekend. I am taking the train. Trains are kind of amazing. Completely nostalgic conjuring daydreams of times before us. Not to mention that you can take your own picnic, complete with wine, yummy cheese and crackers. I wish you could do that on airplanes. It may make it a more enjoyable experience. Not to mention the free internet, it’s pretty great. I am definitely content.

For today’s Friday Five I wanted to share some of my favorite Mexican recipes and some skinny cocktail inspirations. You can also check out my Cinco de Mayo Pinterest board for more inspiration.

What are your favorite Cinco de Mayo recipes?

1. Skinny Guacamole and Baked Chips, 1 weight watchers pointsplus, 77 calories per 1/4 cup
In my opinion, it is almost impossible to have a Cinco de Mayo feat without Guacamole. This recipe is lightened up so you can really indulge and you can quickly make your own baked chips for a healthy snack all weekend. Want to jazz the recipe up? Add 1/4 cups of dried cranberries. It does something magical you would never expect.

2. Crockpot Beef Barbacoa, 4 weight watchers points plus, 165 calories
The last thing I want to do at any party, barbecue, or Cinco de Mayo gathering is stand next to the stove and miss out on all of the sunshine and conversation. The solution is crockpot beef barbacoa tacos that can be made any of time. This meat is delicious in tacos or even on sandwich rolls and is perfect for any weekend gate together. It may garner oohs and awws and questions about your Mexican roots.

3. Chipotle Meatballs, 6 weight watchers points plus for 4 meatballs
This is my absolute favorite recipe for tacos. I never knew that tacos could, or rather, should be made sometimes with meatballs. The meatballs are smoky and spicy and delicious. I had friends over for a taco night a few weeks ago and these were by far the favorite. Multiple text messages have been received promising gifts and amazing conversation for some more meatballs. They’re powerful.

4. Mango Chile Coconut Pops, 3 weight watchers points plus, 94 calories
Let’s pray for sunshine and dream about these yummy popsicles. Eating popsicles makes me feel like a kid again and makes me want to run through sprinklers. If only there were some at my apartment building. These are a slightly more sophisticated take on a popsicle and you can even add a bit of tequila or rum if you want to make them extra special.

5. Cinco de Mayo Cocktails
Lastly every Cinco de Mayo party needs some great cocktails. Any combination of citrus juice, soda water, and your favorite spirit can make a great skinny cocktail. Muddle some mint and lime juice, add some splenda and rum and you have a low calorie Mojito. Or check out some of these great products: SkinnyGirl Margaritas,  Baja Bob’s Sugar Free Mixes,  Hungry Girl Happy Hour Cook Book, all of which will help you stay on track.